Guest Stories
Sally Veillette founded Hands-On Sicily from a series of playful interactions in the piazza that blossomed into a way to unite diverse worlds. She has been recognized as a “pioneer of relational tourism in Sicily,” i.e., tourism that is more than just inviting foreigners to come and bask in the strong Sicilian sun. It started out simply, as most things like this naturally do. It was a way for her to find something to do in the small rural beach town—inviting people to share it with her. Then, once she sensed how appreciative both the guests and the locals were, she continued, hosting groups, writing, and creating a music CD with the children.
Here are some of the Guest Stories. (Most of our guests just come, rent a room for a day, week, year or two, and enjoy the Sicilian sun. Those adventurous—like the ones listed in these stories—did a little bit more. J)
We encourage everyone to buy our Cuore Siciliano CDs because a portion of the proceeds go to funding the Italian non-profit organization “Associazione Hands-On Sicily”—funding international programs for Sicilian youth. Thanks in advance for your support.
As a gift to our guests who rent Hands-On Sicily villas or apartments, we will connect you with members of the community who are a lot of fun and offer many great services from taxi driving and cultural excursions to private cooking classes, wine tastings, Italian lessons, hiking trips, painting classes, photography excursions, classical music concerts, karaoke, personal shopping, and in-home beauty and wellness treatments. Hands-On Sicily does not charge a fee—it’s our pleasure! Guests pay the service providers directly.
For people who want Hands-On Sicily to help them organize larger events in Sicily, please contact Sally at sally@handsonsicily.com.
1. Writing Sabbaticals (Oct 1997)
Inspiration comes easily with this view
Coming To Your Senses, award-winning personal growth book by Hands-On Sicily founder Sally M. Veillette, was written in her grandfather’s seaside apartment in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily. The vast Mediterranean view, fresh scents of bread baking in the piazza’s pasticceria below, inspired Seattle writer Kris Steinnes to come out for a writing sabbatical, as well. (Hands-On Sicily offers rental apartments and villas… with special long-term rates for artists and volunteers.) 
Written in Sicily, awarded Silver Medal in America! [link to buy] LEARN MORE…
2. Cooking Video: American Kid Recipes Cooked Italian-Style (Aug 2006).
Two distant cousins bridge the cultural gap
When Sally Veillette and her daughter Chiara first moved to Sicily, their cousin Pina Nifosì helped Sally learn how to make the traditional American kid dishes the Italian way. Pizza from scratch, spaghetti with meatballs, and freshly-breaded chicken fingers—coltolette—top the menu. Fish and chips. Macaroni and cheese. Gone is the trip to the freezer section, in exchange for natural ingredients—with a healthy dose of motherly love.
Pina Nifosi’ teaches her American cousin Sally how to cook for children the natural way
3. Family Comes First (Aug 2006).
Susan Sarandon. Rachael Ray. What do they have that you might not? Sicilian relatives. Yes, Susan came out to Ragusa in August 2006 to return to her grandparent’s roots, and be crowned an honorary citizen. Newly-elected mayor Nello Dispasquale and politician Ciccio Barone are at her side (see photo) as she signs the official documents. Some weeks later, while Susan was a guest on the Rachael Ray Show in the USA, they chuckled over their common Sicilian ancestry. Hands-On Sicily brought the show’s transcript directly to the Ragusa City Hall. 
I wonder if Giovanni Nifosi’ and Francesca Campo, great-grandparents of Hands-On Sicily founder, Sally Veillette, knew Susan’s? LEARN MORE…
4. Marina di Ragusa Development (Sept 2006).
Dreams have come true in Marina di Ragusa. In 2009, a modern tourist port was inaugurated with room for 900 boats. In 2010, a new boardwalk linked the port to the piazza.
Sally Veillette and Bozena Nowak, two ex-patriots living in Marina di Ragusa, Sicily, teamed up with local college student Dinella Giardina. They set up a stand in the piazza during the Addio dell’Estate summer-end celebration to ask people’s opinions of how they’d like to see the beach town grow. Over 300 surveys were collected, the results given to City Hall. The new (young, handsome, ambitious, talented and visionary) mayor, Nello Dipasquale, pleased by the gesture, invited the trio to present the results to the town at the park dedicated to Padre Pio. LEARN MORE…
5. A.C. Milan Youth Soccer Tournament (April 2007)
Gianni Marotta’s dream was to bring opportunities to the youth of the Province of Ragusa, his birthplace—Hands-On Sicily’s, too! Together we produced this TV spot for Ragusa Costa d’Oro, filming on the beach directly under Sally’s grandfather’s balcony and at Milanello with Paolo Maldini
When Gianni Marotta, gardener-for-the-stars in Milan, offered to hook Ragusa up with his client, Italian soccer legend Paolo Maldini (captain of A.C. Milan at the time), Sally Veillette, founder of Hands-On Sicily, got right to work. Teaming with Ragusa sports commissioner Ciccio Barone (in what we hadn’t realized was a first-time event of its kind), Gianni and Sally brought six teams of 12-year old athletes together for the premier edition of Ragusa Costa d’Oro tournament for youth aged 12 and under. Dinamo Zagabria won over A.C. Milan’s youth team, Palermo, Messina, Alcamo, Rossolini, Ragusa and Ragusa Costa d’Oro in an impressive display of teammanship.
