0:00:04 > 0:00:07'I'm Andrew Graham-Dixon and I'm an art historian.'
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Is it a town or is it a piece of theatre?!
0:00:09 > 0:00:13'I'm Giorgio Locatelli and I'm a cook.'
0:00:13 > 0:00:17The sultana is really tangy, a little aggressive. Like a little Sicilian, huh?
0:00:17 > 0:00:18'We both share a passion...'
0:00:18 > 0:00:20THEY LAUGH
0:00:20 > 0:00:22- This is real Baroque, yeah. - This is decadent.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24'..a love...'
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Oh-ho!
0:00:26 > 0:00:30- '..an obsession.' - I've never seen anything like that.
0:00:30 > 0:00:31'Her name?
0:00:31 > 0:00:35'Citalia - the Mediterranean island of Sicily.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37SHOUTING
0:00:37 > 0:00:40'We've both been her ardent suitors for years.
0:00:40 > 0:00:44'I love how layers of history have created a unique blend
0:00:44 > 0:00:46'of art and architecture here.'
0:00:46 > 0:00:50- It's like winning the World Cup in archaeological terms.- Exactly! - THEY LAUGH
0:00:50 > 0:00:54'And I adore her incredible flavour and no-nonsense approach to food.'
0:00:54 > 0:01:00Here you are - ten square metre, you could find all these ingredients, here they are in front of you.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02'It's only recently we discovered that we share
0:01:02 > 0:01:06'the same intense passion for the island.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09'So, we decided to team up and travel here together.'
0:01:09 > 0:01:12This really is the Naked Chef! The real one.
0:01:12 > 0:01:13He is the real naked chef!
0:01:13 > 0:01:18'In sharing our knowledge and our love for the island with each other,
0:01:18 > 0:01:24- 'we hope to uncover even more of the secrets and treasures... - ..the sadness...'
0:01:24 > 0:01:28This was a hole in a nation. This was a hole in the heart of a nation.
0:01:28 > 0:01:31'..and the pleasures of our beloved Sicily.'
0:01:31 > 0:01:35As a piece of sincere painting, it's fantastic!
0:01:35 > 0:01:38'From simple, delicious food packed with incredible flavour...'
0:01:38 > 0:01:41There you are - perfection!
0:01:41 > 0:01:44'..to the truly jaw-dropping art and culture -
0:01:44 > 0:01:45'a mirror to the exuberance
0:01:45 > 0:01:48'and extraordinary history of its people.'
0:02:17 > 0:02:19We're travelling to one of the most fascinating places
0:02:19 > 0:02:22on the whole island.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26Over half a million years old, but still bubbling with life -
0:02:26 > 0:02:30the volcano, Mount Etna.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34For me, it's where everything begins,
0:02:34 > 0:02:38inspiring countless ancient myths and legends about the island.
0:02:41 > 0:02:44The key to Sicily's future lies in its ancient past,
0:02:44 > 0:02:49so this is why we're going to explore its origins.
0:02:49 > 0:02:53We're winding our way up Etna on an old narrow gauge railway.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57It's surprisingly luscious and beautiful, isn't it?
0:02:57 > 0:02:59Look at that.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02You have grapes, you have, like, massive fig trees,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05olive grove, all the fruits growing out there.
0:03:05 > 0:03:07I notice ginestra.
0:03:07 > 0:03:10I was struck by this extraordinary contrast
0:03:10 > 0:03:12on this side and up there.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16- Right.- You know, there's, like, sort of Etna,
0:03:16 > 0:03:19and then over here it's like the Garden of Eden.
0:03:19 > 0:03:21It's pure... It's fertility, isn't it?
0:03:21 > 0:03:24It's like you've got the anger of the gods
0:03:24 > 0:03:26and then you've got the bounty of the gods.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29The bounty, yeah. That's exactly...
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Before we explore the foreboding upper slopes of the volcano,
0:03:37 > 0:03:42we stop off at one of the vineyards which flourish at the foothills.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47Wine has been produced in this part of Sicily
0:03:47 > 0:03:51since the first great coloniser of the island, the Greeks,
0:03:51 > 0:03:53arrived in the 8th century BC.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58Etna wine, like Sicily, has experienced mixed fortune.
0:03:59 > 0:04:02Years of glory, followed by a slow, painful downturn.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06But thanks to producers like Ciro Biondi,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09this wine is finally getting a second chance.
0:04:11 > 0:04:16I'm very struck by the sheer sort of verticality of the slope.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19It would seem to me kind of perverse to be growing grapes
0:04:19 > 0:04:22on such a steep slope. Why don't you grow on a flat field?
0:04:22 > 0:04:24Because if you want to produce a quality wine,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26you had to give sun to the vines.
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Think of the solar panel.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31- They're not straight. - They're not straight.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34So, if one vine not give the shades to the other one, it's better.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38Right. And what about the water? How do you water them?
0:04:38 > 0:04:40Ah, that's interesting.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44We not irrigate the vines because irrigation means cheat.
0:04:44 > 0:04:47If it's a year where it's no rain, you will taste it in the wine,
0:04:47 > 0:04:50- but if you give the water, you cheat.- Right.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53You will have the same kind of wine every year.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57The wine should be the result of a year of work
0:04:57 > 0:05:02and of the climate, and which should be all with difference.
0:05:02 > 0:05:07- So, for example, if you have a dry year...- Maybe it will be more flavour, more robust wine
0:05:07 > 0:05:10because it's been in the heat. That brings more alcohol,
0:05:10 > 0:05:14rather than elegance that normally we got here.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17One thing that I notice that is so much different,
0:05:17 > 0:05:20that you have thousands of butterfly, which, you know,
0:05:20 > 0:05:23when you go to Piedmont or something like that,
0:05:23 > 0:05:26it's...there's no insect whatsoever.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28Because we don't use any chemical
0:05:28 > 0:05:33because we are so lucky not to need this chemical spray in the vineyard.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36So, you can make a wine that's sort of almost organic,
0:05:36 > 0:05:38even without having an organic philosophy?
0:05:38 > 0:05:41I don't want to say on the label that I'm organic
0:05:41 > 0:05:44because I want to sell the wine because it's good.
0:05:46 > 0:05:47What's Giorgio doing?
0:05:47 > 0:05:50I was just thinking... He say he doesn't spray the leaves -
0:05:50 > 0:05:55- the Greeks used to cook with that, so maybe we should cook something with that. No?- Why not?
0:06:07 > 0:06:10Before we sit down to taste the wine,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13I prepare the perfect snack -
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Ciro's very own vine leaves,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19dipped and fried in a batter of flour, eggs and beer.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23I hope they enjoy them.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32- There's a lot of activity going on in there.- There you are.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- Hey!- Taste this.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37- Wow! Will be boiling hot. - A little bit.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Giorgio Locatelli, to come all the way
0:06:42 > 0:06:46to let me taste my own...leaves,
0:06:46 > 0:06:48which I've never done in my life!
0:06:48 > 0:06:52- You've never tasted your own vine leaves?- No. Never.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54- What do you think?- Amazing.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I think I like it!
0:06:59 > 0:07:01This white wine named Outis
0:07:01 > 0:07:04is made from the Carricante grapes grown here.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12So, we start with this 2010 white.
0:07:15 > 0:07:17It's delicious.
