SICILY

evocative Italian dishes”. Cuisine of Cilento
and in particular of the towns of Sicilì and
Pisciotta is the base for the menu offered
by the restaurant. You can begin with
an hors d’oeuvre of provola cheese with
anchovies and then try one of the versions
of cavatelli as a starter. The many other
starters include fusilli, spaghetti, penne and
fettuccine while main dishes range from
pork cutlet alla Siciliana to hunter’s-style kid
of Cilento as well as crêpes.
Arancini Cantina Italiana of Sao Paolo
returns us to Sicily. There are about 60
places in this restaurant which suggests
a small tavola calda. There’s a welcoming
family atmosphere and the Italian origins
are emphasized by a site whose home
page greets the visitor with Luigi Denza’s
Funicolì Funicolà. The restaurant, notable
for its homemade pasta, offers classic
Sicilian rice-balls, bruschette, a list of soups
and even a fondue inside a bread loaf.
If you want something lighter there’s a
Sicilian-style salad with buffalo mozzarella
cheese, or Luigi’s specialities. These are a
series of starters such as fettuccine with
oil and garlic or spaghetti with seafood.
Tortelloni with ricotta cheese, fried meat
balls and numerous other dishes (the menu
is extensive) can also be accompanied by a
Sicilian wine such as Corvo.
Returning to Sao Paolo, considered Brazil’s
most multi-cultural city and where many
of the inhabitants can boast at least one
Italian ancestor, we find the Taormina, a
restaurant with over a hundred places. It has
a set menu, but which is varied almost daily.
Many of the ingredients listed come directly
from Sicily. Opened over ten years ago by
the Morici husband-and-wife team, Elena
deals with the cooking while her husband
Salvatore supervises the authenticity of the
Sicilian dishes and prepares personally the
cannoli and limoncello. On the walls are
memories of the island together with the
many awards won in Brazil by a restaurant
that offers fresh tomato sauce, fried and
stuffed aubergines, pasta and ricotta
cheese. An Italian restaurant abroad, but
with its heart always in Sicily.
The Provincia di Salerno, was opened
in 1983 by Remo Peluso (photo above)
in Belo Horizonte.
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