Arancini and the Gattopardo

This cinematic experience brings together Italian film, Sicilian history, and the food culture of Catania. Led by Vladimir and Alfio, both Sicilian filmmakers, you move through places connected to cinema along the Catania coast and in the heart of the city, while spontaneous filming turns the day into your screen story. You enter Palazzo Biscari for an exclusive visit inside an 18th-century noble residence — featured in the recent Netflix adaptation of The Gattopardo, Lampedusa's classic novel of Sicilian aristocracy in decline. You then enjoy a food walk through the city center, with tastings of traditional arancini along the streets. Vladimir and Alfio keep the conversation going, sharing stories as filming continues naturally. The route continues in Acitrezza, a fishing village tied to neorealist cinema. As you walk through the village, filming follows your movement through the alleys and seafront places that carry the memory of films made in Sicily.

Designed for two guests at a time, this five-hour experience treats Catania as both film set and street feast. Led by Vladimir and Alfio, Sicilian filmmakers, the places connected to Sicilian film are shared through framing, technique, and production choices as well as story. Their perspective brings you close to locations, important films, lesser-known backstage details, and the practical details that turn a place into a scene. Vladimir and Alfio were born and raised in this part of Sicily, and their connection to the area gives the experience its strength. They combine film studies with affection for their land, letting the details open into a conversation that moves between Italian cinema, local streets, and the people encountered along the way. The filming made during the experience is later edited into a professional short film and sent to you in the following days. It becomes a record of the journey: a visual story of places, emotions, and flavors, with you as its protagonist.

Vladimir Di Prima and Alfio Vecchio bring together cinema, writing, editing, and a deep connection to eastern Sicily. Vladimir is a Sicilian writer and filmmaker who has been part of the organizing committee of the Premio Brancati — one of the island's cultural reference points — for over twenty years. Alfio is a Sicilian director, editor, and cinema scholar, active in documentary work and film education through Teatroimpulso in Catania. He is also part of the staff of the Festival Internazionale del Cinema di Frontiera in Marzamemi. Together, they have founded a small film production company that celebrates Sicily through film, memory, and place.

Comfortable walking shoes. An outfit you feel comfortable being filmed in.