0:07:17 > 0:07:18And completely unique.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23I can't think of another white wine to compare it with.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27It doesn't taste... Often you can taste, ooh, it's a bit like a Pinot Grigio,
0:07:27 > 0:07:32- or a bit like a white Burgundy, but...- Yeah.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38Is this grape pretty much unique to here?
0:07:38 > 0:07:42To here, when you say "here", it's Etna, it's not Sicily, because...
0:07:42 > 0:07:46If you imagine, Etna is like an island on the island,
0:07:46 > 0:07:49so what you found on Etna is completely different
0:07:49 > 0:07:53to what you can find on the rest of Sicily. So, we...
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Because of the altitude, the soil, all these things put together,
0:07:57 > 0:07:58the grape's variety.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01Well, it smells of honey to me.
0:08:02 > 0:08:06It's got the sort of, almost like a taste of saltiness or...
0:08:06 > 0:08:09- And you've got the sea over there, so...- Yeah, but I think
0:08:09 > 0:08:14the saltiness is from the soil, the mineral, from lava soil.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17- But do you agree that...? - Yeah, of course...
0:08:17 > 0:08:19Well, it taste to me more than all these adjectives
0:08:19 > 0:08:24that we can put on it. It tastes like Ciro looking for himself here.
0:08:24 > 0:08:26- Mm, yeah.- This is your wine.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29This is your collaboration with this land and this soil
0:08:29 > 0:08:32and this weather and this grapes.
0:08:32 > 0:08:37It's teamwork - the soil, people, grapes...
0:08:37 > 0:08:39- And it works like an harmony. - Yeah. It should be...
0:08:39 > 0:08:43I mean, this is something... When you work with nature, you are to...
0:08:43 > 0:08:47You can't try to win the nature, you have to go with the flow.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53This earthy connection with nature is what makes Sicily special.
0:08:53 > 0:08:59And it's what a new breed of Sicilians like Ciro is striving for.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02To once again be in touch with the motherland.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12The next morning, we set out to face the mountain.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17Sicily is full of paradoxes,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20but Etna captures one of the most extreme -
0:09:20 > 0:09:25the lushness of the foothills versus the convulsive force of the volcano.
0:09:29 > 0:09:32Locals think of the mountain as female -
0:09:32 > 0:09:36a great beauty with a seductive, dark side.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46We meet our guide, Carmello, a volcanologist,
0:09:46 > 0:09:50and take a cable car up the rocky crater-scarred face of the volcano.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56- So, Carmello, how many times have you been up here?- Oh, hundreds.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00- You spend your life coming up here? - Yes. Basically, yes.
0:10:00 > 0:10:02Etna is my life in every respect.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06- You're in love with it. - More than love, actually,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09because it's just a little bit of myself.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11Actually, a big bit of myself.
0:10:11 > 0:10:13I study Etna,
0:10:13 > 0:10:15I come here in winter with skis,
0:10:15 > 0:10:18for climbing during the summer,
0:10:18 > 0:10:22I sometimes take people, I take my students,
0:10:22 > 0:10:25I go here all the time possible.
0:10:25 > 0:10:27So, I've seen Etna in all seasons.
0:10:27 > 0:10:30It changes, because every time there is an eruption,
0:10:30 > 0:10:32you see a new cone, a new lava flow,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36the landscape changes a little bit and it's really alive.
0:10:37 > 0:10:42I've always been curious to see what the top of the volcano looked like.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45No photo prepares you for it.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56The sight that greeted us when we reached the summit
0:10:56 > 0:10:59was truly awe-inspiring.
0:11:00 > 0:11:03That's just incredible! Do you know what that reminds me of?
0:11:03 > 0:11:07Do you remember when you were a kid, looking at...
0:11:07 > 0:11:10- the moon buggy - shots of the moon buggy...- That's exactly...
0:11:10 > 0:11:13Neil Armstrong should be over there, jumping up and down.
0:11:13 > 0:11:17One of the most fascinating things about Etna
0:11:17 > 0:11:21is how this ancient mountain is recreated with every explosion.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27Sometimes with dramatic other-worldly results.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31This cone you see on the left
0:11:31 > 0:11:36formed during two weeks of eruption in 2001.
0:11:36 > 0:11:40Only two weeks, accumulated enough material
0:11:40 > 0:11:45to rise the elevation of this cone of almost 80 metres.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49This is the first channel on Earth
0:11:49 > 0:11:52which has been carved directly by a lava flow.
0:11:52 > 0:11:56We have situations like this only in other planets.
0:11:56 > 0:12:00So, every time, then, there is a different eruption,
0:12:00 > 0:12:04we cannot forecast where is it going to come from.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06A cone could form any time, anywhere?
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Cones form any time, anywhere.
0:12:09 > 0:12:13This happen since the beginning of the formation of Etna
0:12:13 > 0:12:17which is about half a million years ago.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24We trek up the steaming volcano for another couple of hundred metres,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28but it's just not safe to climb any further.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31Strange and mysterious.
0:12:31 > 0:12:35It's easy to see why it inspired the Ancient Greeks to concoct
0:12:35 > 0:12:38so many myths and legends about it.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42You feel like you've entered the world of the gods somehow.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45- We've entered some other place. - Into hell...
0:12:45 > 0:12:48Hades. Well, they thought it was the Underworld.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51It's like some vision of...this is what the world would look like
0:12:51 > 0:12:54if the atomic bombs all went off.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56It's post-apocalyptic.
0:12:56 > 0:12:57Yeah, except for the fog.
0:12:57 > 0:13:00The fog makes it even more eerie.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03Yeah, you're right. I think you're right.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07I had never quite realised the extent to which Greek mythology
0:13:07 > 0:13:11actually reflects, you know, very precisely some of the elements
0:13:11 > 0:13:14of this unique, exploding mountain.
0:13:14 > 0:13:17Polyphemus, you know, the Cyclops that Odysseus meets on Etna,
0:13:17 > 0:13:19he's got this single round eye.
0:13:19 > 0:13:24- Maybe that's the idea of a crater, one of these hundreds of craters. - Yeah, absolutely right.
0:13:24 > 0:13:29And that's how myths are born. It's exactly for explaining reality.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33And when reality is a little bit too complicated to explain
0:13:33 > 0:13:36then they made up something - a myth, right.
0:13:36 > 0:13:41And is there a reason why they don't let us go right to the top?
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Yeah, in this sphere, the activity at the main crater,
0:13:44 > 0:13:50the main crater, is very sudden and there could be explosions.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53So, in other words, we might die.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55Calm down!
0:13:55 > 0:13:59Yeah, there are sudden very violent explosions
0:13:59 > 0:14:02that can last for three, four years,
0:14:02 > 0:14:05emitting big volume of rocks like this.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08Then they stop for one and a half months
0:14:08 > 0:14:13- or only ten days, who knows. - Right.- And then again.
0:14:13 > 0:14:18- Next time there is an eruption, I want to come and have a look at it.- You should, you should.
0:14:19 > 0:14:24Etna is ancient, but it's also alive, just like Sicily.
0:14:24 > 0:14:28A living organism full of turmoil and unpredictability.
0:14:29 > 0:14:33A fiery phoenix rising out of years of destruction.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46Travelling through Sicily today, you really do feel
0:14:46 > 0:14:49as if the island is experiencing a renaissance.
