Amongst Si­cily's his­to­ri­ans, Jackie Alio stands out as one of the very few whose books are pub­lished in En­glish, cap­ti­vat­ing an in­ter­na­tion­al read­er­ship. Her land­mark work, The Peo­ples of Si­cily: A Mul­ti­cul­tur­al Lega­cy (New York 2013), touch­es the very soul of the plu­ral­is­tic cul­tur­al heri­tage of the world's most con­quered is­land, bring­ing us the in­spir­ing mes­sage that tol­er­ant, mul­ti­cul­tur­al so­ci­eties can flour­ish in our times. More re­cent­ly (in 2015), Jackie au­thored Wom­en of Si­ci­ly: Saints, Queens and Rebels, the first book about the his­tor­ical wom­en of Si­ci­ly writ­ten in En­glish by a Si­cilian wom­an based in Si­ci­ly. Margaret Queen of Si­cily (2017), the first bi­og­ra­phy of this queen and the longest peer-re­viewed mono­graph ever writ­ten in En­glish by a his­to­r­ian in Si­cily, is avail­able from Ama­zon, Barnes & No­ble, Wa­ter­stones, In­di­go, Fish Pond and oth­er ven­dors. Jackie also wrote an in­sight­ful guide to me­dieval Pa­ler­mo. Even if you don't have her books, you can read her on­line ar­ti­cles, vis­it her Ama­zon page or down­load her use­ful Sightseeing Tips for Norman-Arab Palermo.
   Con­sulted over the years by The Dis­covery Chan­nel and other media, Jackie has earned a rep­uta­tion as one of just a hand­ful of schol­ars with the abil­ity to con­vey Si­cily's ev­ery nu­ance, and to con­nect its past to our pre­sent.
   A native speak­er of En­glish who has stud­ied in Eu­rope and Amer­ica, Jackie is spe­cial­ized in Si­cily, and par­tic­u­lar­ly the is­land's north-west­ern areas of Pa­ler­mo, Cefalù, Mon­reale, Se­gesta and Erice.
   Hav­ing deep roots in Si­ci­ly, Jackie brings a spe­cial pas­sion to her work.
   These are not "gener­ic" group tours. Ev­ery tour with Jackie is ful­ly cus­tom­ized, per­son­al­ized to your in­ter­ests. Contact Jackie to be­gin plan­ning your day tour or shore ex­cur­sion. A few itinerary ideas fol­low on this page. (Read some sat­is­fied clients' emails and com­ments.)

Sightseeing Philosophy

Sight­seeing is one thing, but actual­ly ap­pre­ciat­ing the sights is an­oth­er. The best guides un­der­stand that no archaeo­logi­cal or his­tor­i­cal site, no work of art, no single place stands apart from its place in his­tory. It's all about con­text.

As Sicily's multi­cultural heritage was shaped by numerous civiliza­tions – from the Sicanians, Phoeni­cians and Greeks to the Arabs, Nor­mans and Swabians (among others) – it helps to know some­thing about the peoples who lived be­yond Si­cilian shores. Poly­glot medieval Sicily was home to Arabs and Jews, and to two "branches" of Christianity – Greek "Orthodoxy" and Roman "Catholicism." Jackie is a rarity be­cause she under­stands the complex con­nections at this unique con­vergence of cul­tures and – as history should never be boring – she knows how to explain this to visitors in an interest­ing way.

This scholarly and practical com­petence reflects far more than a profes­sion. One might even say that it is an art based on the expres­sion of natural talent and intel­lectual insight. Beyond mere "observing" or seeing, the best guides can take you to the plane of dis­covery and under­standing. Like the best surgeons, the best guides know more than others.

Of course, it is pos­sible to visit an interest­ing place without a private tour guide. But Sicily's unique hi­story makes a walking tour of Palermo with a guide an appealing option – for at least part of your visit – even if you usually prefer independent travel. A day sight­seeing with a private tour guide is the perfect com­plement to independent travel. While Jackie and other licensed tour guides frequent­ly work with larger groups (of ten or more), they can also be hired for smal­ler ones, even if your "group" is just you and your spouse.

