Balestrate, Sicily

Traveling to the small town of Balestrate, Sicily was a long-awaited dream of mine. It's the hometown to my grandfather Angelo Saputo, my father’s father and his siblings. To this day, this is where we gather around the table with close family and friends. I have been fortunate to visit there several times over the last ten years, spending time with relativities, cooking and learning more about my Italian roots. I recently returned from an amazing few weeks and thought I wanted to share a little about it and how it never disappoints.

Spiaggia di Balestrate

Balestrate is a seven mile sandy beach town on the coast, a 50 minute drive east of Palermo. People come from all over to enjoy the golden sand beaches with a port right in the middle. It’s considered the last town in the province of Palermo. Balestrate Beach natural reserve rests in a deep curve between Trapani and Palermo. In the center of town there is the rectangular Piazza Evola, anchored by the church of Sant’Anna. The piazza Evola is considered the meeting place for family, friends and loved ones to gather anytime of the day, but especially in the evenings and weekends. It is located on Via Madonna del Ponte.

It’s a quaint town, the beaches are never crowded, perfect for families. Generally the climate is hotter and drier than other parts of Italy, however, I always seem to travel there in the hot summer months.

Santa’ Anna Mother Church of Balestrate Piazza Evola (left), Saputo House Today (right)

On my first trip there, my husband and I were lucky enough to stay in a family’s vacant home. It was 600 square feet flat in the heart of the town, two short blocks from the main piazza (town square) Piazza Evola. The piazza has festivities every summer evening. This year, the festivities included theater productions, and dance performances and I even got to experience my first Carnavale. (Public processions with music, dancing and masquerades).

Each region in Italy has its own unique cuisine and Sicily is no exception. Each dish has been influenced by its inhabitors throughout the years and has been dictated by the season and local produce. The fish is unbelievably abundant. Sicilians are obsessed with freshness, shopping sometimes twice a day to get the best of the best, from freshly baked bread, pastries, to meats and freshly caught fish that was caught at the break of dawn.n fact, there is a local fisherman that drives through the streets every morning at 8:00am with a microphone shouting out the day’s local catch. The prices are incredibly low compared to other cities.

Traveling here isn’t a typical experience for tourist that visit popular cities like Milan, Rome or Venice. It is very unique in that you end up feeling like you have lived there all your life. I cherish the moments I have with my family in their kitchens watching and cooking with them and soaking up all that they have to share about our family and life in Sicily then and now.

Ciao!