0:14:53 > 0:14:58Having spent most of the modern era escaping poverty
0:14:58 > 0:15:00and the suffocating grip of the Mafia,
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Sicilians are now rediscovering the true value
0:15:03 > 0:15:06of what's been left by the island's ancient colonisers.
0:15:09 > 0:15:12Places like the Valley of Temples in Agrigento.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17In the 5th century BC, Akragas, as it was called,
0:15:17 > 0:15:21was one of the richest of all the cities in the Greek Empire.
0:15:23 > 0:15:26And today these breathtaking Doric temples -
0:15:26 > 0:15:30the finest outside Greece - attract visitors from all over the world.
0:15:35 > 0:15:39And there are jewels of the Ancient World all over this island.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47We've headed to the fishing town of Mazara del Vallo,
0:15:47 > 0:15:50to find one of the most precious.
0:15:50 > 0:15:54It's a place I visit every year with my family.
0:15:54 > 0:15:58This time, I'm turning the table on Andrew and introducing him
0:15:58 > 0:16:00to a great work of art.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05In 1998, a magnificent Ancient Greek statue
0:16:05 > 0:16:07was fished out of the sea here.
0:16:07 > 0:16:10But before I take Andrew to see it,
0:16:10 > 0:16:13we catch up with the local fisherman, Captain Cicchio,
0:16:13 > 0:16:16who caught the bronze statue in his nets.
0:16:37 > 0:16:39It came out with the face?!
0:16:43 > 0:16:45Like a shipwrecked person.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50Just come out. And the face come out the water first, just like that.
0:16:50 > 0:16:53Were there barnacles on it? Fish on it?
0:16:53 > 0:16:55HE TRANSLATES
0:17:00 > 0:17:01There were prawns...
0:17:05 > 0:17:08- Prawns and little crabs coming out of its ears!- Yeah.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14Yeah, it was the house,
0:17:14 > 0:17:16there was a house inside it.
0:17:18 > 0:17:22Captain Cicchio could have sold his special catch to a private dealer,
0:17:22 > 0:17:24but instead, he returned it to the state.
0:17:24 > 0:17:30He wanted it to be shared and looked after by ordinary Sicilians
0:17:30 > 0:17:33as a precious piece of their heritage.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35And he had his wish.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Today, there is an entire museum dedicated to it.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41I've seen the statue many time,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44and I'm really excited to see what Andrew makes of it.
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Well, every time, it's such a revelation.
0:17:50 > 0:17:52Wow!
0:18:03 > 0:18:08- So, it's been under the sea for 2,500 years.- Yes.
0:18:09 > 0:18:13And...it looks like he wants to swim out, doesn't he?
0:18:14 > 0:18:17He does. He looks like a diver swimming to the surface.
0:18:19 > 0:18:23Well, I can see why they built a whole museum around a single object.
0:18:23 > 0:18:27So many things about this beautiful statue remain a mystery,
0:18:27 > 0:18:30but it's believed he's a mythological creature,
0:18:30 > 0:18:34a satyr - part man, part beast.
0:18:36 > 0:18:40The archaeologists always struggle. They don't really know what it is.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43I think what we can say is, the satyr...
0:18:43 > 0:18:46represents...
0:18:46 > 0:18:49uncontrol, inspiration.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52One of those arms that we don't have any more
0:18:52 > 0:18:54would probably have been holding a cup of wine.
0:18:54 > 0:18:59And I think the figure is meant to be in the throes of this ecstasy.
0:18:59 > 0:19:00Spin around.
0:19:00 > 0:19:03He's spinning around the god Dionysus, the god of wine,
0:19:03 > 0:19:07and what he represents is man's connection to nature, to the natural world.
0:19:07 > 0:19:12The hole in the back here maybe would have had a ponytail
0:19:12 > 0:19:13to signify...
0:19:13 > 0:19:17that the satyr is part animal, part human.
0:19:17 > 0:19:20- And you see he's got these funny ears.- Yes.
0:19:20 > 0:19:22- Not like human ears.- Pointed.
0:19:22 > 0:19:26I think there's something about works of art that are mysterious.
0:19:26 > 0:19:29I mean, there's people who believe - I quite like this idea -
0:19:29 > 0:19:31that that hole in the back
0:19:31 > 0:19:35- was actually where the statue would be attached to the front of a boat.- Oh, right.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38So, this would actually be this ecstatic figure,
0:19:38 > 0:19:41the boat would be sailing and this would have been a figurehead.
0:19:41 > 0:19:42In the front.
0:19:47 > 0:19:51- I think it's just a beautiful mystery.- Mm.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54Was he created for a temple?
0:19:54 > 0:19:57Was he created to mark a Greek victory?
0:19:57 > 0:20:00Was he created as a single work of art for sale on the open market?
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Or was he the figurehead of a ship?
0:20:03 > 0:20:05In the end, we're left with the enigma.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14The seas around Sicily are full of treasure.
0:20:14 > 0:20:17I got another surprise up my sleeve for Andrew -
0:20:17 > 0:20:21it's at the docks, a few minutes' walk away.
0:20:21 > 0:20:25The fishing port of Mazara del Vallo is the most important,
0:20:25 > 0:20:28not only in Sicily, but all of Italy.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32And my friend Vincenzo is the skipper of a fishing trawler
0:20:32 > 0:20:35that hunts the most precious fish -
0:20:35 > 0:20:37the most sought-after prawns in the world.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40The Gamberi Rossi - red prawns.
0:20:44 > 0:20:45- Hi, Vincenzo.- Ciao!
0:20:45 > 0:20:47- Come stai?- Bene.
0:20:47 > 0:20:48- Vai salire?- Prego!
0:20:48 > 0:20:50Andiamo.
0:20:50 > 0:20:52Questo e Andrew.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54- Ciao.- Grazie.- Ciao.
0:20:56 > 0:21:00'Before we get a look at the prawns, he gives us a tour of the boat.'
0:21:08 > 0:21:10They stay out two or three weeks!
0:21:10 > 0:21:12So, these are the living quarters.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16- Or the eating quarters. - This is called the cambusa.
0:21:16 > 0:21:18What's this?
0:21:22 > 0:21:25This is his bedroom for three weeks!
0:21:26 > 0:21:29- There's always a Madonna. - C'e una Madonna li?
0:21:29 > 0:21:31HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:21:31 > 0:21:33The Madonna of the Rocks.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36- Even the boat has a patron saint. - That's right. That's right.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38E dov'e la cucina?
0:21:38 > 0:21:41La cucina sta qua.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48So, what's this kind of funny contraption on the cooker?
0:21:48 > 0:21:49Well, this is...
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Yeah, this is useful for when the sea is rough,
0:21:52 > 0:21:55so you just unscrew that, move it up, close the pan in,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59so you're not going to end up with all the pasta on the floor.
0:21:59 > 0:22:00E cosa mangiate?
0:22:00 > 0:22:01Do you eat the prawns?
0:22:01 > 0:22:04HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:22:06 > 0:22:09Naturally...naturally they like to eat the steak,
0:22:09 > 0:22:13since they live with fish all day, they like to...
0:22:13 > 0:22:15- So, really, they don't... - No. They don't eat fish.
