Mara Sicily Tour Guide

21/11/2023

Fatima - FEG Tourist Guides Seminar “Tourism for All”

I joined this seminar promoted by ENAT about
It was very interesting learning and experiencing the different physical impairments that our guests can have, which sometimes we don’t even realize, as 70% of them are hidden.
We covered many techniques for addressing different targets of visitors, and brainstormed about best practices.
I believe as tour guides we have the moral obligation to anticipate, recognize and address the needs of our travellers, possibly with a warm smile!

12/11/2023

Sicilian hospitality like no other at Villa Zottopera Extra Virgin Organic Olive Oil immersed in the beautiful Hyblean countryside with centenary olive trees!

02/11/2023

Today in with a slow-paced group. Here’re my TOP guests, who were 82 and 91y. The secret to stay young? Keep Travelling!

31/10/2023

Elio Vittorini - renown Sicilian writer - defined the square of the Cathedral of Syracuse as a “sunny countryside”. To me it’s definitely one of the most beautiful baroque squares in Sicily, with stunning churches and baroque palaces. You can’t miss a visit to the Cathedral, built on the former temple of Athena, whose original columns date back to 480 bc…
Travel with a private guide to know all about

24/10/2023

Can you guess the shape of ? The writer and poet Gesualdo Bufalino gave a wonderful description of this town.

“… a town similar to a broken pomegranate. It was near the seaside but rural; one half was condensed on a rocky spur, the other half spread at its feet. There were many stairs between the two halves, like peacekeepers. And clouds in the sky that moved from one bell tower to the other, breathless like the couriers of the King’s Cavalrymen. Fluttering, at that time, with dowry percale and linen sheets throughout all the alleys of the two Modicas, Upper and Lower”.

Ready to explore it?

19/10/2023

“Everything that in nature is great, everything that is pleasant, everything that is that terrible, it is comparable to the Etna and Etna is not comparable to anything.”

D.V.Denon

Good morning from 🌄

16/10/2023

“The Paths of the baroque land” was a full-day tour discovering the towns of & and the unique experiences that our territory has to offer, organized for a group of tour operators after TTG. We enjoyed walking though our baroque towns and experiencing authentic Sicilian hospitality at Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, Gli AROMI Sicily and Pasticceria Andrea Giannone. Thanks to CNA Territoriale Ragusa and APERITREK

14/10/2023

Today in , a charming fisherman village on the Ionian coast. It was home to a tonnara (tuna fishery) – tuna fish were caught and processed here. It’s believed the first iteration of the tonnara was built by Arab inhabitants around 1000, and the village grew up around it in the 1600s. The tonnara officially closed in 1969, but you can still see the village’s past in the old buildings, fishing boats, and quiet harbor.
We enjoyed the sunny day and the sound of the sea…

07/10/2023

Colleagues at work: we both agree this is the best job in the world!

03/10/2023

Congratulations to Cinabro Carrettieri for their new project: Antico Mercato where you can visit the traditional ateliers of the artists of time past!

29/09/2023

! Today in Modica with a lovely family from Philippines, a country I keep in my heart! By the end of the day I learnt a little bit of Tagalog and they learnt a little bit of Sicilian!
Thank you for this amazing day! 🍫

27/09/2023

Today is the and I can say I am proud to be part of this world… my job is about sharing my culture and the history of the place where I was born, a melting pot of Mediterranean civilizations, and possibly helping my guests to learn about this little corner of the world and make memorable memories. Even when it’s hard to keep the rhythm, I am pleased to be a
Thank you to all the wonderful guests who chose as their travel destination this year!

24/09/2023

And then there are those guests who come back every year and after a while they become like friends! Thank you to for touring Sicily with me!

19/09/2023

Sometimes… being a tour guide is such a hard work! After seeing Syracuse from the land, we enjoyed a boat tour of the bay! Thanks to Dolci Escursioni

18/09/2023

Ragusa is
Exploring the hidden corners of with a lovely yoga group from Australia!

