Slow tourism of the Sicans
Destination “Casa Paradiso”
In Castronovo di Sicilia
Francesca’s dream-reality
Together with her partner, she decided
to stay in her homeland
and in her grandparents’ house
opened a B&B that hosts
pilgrims of the Via Francigena
A bachelor’s degree in business administration, earned in Palermo where she was born; and after a period of reflection to figure out what to do when she grows up, the choice. Leave or stay? That was the dilemma that held her in check for a while, but in the end it was the call of her roots that won out.
Originally from Castronovo di Sicilia, Francesca Giannone, 32, wanted to return there, away from the hustle and bustle of the city and its hectic pace, to cultivate her dream of a human-scale life in her homeland.
“After a period in which I was definitely in the ballpark,” Francesca says, “and in which I worked in a clothing store, with my partner Antonino Lino, we came up with a project related to the pilgrims of the Magna Via Francigena, a special and profound world, with which we decided to get in touch and work. Because Sicily is beautiful, but also a bit cursed, because of the character of us Sicilians, not always collaborative with each other, although very hospitable and welcoming.”
Thus was born “Casa Paradiso,” a B&B offering family hospitality and working mainly with foreigners, from a little bit from all over the world.
“They are mostly pilgrims,” says Francesca Giannone, “and they come from Canada, the United States, South Africa, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Russia, Lithuania, Malaysia… we have also had a few Chinese and Japanese guests. And the nice thing is that they often come back, a second or even third time, proving that they had a good time; then by word of mouth, their friends or relatives also come.”
On the other hand, the name “Paradise” is a whole program. “Actually,” says Francesca, “it was the nickname, the inciuria as we say in our parts, of my grandfather’s grandfather, a person so quiet and in God’s grace that he was called ‘Pampina di Paradiso,’ and since we made the B&B in the house that used to belong to my grandparents, we took the chance.”
The facility is located in a 1920s building in the center of the village, at the beginning of the Arab quarter, and the furnishings are all handcrafted, made in Castronovo di Sicilia.
“With our guests,” says Francesca, “we like to establish a friendly relationship. I take them around the town, which is small but has a large territory; I tell them that the Normans chose it because it was and is rich in water, as evidenced by the several fountains that are still active. Upon request, in cooperation with local guides, we organize specific tours. And, then, also involving Papa Bernardo, who together with some partners has a farm, we offer an agro-tour that, depending on the season, gives people a close-up look at how olives or citrus fruits are harvested, how the olive press works and how jams are made, of course, complete with tastings. Sicilian cuisine always takes the lion’s share, along with typical cheeses: in our area, there are as many as twenty-three dairies.”
The reason Francesca and Antonino prefer the foreign guest is related to the different sensibility they attribute to him: “Attentive to our reality,” says Francesca Giannone, “to how we are. We like to convey an image of Sicilians outside the usual clichés: we want them to know us young people and to know that we want to stay in our land to grow and make it grow. And we like to think that those who decide to come to these parts also do so to support our idea of slow but steady progress.”
Text by Angela Mannino