0:22:15 > 0:22:17Very little.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20But we want to see the prawns. Possiamo vedere...the fish?
0:22:20 > 0:22:21Si.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24He understood! What kind of Italian am I speaking to?
0:22:24 > 0:22:29- Possiamo vedere il fish!- "Possiamo vedere il fish." What is that?
0:22:29 > 0:22:32'The Gamberi Rossi are a real delicacy.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35'Meant to be eaten raw,
0:22:35 > 0:22:38'they're frozen on board as soon as they are caught.'
0:22:38 > 0:22:39Ah, they really are red, aren't they?
0:22:39 > 0:22:42They are absolutely beautiful.
0:22:42 > 0:22:48This animal lives at 600, 800 metres underneath the sea,
0:22:48 > 0:22:51and because the current is so strong, he really needs to swim.
0:22:51 > 0:22:55They kind of suffer, they have to work hard to be alive, you know.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57How does the current affect the taste of the prawn?
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Because the prawn has to work against the current.
0:23:01 > 0:23:03He has to suffer.
0:23:03 > 0:23:07So, this is... Why is there always suffering involved in Sicilian food?
0:23:07 > 0:23:08What is that all about?
0:23:08 > 0:23:11Even the prawns have to suffer! So, what am I looking for?
0:23:11 > 0:23:14What you're looking for is, you know,
0:23:14 > 0:23:19is this absolutely sweetness that will come out of the prawns.
0:23:19 > 0:23:23I mean, now, look at that. It's so beautiful.
0:23:23 > 0:23:26That is a monster! And can you eat it raw?
0:23:26 > 0:23:28No. You HAVE to eat it raw!
0:23:28 > 0:23:31- You have to eat it raw? - That's what it is.
0:23:32 > 0:23:36- So, what am I...?- Eat maybe the bottom that is still...- OK.
0:23:39 > 0:23:42The prawns is sweet. The sweetness is incredible.
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- It's, like, denser.- Yeah.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46On a farmed prawn, it's a little bit sort of, you bite,
0:23:46 > 0:23:50- there's no bite to it.- Yeah, the white prawns doesn't have to have...
0:23:50 > 0:23:52It's almost like more fat.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54The animal living at such a deepness
0:23:54 > 0:23:57really needs to have a lot of fat.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02If you eat that from the top...
0:24:02 > 0:24:05That's what you eat. That's got even more flavour.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07Uh-huh! That's like the top of the brain.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09Yeah.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15I can't believe I'm sucking a prawn's brains out!
0:24:15 > 0:24:18But I've been told that's the best bit.
0:24:19 > 0:24:21It's an acquired taste.
0:24:21 > 0:24:23- I think I prefer the meat.- Yeah.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:24:25 > 0:24:28And you know, what is amazing as well,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31these have been washed in sea water and then they're placed
0:24:31 > 0:24:35in the box perfectly like that, obviously weighted and put away.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39So, wherever you are in the world and you receive one of these frozen,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42when you defrost it, you have a piece of this,
0:24:42 > 0:24:44of the Mediterranean in the front of you.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48Literally, the water that will be left there, it's water of the Mediterranean.
0:24:48 > 0:24:53And I think this is an exceptional way to serve something like that.
0:24:53 > 0:24:54Simplicity.
0:24:54 > 0:24:58So, you've got to be nice to Vincenzo so that he keeps supplying you, right?
0:24:58 > 0:25:00If Vincenzo stops fishing, I'm in trouble!
0:25:02 > 0:25:03Grazie, Vincenzo.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Grazie, Vincenzo.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Grazie.
0:25:14 > 0:25:18This journey really does feel like a treasure hunt.
0:25:18 > 0:25:21We're heading to the heart of the island,
0:25:21 > 0:25:26home to a unique statue of Damita, the Greek goddess of fertility.
0:25:26 > 0:25:31And although she's a local, she's only recently returned home
0:25:31 > 0:25:33to the town of Aidone.
0:25:35 > 0:25:39This prized work of art had been looted
0:25:39 > 0:25:43from the ancient site of Morgantina nearby in the '70s
0:25:43 > 0:25:47and eventually sold to the Getty Museum in California.
0:25:47 > 0:25:51But when the Getty realised that she had been stolen,
0:25:51 > 0:25:54they returned the statue to the rightful home.
0:25:54 > 0:25:58Davide, one of the curators of the town's archaeological museum,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01proudly introduced us to this long-lost treasure.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09- Que bella!- Bellissima!
0:26:09 > 0:26:11- Very impressive.- Yes, yes, yes.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18It's such a rare thing for a statue to come back.
0:26:18 > 0:26:21This idea of restitution, it's so unusual.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24And for the statue to have come back all the way from California
0:26:24 > 0:26:29- to this little town, that's almost like a David and Goliath story. - Yeah, yeah, you're right.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33When we found out that the trip of the statue was illegal,
0:26:33 > 0:26:38we tried to make this big step of the restitution.
0:26:38 > 0:26:41And we won. It's something very special. You're right.
0:26:41 > 0:26:46It must be a great feeling after years of feeling ripped off completely.
0:26:46 > 0:26:51Suddenly they got one over, not only, got one over the Americans,
0:26:51 > 0:26:55- which is really big for them! - What could be better than that?
0:26:55 > 0:26:59- It's like winning the World Cup in archaeological terms!- That's it!
0:27:02 > 0:27:06This statue's almost as old as the sculptures on the Parthenon in Greece.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09It's truly exceptional.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14How did they definitely establish it to the point the Getty were prepared to surrender it?
0:27:14 > 0:27:17Because of the proof of the material.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20The limestone was the same of the other statues here.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23So, it was DNA evidence.
0:27:23 > 0:27:25The archaeological equivalent of DNA evidence.
0:27:25 > 0:27:32That limestone has been geologically established as definitely, boom, X marks the spot.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34Exactly.
0:27:34 > 0:27:38- And where do you think she stood? - In the centre of the agora.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41So, it's the main square of Morgantina,
0:27:41 > 0:27:44because it was representative for all the city.
0:27:44 > 0:27:47- There's a mixture of the god but also the human.- Yes.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51- It's very human.- Exactly. It's human because of the body.
0:27:51 > 0:27:54- And she's a goddess because of the head.- The face, yeah.
0:27:54 > 0:27:58What I think's amazing about the sculpture is the sense of movement.
0:27:58 > 0:28:05This is that time in Greek sculpture when you got this tremendous sense of movement and energy.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07In fact, from here... Giorgio, come here.
0:28:07 > 0:28:10I think only from here...
0:28:10 > 0:28:13when you stand at this angle...
0:28:13 > 0:28:18Can you see how the sculptor has created, with the flow of the drapery backwards,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21with these wave-like forms, there's a sense of movement.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25- It shows her body kind of thing, advancing.- Exactly.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29And not just she's advancing, you think where she advancing to.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33She's Damita looking for her daughter, Persephone, in the Underworld,
0:28:33 > 0:28:37and she's got this solemn expression in her face, maybe even a bit of sadness.
0:28:37 > 0:28:41Yeah, it really gives you the sense of movement, for sure.
0:28:41 > 0:28:46Like of search, almost. It has this kind of searching sort of pose, isn't it?
0:28:46 > 0:28:49Exactly right. She's searching for her daughter
0:28:49 > 0:28:52to bring back spring, to bring back growth.
