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The Reviews Are In!

Sat, 05 Oct 2024 11:20:12 GMT

For our Anti-Mafia Heroes Tour of La Kalsa

Oct 2, 2024

A Must for History Buffs

Absolutely Fascinating. I have done some reading about the Sicilian mafia, but our guide went into great depth. She had done her research and it showed. As well she was passionate about her subject. A fascinating talk and tour of anti-Mafia heroes, why they were heroes and how each place connected to the fight against the intransigency of the mafia. It did run a little long, but it was so fascinating that we stuck with her right to the end. This tour is unique in that a lot of her presentation were her own thoughts and ideas, well-researched and not something just anyone could present.

Sep 30, 2024

Fantastic tour very informative and you could see our guide was very passionate about the subject. I would highly recommend this tour to anybody with an interest in this subject ��

Sep 26, 2024

We were a small group. Angela personalised the tour and made it an exceptionally informative and enjoyable experience. She is exceptionally knowledgeable about the personalities in both the Mafia and police as the battle raged in Paloma to break the mafia and bring its people to justice. We visited places of interest at a comfortable pace, but always with the many stories behind events there. We got more than our monies worth with the insights, and extra time that Angela spent with us! Many thanks!

Sep 22, 2024

Angela is a fantastic guide. She provides a huge amount of detail and background knowledge with the necessary sensitivity and impressive competence. Highly recommended!

Sep 16, 2024

Excellent tour guide Angela was so friendly and informative one of the most enjoyable walking tours we have done. Would highly recommend this tour and Angela even managed to get us a table in a restaurant out of the pouring rain to finish the tour. Having Bobo join the tour was a lovely touch also :)

Sep 15, 2024

Great insights into the anti mafia movement

Angela was super knowledgable and a great storyteller. You can tell she’s very interested in
the topic but also respectful of the history.

Sep 13, 2024

Angela has an encyclopedic knowledge of the Anti-Mafia heros and La Kalsa. Super informative and fascinating tour! Highly recommend

Sep 9, 2024

Great tour and so much background information. We now see Palermo and its culture in a completely new light. The guide really knows her stuff, I particularly loved seeing the street art and the quirky and interesting stories Highly recommended

Sep 2, 2024

The tour was very detailed and interesting. Everything was researched with great attention to detail, there were self-made diagrams, old photos, reports of experiences. Everything was understandable, questions could be asked and the atmosphere in the group was great, which certainly has a lot to do with how you lead a group through the streets and how you talk to them. Highly recommended!

Aug 29, 2024

Perfect tour!

My wife chose this tour among other tours available, and it was the perfect one! we both enjoyed the tour and Angela was very sweet with us, she answered all our questions and took us to a lovely Sicily shop where we bought some chocolate with different flavors (we liked the one with pomegranate flavor). If you're planing to visit Palermo, don't miss this amazing tour!

Aug 27, 2024

Nice and insightful! experience!

The tour was insightful, Angela’s deep knowledge and passion for the subject made the tour not only informative but truly inspiring. She guided us through the city, sharing powerful stories about the brave heroes who have stood up against the Mafia.

Angela’s storytelling was captivating! Without any doubt the tour gets 5 stars, don't miss it if you are in Palermo!

Aug 27, 2024

Eye-opening

If you’re visiting Palermo, this tour is an absolute must. It offers a unique perspective on the city, one that goes beyond the usual tourist attractions. The unique information that is way different from what we used to believe about Mafia. You’ll walk away not only with a greater understanding of Palermo’s past and present but also with a sense of admiration for the heroes who saved Palermo from being destroyed. Angela is very talented and easygoing tour guide. Highly recommended!

Jul 25, 2024

Not to be missed!

What a fascinating & informative tour! Angela was a gregarious and charming guide who took the time to answer all of our questions and make excellent recommendations. We felt like locals! I can't wait to return to Palermo and take the rest of her tours. Such a unique and enriching experience. Also, I am completely obsessed with Gobo!

Jul 19, 2024

A wonderful tour.

A delightfully interesting tour, that opened my eyes to the difficult and inspiring past of Palermo. Angela is very knowledgeable and easy to talk to.
Sad we didn't get to meet Gobo but far too hot for dogs.
Thank you for your recommendations also.