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini generously donated his image to the event. Meeting him in the exclusive Milanello training camp near Milan was a privilege. LEARN MORE…
6. Feel Like a Woman (Sept 2007).
Photographer-filmmaker Vito Zagarrio is pictured here with Caterina d’Amico and Sally Veillette, Hands-On Sicily founder
People normally think of Milan as the fashion center of Italy, but you’d be surprised what beauty Sicily can bring out in you—of both the inner and outer varieties(!). Italian-American Caterina d’Amico posed for a series of photos with stunning rock and sea back-drops. “I felt so alive,” said Caterina. Some Hands-On Sicily guests enjoy shopping in Ragusa’s city center or nearby Modica. Others enjoy in-room massages, hair styling, and make-up. Barbara Arezzi, goldsmith from Arte Iblea in Ragusa Ibla, makes custom jewelry for our guests, as she did for the Norwegian couple whom we helped elope!. [Elope in Sicily Article] (When people rent Hands-On Sicily villas or apartments, we link them up to local services—for free. It’s our way to serve the community.)
Goddesses, as depicted by Ragusan artist Giovanni Lissandrello
7. Volunteer Week for US High School Students (April 2008)
A group of Seattle teenager volunteers tour Ragusa Ibla
When Juliet, a high school exchange student hosted by Hands-On Sicily, invited her sister and friends to visit from Seattle for spring break, Hands-On Sicily set up a series of engaging volunteer activities. The teenagers designed, printed and distributed a promotional postcard in English for the A.C. Milan summer soccer camp, participated as native English speakers in a business language class, set up pen pals for the local linguistics high school, and picked out which Modica chocolate factory would be most appealing to foreign guests. There was plenty of time for swimming, too!
Claire and Laura Lee go for a swim, March 2008
8. Cooking Hands-On (May 2008).
“Hands-on” doesn’t have a direct translation in Italian. The best we can do is “mani in pasta,” which literally means “hands in pasta,” implying that you are inside whatever it is that you are doing. (Of course Italians must relate everything to food!) In Hands-On Sicily’s first branded program, Cooking Hands-On!, we did just that. Guests cooked side-by-side, arm-in-arm, and cheek-to-cheek with Sicilian chefs, grandmothers, and pastry experts. Excursions into neighboring historical sites began each morning. Cooking meals together topped off each night. Zia Tina Veninata and granddaughter Giulia cook with the guests. Photo by Marla McDonald
 Valerio Reale makes agnolotti for a Hands-On Sicily gathering |
 First, you make fresh pasta. Then you fill it |
 The finished product |
9. English Hands-On! (June 2008)
Sicilian parents wanted their children to be excited about learning English
Local mothers asked (begged!) Hands-On Sicily to launch English Hands-On, a summer language day camp. The team leader was a bi-lingual Ragusan clown—pagliaccio. The small group teachers were laypeople (tourists, even Sally’s mom!) who used song, playful romping around, and recitation to encourage the local children to learn to love the English language. We designed theatrical backdrops to use to sciogliere le lingue (“melt” the kids’ tongues, so to speak). An all-English recital and American-style barbecue topped off the week—to the delight of the proud parents. 
The media noted that English Hands-On transmitted the positive American spirit to the children, as well as the language LEARN MORE…
10. Helping Autism/Asperger’s (Aug 2008).
Amory, a child with autism, experiences Sicily for the first time
Hands-On Sicily founder Sally Veillette played a hunch. She invited a college professor from southern California, who has a child with autism, to come visit. Sally wanted to see how this youngster, age 11, would react to Sicily. Her bet was that, due to its emotional richness (and Sicily’s comfort with an increased range of emotion, in general), the child’s experience would be a particularly good one. She was right.
Amory with his mother
“For me, it was great to see Amory enjoy food in a different way than he had before—finishing his very first full plate of pasta!” exclaimed his mother. LEARN MORE…
11. Marina di Ragusa Waterfront Design (Aug 2008).
Picture this: A classroom full of architecture students in far off Melbourne, Australia, spending a semester designing a new waterfront for tiny little Marina di Ragusa, Sicily. It happened. The three winners received scholarships—and a trip to Marina di Ragusa—thanks to the Associazione Ragusani nel Mondo—the non-profit association “Ragusans in the World.” Hands-On Sicily celebrated their accomplishment. 