0:28:52 > 0:28:56So much in Sicily is about things growing, about fertility.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59The Greeks saw this place as a plentiful place.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Land was so rich.
0:29:02 > 0:29:04A tutta la Sicilia.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07Aw! Patron goddess of Sicily.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10- It's been such a pleasure. Thank you.- Thank you very much.
0:29:10 > 0:29:16- Thank you very much, Davide. It's been a great experience.- Thank you for coming.- We're delighted.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27And the food of Ancient Sicily is just as refined as the art.
0:29:29 > 0:29:35Back at our guesthouse, I treat Andrew to a recipe over 2,300 years old.
0:29:35 > 0:29:40It comes from a food guide called The Life Of Luxury,
0:29:40 > 0:29:44written by a brilliant Greek Sicilian named Archestratus.
0:29:44 > 0:29:47If people think about Italian cookery, you know,
0:29:47 > 0:29:52they always think about Apicius as being, actually, the main writer.
0:29:52 > 0:29:58Apicius was not the main writer. He portrayed very much the cooking of Rome.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03But you know, Archestratus was just a couple of hundred years before that,
0:30:03 > 0:30:08and to me, he really talks about what I'm talking about when we're talking about food,
0:30:08 > 0:30:11which is the quality of the raw ingredients, the knowledge.
0:30:11 > 0:30:14I tend to think of classical food, ancient food,
0:30:14 > 0:30:16as being quite heavily sauced and spiced,
0:30:16 > 0:30:19perhaps because they didn't have refrigeration
0:30:19 > 0:30:22- and they were perhaps wanting to cover up...- That's right.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25- ..certain things. - But this guy is a purist.
0:30:25 > 0:30:29He's the first guy who says, keep the meat rare.
0:30:29 > 0:30:34You know, we're talking about, you know, 3,000 years ago, you know,
0:30:34 > 0:30:37and this guy had this kind of knowledge.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39He had a very refined palate.
0:30:39 > 0:30:43He talks about using a piece of a she tuna, a female tuna,
0:30:43 > 0:30:45and the underbelly, so kind of nice and fatty.
0:30:45 > 0:30:49If you can think about this guy as somebody modern,
0:30:49 > 0:30:51that would have been like kind of a Michelin guy.
0:30:51 > 0:30:54But instead of being interested in a restaurant,
0:30:54 > 0:30:58he was interested in what town did what, fished what, grow what,
0:30:58 > 0:31:00what type of bread.
0:31:00 > 0:31:02- So, he's almost like a philosopher of food?- Yeah.
0:31:02 > 0:31:06I think he had a very heightened capacity of interpreting flavours.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10The recipe is so simple, you can't... It's like, you know,
0:31:10 > 0:31:12you don't mess about at all, it's just a piece of tuna,
0:31:12 > 0:31:16a little bit of olive oil and a touch of oregano
0:31:16 > 0:31:20which would have grown completely, like, wild all over the island.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23- What leaf are you using? - Using fig leaves.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25Fig leaves will release some flavour.
0:31:25 > 0:31:29Also, some other essential oils will help to flavour it.
0:31:29 > 0:31:32And it will keep it really moist.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37- Look at the time for me, yeah? - Sure, yeah, I've made a note. How long does it take?
0:31:37 > 0:31:41Six minutes I will give it. We like it rare, don't we? We don't want it extra cooked.
0:31:44 > 0:31:48OK, now it's roasting gently there, and...
0:31:55 > 0:31:57There you are! Perfection!
0:31:58 > 0:32:00That's your tuna wrap.
0:32:04 > 0:32:08I guess that maybe this would have been cooked in the street
0:32:08 > 0:32:10so you walk away with your fig leaves in your hand.
0:32:10 > 0:32:14- Early Greek-Sicilian takeaway! - Takeaway, yeah!
0:32:15 > 0:32:16Grazie.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21- It's a nice, straightforward way of cooking, isn't it?- Absolutely.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26- It's nice and rare. - This is pure food.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29So, eat it like an Ancient Greek, with the hand.
0:32:32 > 0:32:36Mmm. It's particularly nice in the middle.
0:32:36 > 0:32:40- Yeah.- That's really soft, but it's taken the flavour of the fire.
0:32:40 > 0:32:41Yeah.
0:32:43 > 0:32:47For me, food like this puts you in touch with the past
0:32:47 > 0:32:50just as vividly as any work of art.
0:32:50 > 0:32:53It's history you can eat!
0:32:58 > 0:33:01While the Greeks saw Sicily as an ethereal place,
0:33:01 > 0:33:04full of magic and mystery,
0:33:04 > 0:33:09the island's next great colonisers made Sicily their heaven on Earth.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18The Romans took over in the 3rd century BC,
0:33:18 > 0:33:21and there's a place nearby that shows just how sumptuous
0:33:21 > 0:33:24and lavish their world was.
0:33:24 > 0:33:26This is Villa Romana del Casale.
0:33:27 > 0:33:30Built in the 4th century, it boasts the largest collection
0:33:30 > 0:33:34of Roman mosaic floors anywhere in the world.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40It's like walking into a painting, isn't this?
0:33:40 > 0:33:44'The mosaics in here positively seethe with vivid detail,
0:33:44 > 0:33:48'intricately designed, brilliantly executed.
0:33:48 > 0:33:52'But there's one room in particular I want Giorgio to see.'
0:33:54 > 0:33:57Now, this is completely unique.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00There is nothing like this from the Ancient World
0:34:00 > 0:34:03that survives anywhere else except here.
0:34:03 > 0:34:05And if it hadn't been for the discovery of these mosaics,
0:34:05 > 0:34:07everybody would still think
0:34:07 > 0:34:10- the bikini was invented in the 20th century.- That's right!
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Here we are, we've got Ancient Roman girls wearing bikinis!
0:34:13 > 0:34:17You can see a woman running around on Bondi Beach now
0:34:17 > 0:34:19with their weight in their hands.
0:34:19 > 0:34:21- It's incredible! - It's amazing, isn't it?
0:34:21 > 0:34:25In Latin literature they record this thing that aristocrats would do,
0:34:25 > 0:34:29is that they would sponsor female gymnasts to engage in team sports.
0:34:29 > 0:34:32And they think that's what this shows.
0:34:32 > 0:34:36- So, these girls have all been competing in different sports. - Different sports.
0:34:36 > 0:34:39She's been given the victory palm.
0:34:39 > 0:34:45Look at this one. All different texture of colours of the skin on her belly. It's incredible, this.
0:34:45 > 0:34:49It's a tour de force. Modelling of human anatomy in mosaic is about as hard as it gets.
0:34:49 > 0:34:53Archaeologists get annoyed because the people who promote tourism here
0:34:53 > 0:34:55call them "the bikini girls",
0:34:55 > 0:34:58and they say, "No, they're not bikini girls, they're gymnasts!"
0:34:59 > 0:35:02'Nobody's sure who lived here,
0:35:02 > 0:35:06'but they think it might have been the summer retreat of a Roman emperor.
0:35:06 > 0:35:10'And there are some mosaic images here that certainly feel like
0:35:10 > 0:35:13'a proclamation of Roman power on Sicilian soil,
0:35:13 > 0:35:17'a statement they really were here to stay.'
