In 2005, through a series of improbable events, I was connected with my ancestral family (on my mother’s side) in Sicily. The next year, I visited, met many relatives and visited the ancestral villages of my maternal grandparents, Godrano and Cefala Diana. My cousin, Antonio Macaluso and his family, were my hosts and guide to my past.
Since then, I remained in contact and made a second visit in June 2010. Most of the family lives in Palermo, but have links back to our ancestral villages. This visit was very short so most time was spent in Palermo seeing some family and doing a little site seeing. However, Antonio’s friend, Zri Mario Conti, is a photographer and had an exhibit of his work in Palermo. Zri Mario lives in Godrano and invited me to spend a day shooting in and around Godrano and Cefala Diana. It could not have been better, and i was able to see my grandparent’s home through his eyes.
I returned again in the July 2014. This trip was qualitatively different. We spent a week in Palermo with the family, but Antonio, Cettina and I traveled to eastern and southern Sicily, places that I had not visited. We were in Taoramina, Seracusa, Ispica, Notto, Ragusa & Modica. As part of our trip, we stayed in southern Sicily with antonio’s friend Giambatista and his children and granddaughter. To say they were gracious hosts is a serious understatement. It made a very special trip even better, and I beleive that i have some new friends to visit when I return again.