10/09/2023

Un altro weekend a bordo del nella tratta “Siracusa - Ragusa”: un percorso suggestivo che attraversa il e le città patrimonio Unesco tra , , e .
Con Fondazione FS Italiane e’ possibile viaggiare a bordo dei vagoni storici e usufruire di un servizio gratuito di nelle città di Ragusa e Modica per scoprire la bellezza del tardo-barocco siciliano.
Ancora in programma per il prossimo weekend!

02/09/2023

What I love about this job is that… our office is always the best! Greetings from Modica 🍫

27/08/2023

Scoprire il Val di Noto a bordo del , treno storico che va da Siracusa a Ragusa, e’ un’esperienza impareggiabile… perdersi tra le piazze di e i vicoli di con una guida locale lascia un ricordo che non si dimentica!
Grazie Fondazione FS Italiane

Scopri i prossimi appuntamenti su:
https://www.fondazionefs.it/content/fondazionefs/it/treni-storici/2023/8/19/treno-del-barocco.html

18/08/2023

It’s hard to explain what Saint Agata represents for a Catanese… it’s definitely more than a religious event… and it’s difficult to tell with words.
- It’s when you are standing in the crowd surrounded by tons people, in a religious silence, holding your intention intention in mind;
- it’s joy, light, faith, when you see her pass close to you pulled by the devotees, as a flow of energy;
- it’s pride, honour, respect for a mother, protecting you and your loved ones, your city, your island, your home.
Even for those who are not religious, it’s a very touching celebration, with dense moments which must be explained to be understood.
Catania cannot be explained without her… W Sant’Agata!

17/08/2023

Find your way out the main corso and explore the hidden corners of Taormina with your private guide…
A place that’s meant to inspire the heart and the soul, surrounded by breathtaking views of the Etna, Naxos bay and Calabria.
Found on the IV cent. b.c. by the refuges of Naxos, Taormina became across the centuries a place of freedom, hosting international travellers, artists and writers, becoming a bulwark of resistence during the rigorous Victorian age.
People couldn’t believe Taormina was so beautiful: a suspended terrace between the sea and sky, this is Taormina!

12/08/2023

Ragusa Ibla was the town of the noble people: all around Duomo square there’s a sequence of noble palaces and imposing buildings like the “Circolo di Conversazione”, a private club where nobles would gather.
By walking along Corso XXV aprile you cannot miss Palazzo Arezzo di Donnafugata, the house of the most important family in town, which is now accessible to visitors with an exhibition named “Le Tavole dei Gattopardi” litt. “The laid table from the Gattopardi”.
The palace, still inhabited by descendants of the family, impresses for its imposing entrance and sequence of rooms all decorated with illusionistic techniques. At the exihibit, you will find different tables set with the finest porcelain services and other precious materials: all is intended to transport you back to the life of nobelty in those time… the visit ends in an unexpected room, that is the private theatre of the palace, considered one of the smallest in Europe! Teatro Donnafugata
Don’t miss the chance to visit it and breathe the atmposphere of the authentic

10/08/2023

Ready for Perseid meteors shower? Here in the Hyblean countryside is plenty of places to observe shooting stars… where? Search for a masseria near Modica or Noto or take a walk inside the canyons, or at the beach.
According to Sicilian traditions if you desire 💸 you should look North, if you search for ❤️ then look South.
Wishing everybody to find their shooting star!

24/07/2023

Exploring in : definitely one the most best-preserved Roman villa in the world, with over 3500 m2 of mosaics “in situ” testifying the lifestyle habits of the Roman ruling class. You’ll be impressed by the richness and quality of its mosaics dating to the 4th century AD and representing contemporary geometrical patterns, animals, myths as well as other daily scenes such as the famous .
But what really captured my attention this time was the spaciousness of Roman architecture: from the Basilica to the thermal baths, from the peristilium to the three-absis room. As you walk you can still imagine the luxurious Roman society who was inhabiting the area: the villa was declared a Unesco world heritage site in 1997, a must see site in Sicily!

19/07/2023

Silver medal for 🥈
Forbes chose the region as the 2nd destination to visit in EU in 2023. If you have been in one of my tours you now why the is unique!
“Veni va ti cuntu” Sicilian expression to say “Come and I will tell you all the stories”

Mallorca, isla ubicada en el Mar Mediterráneo, fue seleccionada como el mejor destino para visitar en Europa en 2023, según un listado de Forbes. Mallorca es famosa por sus playas de arena blanca y aguas cristalinas, donde se pueden realizar diversas actividades como buceo, snorkel, vela, windsurf y mucho más.

En segundo lugar del listado aparece el Valle de Noto, Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la UNESCO, ubicado en Sicilia. La región alberga varias ciudades barrocas, incluyendo Noto, Ragusa, Modica, Scicli y Palazzolo Acreide, todas ellas con ejemplos de dicha corriente arquitectónica.

El turismo internacional está de regreso con una demanda de viajes que ha provocado el aumento del costo en general para realizar este tipo de viajes. Además, cerca del 31% de los viajeros dicen que tienen la intención de gastar más en salir de su país de origen.

14/07/2023

Syracuse ranked in the top 10 Europe's best and worst coastal destinations by , being second in Italy only to Venice!

Spanish port city Valencia tops the charts with an impressive destination score of 91 per cent. Visitors heaped praise on the city's beaches, said Which?, rating them a full five stars out of five.

04/07/2023

“What do you miss about Sicily?”
“The sound of the sea.”
A. Camilleri

Here’re some pictures of today 🌅
Wishing everyone a lovely day from Sicily!

29/06/2023

One of my favourite towns in south east Sicily is nestled in the Hyblean Mountains, between Syracuse and Ragusa. What I love the most about it is the atmosphere: Palazzolo is still an authentic place, with impressive churches, lots of “botteghe” selling fresh products like sausage or cheese, and some of the best cafes in sicily.
But what really impresses me are the religious events, related to the cycle of nature.
Today at 13.00 sharp don’t miss the of . He was the greatest missionary of all times, a complicated figure to describe considering he never met Jesus but can be considered the founder of Christianity in the world. Gospels say he came to Sicily for three days, and people in Palazzolo love to believe he stopped there. Is that true? Doesn’t matter! The devotion remains strong; colours, choirs, music band, fireworks, naked babies and snakes makes this one of the most magical celebration in Sicily.
Want to know more? Contact me for more info!
Saint Paul to everybody! 🎊🐍

27/06/2023

What’s going on in Syracuse? Duomo Square is covered up with sand! From June 28th to July 2nd it will be the movie set for the Netflix TV series “Il Gattopardo”, by Indiana Production & Moonage Pictures.

Gattopardo is a novel by Tomasi di Lampedusa, describing the transformation of society during the “Risorgimento” - that is the end of the kingdoms and the formation of Italy - through the eyes of the family Salina.

It’s one of the must-read books for your trip to Sicily, with romantic descriptions of the atmosphere of life at that time. Don’t have enough time to read the book? Watch the 6 episodes of this Netflix show to learn everything about love, power and the cost of progress in society at that time.

Here’s my favourite quote: “Everything must change for everything to remain the same”.

See you in Syracuse 🎬

20/06/2023

“Tourists tread along the ancient pavements; they enter Baroque churches, and brush past noble palaces; but that is but the form of Ibla, though still in itself splendid.
Its soul remains hidden,
revealing itself only to a few lovers,
those who do not need eyes
to see”
Mimí Arezzo

19/06/2023

“Take life lightly, for lightness is not superficiality, but a gliding over things from above, without letting things weigh on your heart.” - I. Calvino

Exploring with a lovely couple from UK!