At the 4 star Grand Hotel Excelsior here in the historical and beautiful city of Catania, we’d like to welcome you to the stunning island region of Sicily – a unique haven of history, culture, stunning natural beauty and fine southern Italian cuisine. If Italy is a boot, then Sicily is the unfortunate object of a severe kicking, both geographically and historically.

Located in the southern Mediterranean Sea just off the tip of Calabria and level with north Africa, this wondrous island and its people have been visited my almost every culture on Earth, from the Normans to the Nazis, from the ancient Greeks to Mick Hucknall. In ancient Greek times, the colonies of Katane (Catania) and Siracusa were two of the most important ports in Magna Grecia, thanks to their choice location in more or less the centre of the (flat) known world.

Over centuries and indeed millennia, the Sicilian people have developed an identity all of their own – one that defines them in contrast to any more invaders.

This island region is also famous throughout the Italian Peninsular for its divine seafood culture, though many typical Sicilian dishes also come from the produce of rural farmers on the land. Sicily is a place where the donkey is still considered a common mode of transportation. Sicily sits upon a perch between Africa and Europe, and having not one but two different types of fertile volcanic land makes for some bizarre yet wonderful natural ingredients.