From the Roma Club to Sicily: A Journey Back to Where It Began

An old tuna factory in Scopello is a great place to spend the day in the Tyrrhenian Sea

There’s a moment that comes after finishing a project like The Roma Club: A Legacy of Family and Tradition when you start to realize the story doesn’t really end—it just points you somewhere else.

For many of the families who built the Roma Club, that “somewhere else” was Sicily.

Not in an abstract way. Not just “Italy” as a destination. But specific towns, specific streets, specific traditions that were carried across the ocean and quietly woven into life in Birmingham.

That’s what this series is about.

More Than a Trip—A Return

Travel to Sicily is different.

You can approach it like any other destination—beautiful coastlines, incredible food, historic sites—and it will deliver on all of that. But for those with roots tied to the Roma Club story, it has another layer entirely.

The market in Siracusa is a daily event

This is what’s often called heritage travel—but that term doesn’t quite capture it.

It’s walking into a town like Siracusa and realizing that the rhythms of daily life—morning markets, family meals, conversations in the piazza—feel familiar in a way you didn’t expect.

It’s standing above the sea in Taormina, looking out toward Mount Etna, and understanding why people held onto their identity so tightly when they left.

It’s recognizing that what was built at the Roma Club wasn’t created from scratch—it was carried here.

Why Sicily Still Matters

Sicily isn’t just a region of Italy. It’s a crossroads of civilizations—Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman—all layered on top of one another.

That history shows up everywhere:

The three legged symbol of Sicily called the Trinacria

• In the architecture

• In the food

• In the pace of life

• In the importance of family

And if you look closely, you’ll start to see echoes of it in the Roma Club itself—the gatherings, the celebrations, the sense of community that defined it for decades.

Those weren’t accidents.

They were traditions brought forward.

What You’ll Discover in This Series

Over the next several posts, I’m going to take you through what I consider the essential Sicily—not just as a traveler, but as someone who understands what this place represents to families like ours.

We’ll explore:

The Flower Festival in Noto where artist create intricate carpets of flower petals each May

• The dramatic eastern coast—from Catania to Noto

• The cultural depth of Palermo and the charm of Cefalù

• The quieter, more personal side of towns like Ragusa and Modica

• Coastal gems like Scopello

• And the ancient world still standing in places like Agrigento

Along the way, we’ll talk about the food, the wine, and how to actually plan a trip that connects you to more than just the highlights.

A Different Kind of Journey

If you’ve ever thought about going to Italy, Sicily is one of the most rewarding places you can choose.

But if your family story connects—even loosely—to what was built at the Roma Club, it becomes something more.

It becomes a way to step into the broader story that made all of it possible.

What Comes Next

"Scenes like this are part of the world many Roma Families came from"

In the next post, I’ll take you to the eastern side of the island—where some of Sicily’s most iconic landscapes and historic towns come together along the coast.

It’s the perfect place to begin.

—JerryThe Travelin Bear