0:35:17 > 0:35:20I guess in part, it was the Romans' way of showing
0:35:20 > 0:35:23anybody who came here that they had power.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27All the way from Asia to Africa, they could take whatever they wanted.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31These wild beasts symbolise the reach of their empire.
0:35:31 > 0:35:33The detail of everything is just incredible.
0:35:33 > 0:35:38How they managed to do something on a large scale like that.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41In some ways, it's almost like naive art.
0:35:41 > 0:35:45All the figures have got these sort of strange shapes.
0:35:45 > 0:35:49What is it? It's actually a diagrammatic version of a shadow.
0:35:49 > 0:35:50Right.
0:35:50 > 0:35:54These people look like they've got things attached to their feet.
0:35:54 > 0:35:56They're meant to be their shadows.
0:35:56 > 0:35:58This is one of the most spectacular rooms.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02'Although the mosaics were first unearthed in the 19th century,
0:36:02 > 0:36:06'it was 100 years before a complete restoration started in 1991.
0:36:06 > 0:36:10'Peter and Elena are two of the army of conservators
0:36:10 > 0:36:15'painstakingly restoring the mosaics to their original splendour.
0:36:15 > 0:36:18'They allowed us to take a sneak peek at the work still in progress.'
0:36:21 > 0:36:24Elena, when you have the information...
0:36:24 > 0:36:28HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:36:28 > 0:36:32..you can complete the shape, is that right?
0:36:32 > 0:36:33Yes.
0:36:46 > 0:36:49She's matching the whites at the moment.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52And then she'll reveal it after.
0:36:52 > 0:36:56It's a painstaking job, isn't it?
0:37:09 > 0:37:12If she's in any way doubtful,
0:37:12 > 0:37:15she'll create an abstract jumble of forms
0:37:15 > 0:37:18that are in the right set of colours,
0:37:18 > 0:37:23so that when you visit and look down, you can see...
0:37:23 > 0:37:28Your eye is not distracted by a great big blank.
0:37:28 > 0:37:29THEY SPEAK IN ITALIAN
0:37:32 > 0:37:35I'll try to make one. I'm going to contribute to this.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:37:51 > 0:37:55This feels really nice to be part of these things, this process.
0:37:55 > 0:37:58Thank you.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00- HE SPEAKS ITALIAN - This colour?
0:38:00 > 0:38:02It's nice to get a feel of it.
0:38:02 > 0:38:04How many tesserae are there here?
0:38:04 > 0:38:07- 120 million?- Millions. We've done one each.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10THEY LAUGH
0:38:10 > 0:38:13- It's not a big contribution but it's something.- Yeah!
0:38:17 > 0:38:22'For me, the villa's a kind of emblem of what's happened to Sicily.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26'A jewel of the Ancient World, hidden for years,
0:38:26 > 0:38:29'but now being given a new lease of life.'
0:38:32 > 0:38:37And this renaissance extends to the agriculture of Sicily.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40The food produced here, like the art,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44is experiencing a revival of fortune.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48Sicily's colonisers exported the crops grown here for centuries.
0:38:48 > 0:38:52But with the rise of the Mafia, it became more difficult
0:38:52 > 0:38:55to trade successfully with other countries.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59Now that's changing and one of the greatest success stories
0:38:59 > 0:39:02is the most Mediterranean of fruits -
0:39:02 > 0:39:04the tomato.
0:39:04 > 0:39:09We've come to Pachino in the south-east of the island
0:39:09 > 0:39:14where today the regional cherry tomatoes are its most prized export.
0:39:18 > 0:39:23Pachino's seaside location, with its mineral rich soil and sandy climate
0:39:23 > 0:39:28make it perfect for cultivating tomatoes.
0:39:28 > 0:39:31Salvatore is one of the growers
0:39:31 > 0:39:35managing to capture the unique taste of this territory in the produce.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39Salvatore, what's the secret?
0:39:39 > 0:39:43HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:39:45 > 0:39:49The hard work.
0:40:01 > 0:40:03Oh, you've even got a...
0:40:03 > 0:40:06you've even got a piece of volcanic lava in the...
0:40:06 > 0:40:07Stone, yeah.
0:40:07 > 0:40:08HE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:40:12 > 0:40:13The water...
0:40:13 > 0:40:17The type of water that's not... that's not too sweet, not too soft?
0:40:17 > 0:40:18No, it's kind of salty.
0:40:26 > 0:40:29- Like the saltwater gives a certain taste.- A certain taste.
0:40:29 > 0:40:32It's always good to have salt with tomatoes anyway, isn't it?
0:40:32 > 0:40:37And what really is amazing, it is like with the grapes,
0:40:37 > 0:40:39you know, to keep the tree under stress,
0:40:39 > 0:40:43that really allowed you to have a superior quality tomato.
0:40:43 > 0:40:47So, you don't want a tree that yields millions of tomatoes?
0:40:47 > 0:40:48Millions of tomatoes.
0:40:48 > 0:40:51ANDREW SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:40:54 > 0:40:57SALVATORE SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:41:03 > 0:41:05This greenhouse is not a greenhouse.
0:41:05 > 0:41:08This is like a house where you protect your family.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11- Family.- here is your house where you protect your tomato.
0:41:11 > 0:41:13So, that allowed you to have
0:41:13 > 0:41:15something that hasn't got any pesticides
0:41:15 > 0:41:17and nothing gets preyed on...
0:41:17 > 0:41:20So, the function of the greenhouse is not primarily to concentrate
0:41:20 > 0:41:23or focus the heat, it's actually just to protect?
0:41:23 > 0:41:24To protect.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27What would be the opposite end of this beautiful tomato?
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Would it be like some kind of Dutch tunnel, full of water?
0:41:31 > 0:41:33Aiming for size, instead of flavour.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36So, you end up with lots of tomatoes that kind of taste of water?
0:41:36 > 0:41:39They look all the same, they're perfectly looking...
0:41:39 > 0:41:42on the look, but they don't have any flavour left in them.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45And so each one of these is kind of...
0:41:45 > 0:41:48it's concentrated the flavour of that volcanic soil,
0:41:48 > 0:41:52so you're ending up with a kind of Sicilian taste-bomb of this...
0:41:52 > 0:41:54You're eating a piece of Sicily then.
0:41:54 > 0:41:57You literally are having a piece of Sicily.
0:41:57 > 0:41:59It tastes good!
0:41:59 > 0:42:00This produce is...
0:42:00 > 0:42:04I feel then, somebody in London can have access to a tomato like that,
0:42:04 > 0:42:07he can feel like he's spending an afternoon in Sicily
0:42:07 > 0:42:09when he's having lunch in my restaurant.
0:42:09 > 0:42:12So, if you make Pasta al Pomodoro Fresco with his tomatoes...
0:42:12 > 0:42:15- Yeah.- ..that's a collaboration, that's not just a Giorgio dish...?
0:42:15 > 0:42:19No, that's... 75% is his job.
0:42:19 > 0:42:21And only 25 mine.
0:42:21 > 0:42:23And I'm taking all the credit as well!
0:42:23 > 0:42:26ALL LAUGH
0:42:30 > 0:42:33There have always been people like Salvatore here in Sicily -
0:42:33 > 0:42:37ordinary workers making an honest living off the land,
0:42:37 > 0:42:42as those in charge of the island play out their own agendas.
