Top 7 Cultural Events in Sicily, Italy

Have a cinematic summer at this prestigious film festival, held in the spectacular Sicilian town of Taormina. Italy’s oldest film festival hosts some of the cinema world's biggest names. The highest award is the Silver Ribbon ('Nastro d'Argento' in Italian). The award ceremonies and films are presented in a centuries-old Greek theatre that soars 206 metres above the sea. There are international movie premiers, and workshops for filmmakers and other industry professionals.

From food and wine show to international festival of cultural integration, it has become an event that celebrates friendship and brotherhood between peoples. It was in 1998, towards the end of the summer, when a small town in the province of Trapani hosted an event dedicated to cous cous, a traditional dish in the local area, which was widespread in the Maghreb but almost unknown in the rest of Italy. The aim of the event was to celebrate a simple ingredient, originally from the Mediterranean area, with an international competition that brought together different peoples, histories, traditions, cultures and religions – in the name of cous cous. That is how the Cous Cous Fest began, a Mediterranean food and wine show that made San Vito Lo Capo the world capital of cous cous, hospitality and multiculturalism. The journey began twenty years ago, and nobody could have imagined that it would evolve in such a surp