Regione Siciliana
Regione Siciliana promotes the people, places, products, and cultural practices of Sicily, the large island off the "toe of the boot" of Italy. Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
Describing Sicily is a vast undertaking and cannot be done in a few paragraphs. There is the classical Sicily with its theatres and temples, a baroque Sicily built of tufa stone spirals and stucco, and a Sicily of unique castles. There's the Sicily of literature including Verga, Pirandello, Sciascia and Quasimodo; the dramatic Sicily of sulphur mines; the Bourbon Sicily of the Viceroys and the aristocrats; the luxuriant Sicily of fragrant coasts of lemon blossoms and jasmine, a Middle Eastern Sicily infused with all the culture of the Arab-Norman world; and finally, the Sicily of today with world-class resorts, boutiques, and food.
In language, behavior, food, and religion, Sicilians carry fragments of Greek culture, but also of Roman, Byzantine, Muslim, Norman, Angevin, Aragonese, and Catalan. Each has left its mark, architectural traces, masterpieces of art, and culinary traditions, transforming the island into a place unique in the World.
Sicilian cuisine is a perfect blend of all the influences of the various cultures that have followed each other to the island. The Sicilian dining table is a place of introspection of all the different civilizations that have passed through the island.
Sicilian cuisine is an immense wealth and variety of dishes, since every city, town, and family has always had its own version of each recipe, reflecting the island's strong sense of individuality. Sicilian cuisine includes an abundance of fruits and vegetables, pasta, fish, olive, cheeses, and, of course, wine.
Vines, grapes, and wine have always been sacred in Sicily. Sicily's rich volcanic soil and dry climate are second to none for production of great grapes, and Sicilian wine makers are producing award winning reds and whites, prestigious muscatels and passito (sweet) wines that oenophiles and restaurants are increasing seeking for their wine cellars.
Sicily also produces many exceptional cheeses, including pecorino and ricotta, sheep's milk cheeses frequently used in Sicilian cuisine.
The quality and flavor of Sicilian olive oil is influenced by the soil and climate. Sicilian olive oil is used abundantly by Sicilian cooks to create healthful, flavorful, and satisfying meals.
The noted food writer Janet Fletcher recounted a Sicilian meal she enjoyed in 2002 at Ristorante Duomo, a beautifully appointed, intimate restaurant in Regusa, that included the following: red mullet fillets stuffed with wild greens on a bed of fava puree, a warm seafood salad with a citrus emulsion, seared tuna and mackerel with a light pistachio sauce, bucatini with a fish ragu, braised stuffed pork shank with wild asparagus, a different Sicilian olive oil with almost every dish, and a wine list featuring the best of Sicilian wines. This menu highlights the abundant use of seafood, produce, olive oil, and wine, components that makes the Sicilian diet a splendid example of the health-promoting Mediterranean diet.
Best of Italy Consumer Association
Best of Italy Consumer Association (BICA) is a non-profit organization aimed at promoting and guaranteeing the quality of "made-in-Italy" products on the U.S. market. BICA's mission is to promote the quality, integrity and distinction of Italian products; educate consumers and protect against imitations; enforce the value of "real" Italian products through standards of certification; and provide a formal and sanctioned resource for all constituents, including producers, buyers, distributors, retailers, and consumers.
BICA started as a partnership between the Italian Consulate in San Francisco and the Sicilian Region (Accordo Quadro) with the objectives of creating a formalized partnership to promote a center of excellence in research, knowledge, and entrepreneurship; promoting quality assurance to consumers with regards to the standards with which the Sicilian Food and Wine (Agro-alimentare) products are produced; lending transparency to the technical-economic cycle in each product's production process; and designing a certification process for all constituents in the production and distribution chain.