0:42:44 > 0:42:48To many foreigners, Sicily was simply the home of Mafia villains.
0:42:48 > 0:42:53So much so that the real world of ordinary Sicilians
0:42:53 > 0:42:55was obscured for years.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01But someone has been documenting this hidden Sicily.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05We've come to the town of Ragusa to meet a photographer
0:43:05 > 0:43:09who's been taking pictures of Sicily for over 50 years.
0:43:09 > 0:43:13Giuseppe Leone's pictures have won him many fans,
0:43:13 > 0:43:15including the fashion designers Dolce and Gabbana
0:43:15 > 0:43:20who were inspired by his sensual pictures of Sicilian women.
0:43:20 > 0:43:23But what I find compelling about Giuseppe's pictures
0:43:23 > 0:43:27is how the changes in Sicilian life are captured in subtle ways.
0:43:33 > 0:43:35Yeah.
0:43:52 > 0:43:55He's nostalgic about this world.
0:44:01 > 0:44:05And the boat is so small, and you know,
0:44:05 > 0:44:08the risk that is taken to go out fishing is enormous!
0:44:08 > 0:44:12Again, like, there's no radar, there's no nothing,
0:44:12 > 0:44:15it's just going out, getting the food and just bringing it back.
0:44:15 > 0:44:17And it's just so real.
0:44:42 > 0:44:44This idea of living your life in the street,
0:44:44 > 0:44:47that the street is almost a public form of theatre.
0:44:47 > 0:44:50GIORGIO SPEAKS ITALIAN
0:45:01 > 0:45:05It's almost like that's their bedroom, this is their living room.
0:45:06 > 0:45:09Andrew, I love this picture because it reminds me so much
0:45:09 > 0:45:10when I was little
0:45:10 > 0:45:14and the people in the village would take all part of the wedding.
0:45:14 > 0:45:17Obviously they all went to the celebration.
0:45:17 > 0:45:19So, everyone in the village...
0:45:19 > 0:45:21Everybody would be out, everybody would see it
0:45:21 > 0:45:26and wait for the sposa, the bride, to come,
0:45:26 > 0:45:31especially if the bride was from the village, everybody would be there.
0:45:31 > 0:45:33I love this cast of characters.
0:45:33 > 0:45:34I mean, I love...
0:45:34 > 0:45:37Actually, I really love the way he's used the chiaroscuro...
0:45:37 > 0:45:40This...way that the light has caught the bride
0:45:40 > 0:45:42and she looks so happy,
0:45:42 > 0:45:44and all the older generation are watching.
0:45:44 > 0:45:48He looks like maybe he's remembering the day he got married.
0:45:49 > 0:45:51Look at her! What a face!
0:46:01 > 0:46:04Theatricals is so important.
0:46:34 > 0:46:38- He wants to show us an extraordinary... - Something extraordinary.- OK.
0:46:41 > 0:46:44No way! Look at that!
0:46:48 > 0:46:50It's unbelievable!
0:46:50 > 0:46:52These are the old gargoyles.
0:46:52 > 0:46:53Yes.
0:46:55 > 0:46:57Oh, no. Look!
0:46:57 > 0:46:58'I love these pictures.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02'They're so beautiful, full of humanity and fun.'
0:47:05 > 0:47:08I think the Sicily in Giuseppe's pictures is the best of the island.
0:47:10 > 0:47:14Proud, sincere, with a strong sense of identity.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19And I believe time won't change that.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22Sicily's had so many foreign influences over the years
0:47:22 > 0:47:25but it's never compromised its true essence.
0:47:27 > 0:47:29'That's why I think Sicilians
0:47:29 > 0:47:32'can now afford to start taking more chances.'
0:47:33 > 0:47:38I know of a rising star, a chef in the nearby town of Modica,
0:47:38 > 0:47:41who is taking the best of Sicily food tradition
0:47:41 > 0:47:43and putting a modern twist on them.
0:47:44 > 0:47:4715 years ago, Accursio Craparo's restaurant, La Gazza Ladra,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50would have struggled to attract visitors.
0:47:50 > 0:47:53But today, it's got a Michelin star
0:47:53 > 0:47:56and diners are queuing up
0:47:56 > 0:47:59to sample his inventive take on Sicilian food.
0:48:00 > 0:48:02Buongiorno!
0:48:02 > 0:48:03Buongiorno!
0:48:03 > 0:48:05- Hello.- Hello.
0:48:05 > 0:48:06Andrew.
0:48:06 > 0:48:11'We arrive just before lunch and Accursio offers to make us
0:48:11 > 0:48:14'one of his most original recipes -
0:48:14 > 0:48:16'a tuna-fish burger with oyster tonic.'
0:48:19 > 0:48:21Accursio...
0:48:39 > 0:48:41He loves sandwiches!
0:48:43 > 0:48:44Food.
0:48:44 > 0:48:48- Street food, again, for Sicilian is important.- Right.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54'This dish may be inspired by Sicilian street food,
0:48:54 > 0:48:59'just a simple panino like they have been making here for centuries,
0:48:59 > 0:49:04'but Accursio's version has an ingenious modern twist!'
0:49:05 > 0:49:07I assume this is the burger?
0:49:13 > 0:49:14OK, it's turning around.
0:49:14 > 0:49:18The bread of the panino, of the burger, is fish!
0:49:18 > 0:49:21So, basically, he's... he's creating something
0:49:21 > 0:49:25that's going to fool my brain into thinking it's like a burger bun?
0:49:25 > 0:49:27That's exactly...
0:49:27 > 0:49:30You have this absolute fishcake that will be incredible!
0:49:30 > 0:49:34The famous sesame seeds that you find in every bread.
0:49:41 > 0:49:42OK.
0:49:46 > 0:49:48He takes the part from right to the tail,
0:49:48 > 0:49:51so hard, and so when you eat, when you're going to eat it
0:49:51 > 0:49:54you're going to have a little bit of bite into that.
0:49:54 > 0:49:56It's beautiful tuna, isn't it?
0:49:58 > 0:50:02'It only took a few minutes to steam Accursio's burger bun,
0:50:02 > 0:50:05'but it still didn't look like bread to me!'
0:50:13 > 0:50:15Ah, now I get it!
0:50:21 > 0:50:23Mm. It's like a little joke on a Big Mac, right?
0:50:23 > 0:50:25It's like a Mini Mac!
0:50:36 > 0:50:40'And there was one final stage to the dish.'
0:50:45 > 0:50:47He wants me to drink an oyster?!
0:50:47 > 0:50:49That's right.
0:50:57 > 0:50:58ANDREW LAUGHS
0:50:58 > 0:50:59Ah!
0:51:04 > 0:51:06Mm!
0:51:06 > 0:51:08Mmmm! Man!
0:51:08 > 0:51:10Is...is it a good joke?
0:51:10 > 0:51:12It's a very good joke.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14- All in one.- All in one.
0:51:14 > 0:51:15Yeah.
0:51:15 > 0:51:16Due?
0:51:16 > 0:51:17Maybe two.
0:51:18 > 0:51:22And it's like the waves hitting the rocks.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26It is, the waves hit the rocks.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28Ah!
0:51:33 > 0:51:35Accursio, grazie.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37Grazie per la gita in barca.
