Though his parents urged him to consider a desk job, Mario Marcosano says he’s most at home on “a bus with a microphone under my chin!”
A Grand Circle Program Director since 2004, Mario Marcosano was born, raised, and continues to live in Vittoria, a small town in Sicily’s Ragusa province. He graduated from the University of Catania with a degree in Foreign Languages and Literature (English and Spanish)—making him uniquely qualified to comment on the best books highlighting Sicilian history and culture.
“My parents always wanted me to become a teacher,” Mario, explains. “This is typical of southern Italian parents—they want their children to get a secure job that guarantees a monthly salary and a desk to sit behind!” However, it didn’t take long for Mario to realize that “I always need something which moves under my feet: A car, a train, a plane, a ship—and eventually a bus with a microphone under my chin!”
As he puts it, “Working with seasoned travelers has given me a new impulse to learn even more about my homeland’s history and culture, because I want to present my groups with new and enriching points of view.” To Mario, being a Grand Circle Program Director means “You teach, you share, you show something with different eyes, but you also learn a lot from the stories travelers are willing to share”—ideally, he says, over a glass of his beloved Cerasuolo de Vittoria, the robust red wine produced in his hometown.
Ultimately, Mario says, he wants to “show my guests a new Sicily, far removed from the stereotypes”—and it’s with this purpose in mind that he shares some of his favorite books.
On Persephone Island: A Sicilian Journal by Mary Taylor Simeti
An interesting book written by a Sicilian-American woman who journeys to Sicily to spend a few short weeks in her ancestral homeland, but, after falling in love with a local professor—and the island itself—ends up spending the rest of her life here.
Six Characters in Search of an Author and Other Plays by Luigi Pirandello
Well before Samuel Beckett wrote Waiting for Godot (1953) and Eugene Ionesco penned Rhinocerous (1959), Sicilian dramatist Luigi Pirandello—who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1934—was exploring existential themes of illusion and isolation. His best known works—Six Characters in Search of an Author (Sei Personaggi in Cerca d’Autore) and Henry IV (Enrico IV) were reportedly both written during a five-week period in 1921.
The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri (translated by Stephen Sartarelli)
This is the first book in Camilleri’s highly successful mystery series featuring Detective Inspector Salvo Montalbano. The novels take place in the fictional Sicilian town of Vigata and address topical themes like illegal immigration, prostitution, and drug trafficking. The books have also been made into a popular TV series here in Italy and in Australia.
The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) by Tomasi di Lampedusa
Set in Sicily during the Risorgimento—the reunification movement championed by Giuseppe Garibaldi—this novel speaks to an important historical period. A movie version of the novel, which debuted in 1963 and featured an all-star cast, including American actor Burt Lancaster and French film star Alain Delon, won the prestigious Palm d’Or award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Learn more about the history and culture of Marco’s homeland on our Sicily Extended Vacation.