Don't con­fuse this with those sites that list numerous tour guides' profiles and photo­graphs along with a few standard itineraries, and then invite you to "directly" contact the guide through their site. All of Jackie's services are tailor-made and contact is ex­clusively, directly with her. There is no "go-between" and therefore no con­fusion. And while there are certain popular sights, there are no set, "standard" itineraries. You will be sight­seeing at your own pace.

Let's talk about your Sicily ex­perience, which will be personalized to your in­terests. Here are a few itinerary ideas for your day tour. Contact Jackie for more informa­tion, details and rates.

Jackie cannot respond to queries regarding historical re­search projects or Sicilian family history (genealogical) re­search. Books and articles on Sicilian family his­tory can be found on Best of Si­cily's Si­cilian genealogy page.

A Few Itinerary Ideas

Medieval Palermo and Mon­reale: The legacy of Sicily's Nor­man kings comes alive. See Pa­lermo Cathedral, the Nor­man Palace, Saint John of the Hermits Monastery and, fol­lowing lunch, hill­top Mon­reale Abbey.

Aristocratic Palermo: Visit the Nor­man Palace of Sicily's first kings, with its Phoenician founda­tions and palatine chapel. Then we'll see Palazzo Mirto, a Baroque residence of a noble family, and the Steri, a medieval castle.

Judaic Palermo: High­lights of Palermo's Jewish heritage, built by a com­munity that flourished in the city until the end of the fifteenth cen­tury. Because Jackie's itineraries are based part­ly on original research, they're especial­ly in­sightful. This is far more than an "ordinary" day tour of Palermo.

Culinary Curiosities: A visit to one of Palermo's color­ful street markets, established as Arab souks in the ninth century, fol­lowed by lunch and a wine tasting.

Discovering Palermo: Sites and mon­uments that give you a lasting impres­sion of this color­ful city: a medieval street market, the imposing Cathedral, the Martorana and its mosaics, Piaz­za Pretoria Fountain, Palaz­zo Mirto and more.

The Leopard's Palermo: Dis­cover the places that inspired Giuseppe Tomasi di Lamp­edusa's classic novel, The Leopard (Il Gattopardo), in a personalised walk­ing tour of the city as he saw it. This itinerary can easily be customized to in­clude a lunch based on Si­cilian baroque cuisine typical of the 19th cen­tury.

Theme Tours: As you can see from these descrip­tions, it's easy to plan a personal walk­ing tour dedicated to a specific theme – for ex­ample, Baroque or Byzantine archi­tecture, the Kalsa, the local gardens, Palermo's castles.

Charming Cefalù: Drive along the coast to the seaside town of Cefalù. See its stun­ning Nor­man cathedral, state­ly medieval cloister, and ancient stone streets. Lunch, if you wish, at a local sea­food restaurant along the shore in the old city walls.

Segesta and Erice: Segesta's ancient Greek temple is one of the best-preserved in the world. Founded by Carthaginians, Erice is a charming hilltop town with stone streets and delightful treasures that include great restaurants and pastry shops.

Corleone and the Royal Hunting Lodge: Venturing into the hilly hinter­land beyond Palermo, you'll dis­cover the real Sicilian countryside with a visit to Ficuz­za, the Bourbon kings' hunting lodge on an estate that in­cludes a forest, lake and streams, and to near­by Cor­leone, haunted by the ghosts of Sicily's colorful rustic bandits. (A country-style lunch and/or a wine-tasting can be in­cluded with this day-tour.)

AlioJacqueline@yahoo.com

Informative Links: Palermo • Monreale • Cefalù • Ficuzza • Segesta • Erice • Street Markets • Norman Sicily • Arab Sicily • Jews of Palermo • Sicilian Food & Wine

A Few Clients' Comments

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