Marina Kazul, Nikhita Madabouska and Elaine Tzimokas won a contest to design Marina di Ragusa’s waterfront. The ladies are pictured here with Sebastiano d’Angelo, director of the Associazione Ragusani nel Mondo, and Sally Veillette, founder of Hands-On Sicily. Mayor Nello Dipasquale wants the boardwalk to be the longest in Italy—three kilometers. Photo by Giovanni Noto
African music group
Hands-On Sicily supported the Associazione’s efforts by hosting an event for Australian and Ragusan architects. The beat from the African music group from Modica reached into Marina di Ragusa’s piazza. Photo by Giovanni Noto. LEARN MORE…
12. Wellness Weekend (Sept 2008)
Chiropractors Anthony Page, Samantha Longfield and Melvyn Foey bring their clients to Marina di Ragusa for a wellness weekend. Hands-On Sicily invited locals to participate.
This wellness event was another first of its kind in Sicily. Typically when foreign groups come to host a retreat, they bring their clients with them and stay, secluded, in a resort. Hands-On Sicily teamed with three American and English chiropractors to host, by contrast, an international retreat with an equal number of off-island and Sicilian participants. Guests were lodged at a four-star hotel integrated into the heart of Marina di Ragusa (Hotel Terraqua).
Natural healing techniques promote wellness
13. Elope in Sicily!
The happy couple from Oslo, Norway, eloped in Sicily. Photo by Giovanni Noto
Trond and Iren, a Norwegian couple who were coming down to Sicily for a wellness retreat , asked Sally Veillette, Hands-On Sicily founder, if it would be possible to get married while they were on the island. They’d wanted to elope, they explained, then have a reception at home. We said “Assolutamente, si’!” In two short weeks, the entire wedding was arranged.
Hands-On Sicily helped the couple fill out the paperwork at the Ragusan City Hall
14. Suono del Cuore Siciliano (April 2009).
Kathy Chiavola from Nashville greets the thirty-six Sicilian singers, ages 6 to 22, that were selected by an intercontinental group of Hands-On Sicily judges.
An internet-based singing contest, originally entitled “Suono Siciliano” (Sicilian Sound), was the biggest challenge that Hands-On Sicily has taken on yet—and most heart-felt. International judges from four continents picked 36 winners. A young American artist spent a month in Ragusa to design a logo with students from Comiso’s Instituto d’Arte. SurReale Studios in Agrigento spent six months recording and making custom soundtracks for the twenty-nine songs. Nashville star Kathy Chiavola performed and recorded an original song with the children. Brown University got involved, performing concerts with the kids in Ragusa and Comiso, then recording a song together for the CD. Nellie Rustick, a young American soprano, recorded the final track with Sicilian tenor Nunzio Gambini. Brancato Multimedia in Catania renamed the double CD set Cuore Siciliano (Sicilian Heart) in honor of the love that so many people have put into the project. The entire island of Sicily was involved, in what may be the first collaborative project in its three-thousand year history. “When we first said that, we felt presumptuous,” noted Sally Veillette, Hands-On Sicily founder, “But from the reaction of the locals throughout the project development, we knew it to be true. There has been a special energy around this project from the beginning.” Special, indeed. You see, Veillette had been diagnosed with a brain tumor just five short months before the project began. When she was getting the tumor (thankfully benign) removed in the States, she’d had the idea to launch an island-wide singing contest. “I was in a Denver hospital at the time, recovering from the operation,” Sally recalls, “Lots of my old friends were calling me to wish me well. They were curious as to why I’d chosen to raise my daughter in remote Sicily. The children’s voices speak for themselves… who wouldn’t want their daughter to be filled with so much emotion?” The Cuore Siciliano double-CD set will be sold to benefit Associazione Hands-On Sicily, and fund future opportunities for Sicilian youth.
Hands-On Sicily began the Suono Siciliano (“Sicilian Sound”)
The entire island of Sicily was involved, in what may be the first collaborative project in its three-thousand year history. “When we first said that, we felt presumptuous,” noted Sally Veillette, Hands-On Sicily founder, “But from the reaction of the locals throughout the project development, we knew it to be true. There has been a special energy around this project from the beginning.”
For 36 of Sicily’s youth, it’s a dream come true
Special, indeed. You see, Veillette had been diagnosed with a brain tumor just five short months before the project began. When she was getting the tumor (thankfully benign) removed in the States, she’d had the idea to launch an island-wide singing contest. “I was in a Denver hospital at the time, recovering from the operation,” Sally recalls, “Lots of my old friends were calling me to wish me well. They were curious as to why I’d chosen to raise my daughter in remote Sicily. The children’s voices speak for themselves… who wouldn’t want their daughter to be filled with so much emotion?”
The Cuore Siciliano double-CD set will be sold to benefit Associazione Hands-On Sicily and fund future opportunities for Sicilian youth.
15. Skype Kids (Nov 2009-April 2010).
Chatham, New York, connects with Sicily
When Hands-On Sicily founder, Sally Veillette, brought her daughter back to America for second grade (to pick up English as second “first language”—now that’s a tongue twister!), Sicily was brought into the foreground once again. The upstate New York elementary school enjoyed regular video calls with Chiara’s Marina di Ragusa classmates. Chiara translated.
Marina di Ragusa, Sicily, connects with America.
Follow Us!
Like us (below), follow our Facebook updates and share with your friends…