0:51:37 > 0:51:39Thank you for the boat trip!
0:51:39 > 0:51:41ALL LAUGH
0:51:41 > 0:51:43- Grazie.- Grazie.
0:51:47 > 0:51:51Accursio managed to combine the old and the new so easily.
0:51:53 > 0:51:55He is the epitome of the new Sicilian -
0:51:55 > 0:52:00someone generating fresh ideas, but still keeping faith in their roots.
0:52:03 > 0:52:07On our trip, we've seen many positive stories like Accursio's
0:52:07 > 0:52:10scattered all across the island.
0:52:10 > 0:52:12I think Sicily's reaching a turning point...
0:52:14 > 0:52:16..and the islanders are finally understanding
0:52:16 > 0:52:20and appreciating the richness of their own heritage.
0:52:21 > 0:52:24I wonder what they can do to keep this new energy alive?
0:52:27 > 0:52:29For the final stop on the trip
0:52:29 > 0:52:32we have returned to the capital, Palermo,
0:52:32 > 0:52:35where I think we may find the answer.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40We are visiting a prince at his grand palazzo in the city centre.
0:52:43 > 0:52:47- It's a kind of unassuming doorway, isn't it?- It is.
0:52:49 > 0:52:51- Hello.- Buongiorno.
0:52:51 > 0:52:53'Principe Bernardo Tortorici's family
0:52:53 > 0:52:56'have been in Sicily since the 12th century.'
0:52:56 > 0:52:57Ciao.
0:52:57 > 0:52:58Giorgio Locatelli.
0:52:58 > 0:53:00Thank you for having us.
0:53:00 > 0:53:02Who would imagine that that was here?!
0:53:02 > 0:53:04Coming from that little street,
0:53:04 > 0:53:06we never imagined that something like that was...
0:53:06 > 0:53:09I can't help my eye being drawn to this lady here.
0:53:09 > 0:53:11- Is she one of your ancestors?- Yes.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14She's a very important ancestor because she was...
0:53:16 > 0:53:20..so rich and so beautiful, as you can see, that...
0:53:20 > 0:53:22ALL LAUGH
0:53:22 > 0:53:26- But she's got character in her face, hasn't she?- Beautiful dress.
0:53:26 > 0:53:29It's a Bottaro of the 18th century.
0:53:29 > 0:53:30Bottaro, I love that!
0:53:33 > 0:53:39'I wanted to know what the prince would make of our experience in Sicily.'
0:53:39 > 0:53:40One of the things that struck me
0:53:40 > 0:53:43on this... travelling that we've done,
0:53:43 > 0:53:45this journey that we've done,
0:53:45 > 0:53:48was that...I saw the youth,
0:53:48 > 0:53:51I saw the young people
0:53:51 > 0:53:55having this great passion of reclaiming their culture.
0:53:55 > 0:53:57I mean, we were in Aidone,
0:53:57 > 0:54:01and we saw this statue
0:54:01 > 0:54:04that has been reclaimed from the Getty Museum, and...
0:54:04 > 0:54:07There was the young curator and he was so...
0:54:07 > 0:54:09The whole town was proud, but the young curator,
0:54:09 > 0:54:12you could see, he was visibly proud,
0:54:12 > 0:54:14you know, that, "We in Sicily have taken that back".
0:54:14 > 0:54:16It's like, Sicily 1, America 0,
0:54:16 > 0:54:19we've got it back from the Getty Museum.
0:54:19 > 0:54:22The Aidone statue from the Getty Museum
0:54:22 > 0:54:28was to have back something beautiful, which was Sicilian.
0:54:28 > 0:54:32So, I'm sure that when a Sicilian
0:54:32 > 0:54:34has back beauty,
0:54:34 > 0:54:39he is proud of his territory or his country
0:54:39 > 0:54:45because we produce... beauty always in art,
0:54:45 > 0:54:47and the territory is beautiful,
0:54:47 > 0:54:51the sea is beautiful, the sun is beautiful, the food is beautiful.
0:54:51 > 0:54:55Sicily must go after its beauty.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59All the contemporary art, all the food,
0:54:59 > 0:55:01all the beauty that we produce
0:55:01 > 0:55:05must be the sense of the future of Sicily.
0:55:05 > 0:55:09So, the answer for Sicily is,
0:55:09 > 0:55:12look at what you've got, or for the youth is,
0:55:12 > 0:55:15look at what you've got, look at your beauty and valorise it.
0:55:15 > 0:55:18Yes, and try to do it better. To grow with these things.
0:55:18 > 0:55:25- Build...- You have these things, grow yourself and grow these things.
0:55:26 > 0:55:29Principe, it's been a great pleasure to talk to you, and...
0:55:29 > 0:55:32'Our audience with the prince
0:55:32 > 0:55:36'confirmed everything we'd seen and experienced on our trip.'
0:55:38 > 0:55:43This place is a truly unique cornucopia of tastes,
0:55:43 > 0:55:45cultures and influences,
0:55:45 > 0:55:49but above all, a place of incredible beauty.
0:55:52 > 0:55:56We're spending our final evening in Sicily down by the seafront...
0:55:58 > 0:56:02..the perfect place to get away from the intense summer heat of the city.
0:56:02 > 0:56:05I feel I've seen sides to Sicily on this trip
0:56:05 > 0:56:08I've never witnessed or even thought about before,
0:56:08 > 0:56:13and that's because Giorgio and I teamed up and came here together.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16I think the thing that I never really realised
0:56:16 > 0:56:19until I came and saw Sicily from your perspective, through the food,
0:56:19 > 0:56:23I never realised how completely the different cultures
0:56:23 > 0:56:25that shape the art that I love here
0:56:25 > 0:56:27completely shape the food.
0:56:27 > 0:56:30It's like the art and the food are a mirror image of each other.
0:56:30 > 0:56:32So, you go from a beautiful Arab building,
0:56:32 > 0:56:36straight to the fact that the Arabs left this legacy of sweet and sour,
0:56:36 > 0:56:38and all of the vegetables that they brought.
0:56:38 > 0:56:41Or you go from the Greek temple to the recipe of Archestratus,
0:56:41 > 0:56:44that at every layer, it's a complete...
0:56:44 > 0:56:47- It's represented. - It's represented, yeah.
0:56:47 > 0:56:49This time, just looking at
0:56:49 > 0:56:52all the art and the architecture with you,
0:56:52 > 0:56:55it really put it together as a whole thing.
0:56:55 > 0:56:57And as a cuisine, and it's out,
0:56:57 > 0:57:01not comes out, not from the mind,
0:57:01 > 0:57:04comes out from the belly of the people, you know, what I mean?
0:57:04 > 0:57:05Yeah, yeah.
0:57:05 > 0:57:08That's why I feel it's so important for me to come here with my chefs
0:57:08 > 0:57:11and bring them here to see this and see what they work out with that.
0:57:11 > 0:57:15I hope you're going to take them to some art galleries next time you...
0:57:15 > 0:57:16Definitely!
0:57:16 > 0:57:20I'm going to look like, really with authority, talking to them about it.
0:57:23 > 0:57:26And it won't be my final trip to Sicily either.
0:57:26 > 0:57:28I'm definitely coming back!
0:57:52 > 0:57:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:57:55 > 0:57:58E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk