We of Sicily Tour Associazione Culturale Non Profit of Siracusa are dedicated to cultural exchange (arts, history, hospitality, and language) between Italy and English-speaking peoples. We are Stephen and Lucia Davies, and Douglas Kenning. We also are Gemma, Antonio, Caroline, and others working to welcome you to Sicily
Stephen arrived here from London as an antique
furniture dealer nearly thirty years ago and is now more Sicilian than
the Sicilians. He is fluent in Sicilian, is a notably smooth swimmer
in the treacherous seas of Sicilian life and customs, and has a antique
dealer's eye for the timeless Sicily of craftsmen and social heroes,
people who work with their hands and hearts, throughout her long
history. An epicure of the first order, he knows more about Sicily's
Michelin restaurants, out-of-the-way trattoria, driving shortcuts, and
stories of Sicily than anyone else we know.
Lucia returned from England to the city her mother had left decades before, bring Stephen and her parents with her. She not only provides the beauty and charm, she is also our organiser, planner, and memory. She is one of the brightest lights of old Siracusa, known by everyone and loved by everyone.
Douglas is our historian. With his
Ph.D., he came to his ancestral island to live among the dust and
echoes of ancient Syracuse. Part of each year, he teaches courses on
the history and culture of Sicily, Greek Drama, the Mafia, and other
stuff at universities in the San Francisco Bay area. (see bio)
OUR BUSINESS HISTORY
We have been hosting visitors--individuals, couples, groups, school kids, university students, etc. formally for ten years (informally for a quarter century). Sicily Tour Associazione Culturale Non Profit, which is involved also in finding accommodation and other services to visitors, has been in existence in one form or another for eighteen years.
OUR STYLE
Besides the incredible history and beauty of Sicily, we also came here for "la dolce vita" (the good life). We love kids, cats (OK, Lucia loves cats), and good food. We know the hidden local restaurant (Stephen is your man), the little shop that is selling just what you are looking for (Lucia's special skill), the best countryside for driving and picnics, the charming inn that the tour books have not found. (By the way, once you live somewhere, you realize how the writers of those guide books you buy really haven't a clue). Between the three of us, we have seventy years of traveling every road on this island, so let us know what you want and we'll go. Or you can just sit at a cafè in the old town and do nothing; we're experts at that too.
Among us, we can do it all: pick you up on arrival--give you the historical sites, scenery, culture, hotels, shops, restaurants, you want all across Sicily--and return you to the airport. Or if you want to do all the arranging yourself, we can just be your guides. You just let us know what you want.