Jul 17, 2024

I really enjoyed this tour! Not only did it give an interesting insight into the history of the Mafia and the fight against it, but it was also a great tour of the city. For me it was my first day in Palermo and even though I was overwhelmed by the city, the noise, the heat etc.... I immediately fell in love with the city because of the stories and information I'd been given! And the best pictures I took in Palermo came from this tour. A clear recommendation from me!

Jul 8, 2024

Highly recommended‼️

Gobo's Tours was AWESOME! It was super interesting and eye-opening. I don't want to spoil much, but some of the stops were really sentimental, but little Gobo was there providing emotional support with her cuteness! ��

Also, I have a short attention span, but I was surprised I managed to stay engaged throughout Angela's storytelling of the local history, she really has a talent!

I highly recommend this tour for anyone visiting Palermo or even residents!

Jun 29, 2024

Recommended tour

Angela really loves Palermo and it shows during her delightful tours around this city with a
troubled past full of heroes and martyrs. Highly recommended.

Food, Drink, & Gelato Recs

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 12:18:25 GMT

Gobo Tours Italy's Food, Drink, & Gelato Recommendations Map

I know the map above is small and not searchable. But never fear- you can open the map on your phone through this link, read the notes I wrote about each place, and use all the google maps features (like directions.)

Bon appetito!

How to beat the heat in Sicily like a local

Wed, 07 Aug 2024 12:54:22 GMT

Summer is here and we are melting in Sicily. How to keep your brain from actually dribbling out of your ears? How to actually have the energy to do things like amazing tours with Gobo Tours Italy? Here are the best tips I've gleaned from living in Sicily for beating the heat like a local.

Hydration is key

The coffee here in Italy is a dream. Please figure out which local coffee brand is your favorite and indulge often. In Palermo my favorite brand from a local roaster is Morettino. In Napoli I look for Borbone, in Firenze, Jolly caffè. Outside of each coffee shop you'll see signs for the brand of coffee they serve, so you know which ones to visit. While you're sampling coffee all over town, remember to drink water too! Coffee is dehydrating, so this is called drinking responsibly.

It's traditional for bars in Southern Italy to offer you a glass of water with your coffee, naturale o gassata, (natural or fizzy) to drink while you wait for your coffee to be prepared and to cleanse your palatte. North of Rome you have to ask for a glass of water and they might charge you .50 centissimi. I'm sorry. But here in Palermo I've noticed most bartenders don't preemptively offer water to people who don't speak Italian. I suspect it's because of the lack of common language- that a question about water while waiting was a flustering conversation on both sides. Since tourists don't expect it, it's natural not to bother. But please ask for this glass of water if it's not offered, and drink it! If no one offers me a glass of water (for instance when I'm chatting away at the bar in English) I usually just say "Per favore, un po' d'acqua." If you're sitting down and ordering through a waiter he might ask if you want a whole bottle of water, "Una bottiglia d'acqua?" And that's up to you. Feel free to say, "No, solamente un bicchiere grazie" if you only want the free glass.

But, do carry around a bottle of water! There are public fountains here in Palermo where you can refill a bottle with cold, clear, tasty water. I typically use the one on Via Alloro in the Piazzetta Chiesa dei Cocchieri and the one in Foro Italico. I just noticed some good soul has marked many of these public water fountains (but not all) on google maps as 'Acqua Potabile' (drinkable water.) You'll notice Italians, especially men, will really bathe themselves with these fountains. Scooping water and pouring it down the back of their necks and washing their hands and forearms. Our skin is thin there, so this is wonderfully cooling.

Electrolytes

But hydration is more than just water- it's also electrolytes. Every year as the weather warms up here in Italy the tv ads for electrolytes "to help with la stanchezza" (the tiredness) ramp up too. These really do the trick. Did you know electrolytes lose their effectiveness in water? So much for the bottled drinks we guzzle in the US. But mixing a sachet of powdered electrolytes into water and drinking it right away ensures you actually get the will power you seek. Every pharmacy here has a wide variety of powdered electrolytes sold in boxes. I like the Polase brand, especially their raspberry (lampone) flavor. But usually I just pick up a tube of electrolyte pills (Equilibra brand) at the supermarkets. I find those easier to plop into water, no mixing necessary.

Cotton, cotton, linen, linen, cotton

That is your packing mantra. Sadly, linen and cotton are pricey here in Italy. All natural fibers are. Did you know Mussolini really encouraged the Italian polyester industry? Part of his autarky dream. Yet another thing we can "thank" Mussolini for- all the affordable clothes in Italy, and a LOT of the pricey ones too, are made from polyester. Pack wisely and a lot, you'll be sweating through whole outfits and while they'll dry within a few hours if hung outside on the hottest days, it's not unheard of to go through three changes of clothes during the course of an active summer day. And you want to be active while you're here, there's so much to see and do.

But don't overdo it

As tempting as it is to climb that mountain or walk that trail to see those ruins you might never get a chance to see again, Italy doesn't need to rescue another hero who's swayed off the path into a twisted ankle (or worse). Please take the bus or train. Certainly don't do anything you wouldn't do at home. If you don't walk atop castle ramparts at home, Italy isn't the place to take up that new interesting hobby. (I don't know what it is that compels otherwise sane, non-jay walking adults, to walk along stone walls here in the blistering heat, but try to resist the urge.) Here in Palermo our museums are not really air conditioned yet. They still rely on open winds and hoping for breezes. That means you should visit them as early as possible during the mornings and it's ok to skip the higher floors. Or start at the top and work your way down, not up. If you're on a third story when that heat rises you will feel your insides start to cook. Likewise, Valle dei Templi? The marvelous ancient greek ruins atop a blazing, unshaded plateau? Amazing, not to be missed. But if you want a carefree visit to that wonderful site, plan a trip that's not in July or August. If you must go in the summer you'll enjoy yourself, but just protect yourself- high spf sunblock that you re-apply, a sun hat, only breathable clothing, a full water bottle (although you can stop for gelato there too, their cafe is weakly air conditioned.) You'll notice Italians only jog during the earliest morning and at night during the summer. That's also when dogs go for their longest walks.

Here in Palermo there's always a cool breeze off the sea, so after lunch I recommend taking the tourist version of a riposo (siesta) and going to a fully shaded garden like the Botanical Garden or Giardino Garibaldi or going by the sea. Palermo has a "new downtown" area, the Molo Trapezoidale and all the way from there to Molo Sant' Erasmo you can enjoy a long walk or e-scooter ride in the fresh air along the lungomare or seafront. If it's really too hot just take a nap. You'll notice that everyone re-emerges and the shops start re-opening about 4 pm. We've been napping. Then we took a shower and changed our clothes. It's not glamorous but it does mean a second wind and another 6 hours of enjoying the day.

Reward yourself with cold treats

You're doing something really important while you're here- you're drinking in a whole other culture, ways of life, art, architecture, history, new flavors, new facts, new ideas. You're brain is just devouring glucose. Remember to stop and reward yourself with cool treats! I can't manage a gelato in brioche breakfast, but I adore a shakerato.

I once saw a very cringey tiktok wherein a northern European woman, while on vacation in Italy, thought she was teaching her waiter and bar how to make an iced coffee. It's true, no bartender I've asked here has had caffè freddo on hand. She ordered a bucket of ice, sugar, a glass of milk and her espresso in a big cup. She then proceeded to assemble her drink at her table, extremely proud of her soup. You should know that Italians will NEVER intervene and stop you from publicly making a fool of yourself. Not out of malice, I think they think that'd compound the embarrassment? Because rest assured, some day that dear lady will learn about shakeratos and scramble to delete her tiktok.

Just ask for a shakerato, if the bartender moves towards a slushy type machine say "no thank you, can you make one by hand?" ("No grazie, puoi fare un shakerato a mano?") In desperation mime shaking a cocktail shaker in the air. They'll understand. That slushy stuff is too disappointing. To make a shakerato a bartender puts ice cubes, espresso, and simple syrup into a cocktail shaker and shakes it into foamy deliciousness. It's served 'up' in a cocktail glass so you can watch the foam and espresso layers separate while you sip. Coffee without milk hurts my tummy so I ask for milk in mine. Which always gives the bartenders pause. But we persevere together with mutual assurances that I do indeed want milk added and I've never yet had to resort to assembling a drink at my own table like someone raised in a barn without a door. ("Cresciuto in una stalla senza porta," this is important Italian, I hope you're taking notes.)

You already know about gelato. But if you don't know about granita, that is the next lovely thing you should learn about while you're here in Sicily. It's NOT the same abroad, not even on the mainland �� Gelsi is one of my 19 top favorite flavors and contrary to widespread misinformation (was it you google translate?) it does not mean blackberry, but rather mulberry. Lemony blackberries are in Tuscany, gentle mulberries are the Sicilian fruit. I guess we have enough citrusy flavors here.

On that note- yes, aperol spritzes, so refreshing. But if you get tired of all that sweetness Sicilian white wines are sublime and I really hope you try Sicily's star white wine, grillo. My favorite grillo is from Feudo Disisa- I taste pineapple, a little salinity, and as it warms lime. Heaven. But I've yet to have a bad glass of grillo. Catarratto I'm not so crazy about, I prefer Inzolia. Sicilians are justly proud of their Etna Bianco but honestly, that's not for me either. That lava soil imparts an almost soda bite to the Etna Bianco, which I don't prefer but you might like. A lot of people rave about Etna Bianco. (I also don't drink Chardonnay, all of these things are personal, except everyone loves grillo.) Note that rosè wines are called rosato here in Sicily and also served chilled. (Oh, and a wine tasting tour is coming soon! I've got it half organized.)

Fans

You will want to carry and use a fan. The electric ones are fun but somehow the old fashioned foldable hand fans still do a better job. Men and woman of all ages use them here so don't be shy. If you buy one from a wandering peddler, that's a mitzvah.

Showers

Take a couple short showers every day. That's the Sicilian routine, but since our water infrastructure is not what it should be and climate change is causing multiyear droughts you must take these showers the Sicilian way. No, they won't tell you this, it would shock them if you betrayed that you don't already know how to shower like a Sicilian. (Australians already know, it is the rest of us who need to catch up.) The Sicilian way of showering is to turn off the water during all the times you're applying products/ soaping. So what is normally a 7 minute American shower will be 4 minutes at most. You can luxuriate in all the water you want at the beach. You'll notice we'll all just wallowing there.

What else?

Don't be afraid to "look like a tourist." You're going to look like one no matter what you do, different cultures have different styles of walking, clothing, and resting their faces, so that's fine, you'll be clocked as a foreigner. That's only going to make Palermitani more gentle and patient with you, it's not a bad thing. Wear wide brimmed hats, your summer clothes that fit, broken in sneakers, consult your phones in public, no one will judge you for any of that. I would stay away from openly consulting paper maps (no one does that anyway), socks in sandals (that's why god invented sneakers), new shoes, athleisure as day wear (it's not the style here and you'll bake like a potato), being rude to waiters or aggressive bargaining (no, they're not trying to scam you, I promise. Ok, maybe just a couple euros here and there that you won't notice.)

It's traditional here to eat pasta for lunch and not for dinner and for dinner to be a smaller, later meal. Grilled fish, caponata, or just an aperitivo. In the summer that diet makes perfect sense. Local problems (sweltering heat) always have local solutions (see above.) And if in doubt ask me, your friendly tour guide or another local. Or I'll ask them for you.

You're already doing the smartest thing- looking at summer tours to book with me in the mornings and evenings. Bravissimo! We survive every year here and so will you, with just a few simple changes of routine, and some local know how.

Anti-Mafia Heroes Book & Movie Recommendation List

Tue, 07 Aug 2001 12:54:22 GMT

For those of you who have been on my Anti-Mafia Heroes tour and for those of you thinking of joining me soon. This list isn't meant in anyway to be homework, but rather to give you more information than I could possibly give in one tour and to enable you to do deeper dives in topics that particularly interested you. Enjoy!

‭ Anti-Mafia Heroes Tour Movies and Books

Recommended by Gobo Tours Italy‬

‭ Movies‬

- The Mafia Only Kills in Summer ,‬‭ Pif 2013 and‬‭ I n Querra Per Amore ‬‭, 2016‬ also by Pif.

‭ The English title of the second movie is mistranslated as ‘ At War With Love ,’ properly it should be ‘In War for‬ Love.’ Both movies are comedy dramas directed by the Palermitano Pif (aka‬ Pierfrancesco Diliberto). The first deals with growing up in Palermo during the “long eighties” the‬ second with the Allies bringing the mafia back to Sicily in ‘43.‬ It's amazing how gently and deftly Pif handles such complex and heavy topics. The Mafia Only Kills in Summer is a modern masterpiece, so beloved that it was made into a tv series as well.

The Mafia Only Kills in Summer,‬‭ movie is available for free on Tubi.com and for rent with English subtitles on youtube.com. The TV series is on MHzchoice.com. ‘At War With Love' is streaming on Dailymotion.com.

- I Cento Passi‬‭ , ‬‭ or The One Hundred Steps , Marco Tullio Giordana, 2000.

Beautifully tells the story of the incredibly brave Peppino Impastato,‬ a valiant and often wickedly funny man, he was an anti-mafia activist from a mafia family (father was a soldier, uncle was a boss) isolated in the small and, at that time, dangerous mafia town of Cinisi. But he defied them all by creating a radio statio and broadcasting his satires about the mafia and mafiosi. The lead actor Luigi Lo Cascio won a Best Actor David of Donatello award (the Italian equivalent of an Oscar) for his portrayal of Peppino. For rent through Amazon Prime.

- The Traitor , Marco Bellocchio, 2019

Tells the story of the mafia supergrass/ turncoat/ traitor Tommaso Buscetta. The acting and production values are very good but the story needed a little work- unless a person is very familiar with the story of Tommaso Buscetta, the other characters, and the context, I suspect the film could be confusing. One little thing I'd like to point out is that there were two Vincenzo Sinagras present during the Maxi trial. The one I talk about on my tour, the pentito, is never named but shown giving his testimony by an actor wearing a black sweater with yellow shoulders. The other Vincenzo Sinagra who feigned lunacy during the maxi trial to delay proceedings and try to get clemency was his first cousin- they had the same name. Available on Amazon Prime.

‭

Documentaries

‭ -Mystery of the Lost Paintings - Se1 - Ep08 - Mystery of the Lost Caravaggio‬

‭ About the mafia theft of Caravaggio's Natività. Really atrocious musical choices and one of the interviewees misspeaks and says the pentito Marino Mannoia was rumored to use the‬ missing Natività as a bedside rug. The actual rumor is that Toto Riina, who never repented, did that.‬ Those two quibbles aside, a solid little documentary. Free on Dailymotion.com

- Excellent Cadavers , Marco Turco, 2005

Based on the book by Alexander Stille it follows Stille's visit to Sicily in 2005 and interviews colleagues of Falcone and Borsellino about their lives and work. Very moving and informative. But my favorite part is that it includes video of both Borsellino and Falcone speaking with English subtitles, which I hadn't seen before. I think this is a rare opportunity for English speakers to watch Falcone and Borsellino and get a sense of their personalities. The documentary has a pessimistic ending, not realizing that the mafia had been truly broken and was slowly and irreversibly dying and that the Palermitano anti-mafia urban renewal groups were already making great strides that were about to start bearing fruit, in the generation that had been educated in schools, and in the form of new businesses opening up and outside capitol coming back to Palermo. Free on Tubi.com

- Shooting the Mafia , Kim Longinotto, 2019

Excellent documentary about Letizia Battaglia, journalist, photographer, politician, and beloved anti-mafia hero. In addition to showing Letizia's life and work the documentary filmmakers did an excellent job pulling together archival footage showing the fury of the crowds at the funerals of Falcone and Borsellino, the fear and silence of witnesses to mafia crimes, and interviews with English subtitles of both Falcone and Borsellino. Free on Tubi.com

‭ Books‬

- Behan, Tom, Defiance: The Story of One Man Who Stood Up to the Sicilian Mafia‬‭ , 2007

The story‬ of Peppino Impastato from Cinisi, story dramatized in the movie‬‭ I Cento Passi .‬‭

- Still, Alexander, Excellent Cadavers, 1995‬‭

Extremely well-written and focuses on the lives and work of Falcone and Borsellino.‬

‭

- Dash, Mike, The First Family: Terror, Extortion, Revenge, Murder, and the Birth of the American Mafia, 2009 ‬‭ ‬

‭ Talks about Giuseppe Morello and Joe Petrosino and the connections between the US mafia and Sicilian Cosa‬ Nostra.

‭ Article‬

‭ -Zalewski, Daniel. “The Factory of Fakes. ” The New Yorker‬‭ , 2016

Article I read before I came to Sicily for the first time about the stolen Caravaggio and Factum Arte's recreation of it. A great introduction to the many sides of Palermo in one article. More information and pictures on Factum Arte's website.

Would you like me to add more books and movies to this list? Let me know!