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The Stone Boudoir: In Search of the Hidden Villages of Sicily
There is so much fine writing available today in the field of travel writing that readers are almost spoiled for choice. But with Theresa Maggio's The Stone Boudoir, we are presented with something that is rich and evocative indeed. This luminescent account of the undiscovered hill towns and villages of Sicily has all the idiosyncratic charm of Francis Mayes' Under the Tuscan Sun, with which it shares similarly subtle and allusive prose.
Theresa Maggio had long been in thrall to her family's stories of their Sicilian homeland, and took the decision to return to their ancestral village of Santa Margherita Belice. As she began to explore the fast vanishing world her family had left behind, she found herself, unexpectedly, in the middle of a life-changing experience. For her, the odyssey became not just a journey to a beautiful island, but a fundamental search to reveal secrets of her family origins. Maggio travelled to some of the most secluded and isolated villages in the shadow of Mount Etna. Many of these villages lay in ruins after the massive earthquake of 1968, and time had stood still. She encountered an ancient way of life almost untouched by modern society, where religious processions took over the villages for days on end, and where almonds were allowed to grow like weeds by the roadside.
We turn to books such as this to transport us into regions that we may never see for ourselves, and after reading The Stone Boudoir, we may feel that we have experienced the hidden villages of Sicily quite as intensely as if we had been there ourselves. --Barry Forshaw
246 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews
January 1, 2016
For me this travelogue over many years and numerous trips to Sicily was absolutely stunning. Not revealing most information about herself in the process, Theresa Maggio still manages to relay the connections and the identity cores of Sicilian towns and Sicilians themselves in exquisite depth. And her own pure love of Sicily! It's as if she can interpret the rock itself. Different from each other as granites, limestone or lava, but still Sicilian rock. And in a pivotal place with immense, often secretive, history. History which in nearly ever spot grooved that Sicilian rock- in myriad ways of either deeply cleaving or scoring a breath-taking or complex design- but all breaking the surfaces of rock, spirit, attitude and quite alternative reaction and cultural habits. The ground shifts, and eventually much of it fruitful or wheat field- it burns and grows with lava crust upon crust- and turns to soil/stone of other kind eventually. BUT always mixed, always multiples of origin. Never purebred in any factor. All components of this land, people, animals and plants- mutts. All are mutts.
Like Theresa, this intrinsically reveals and echoes the wells of self. In her ancestors she finds their patterns of habits/ answers to questions (hers AND theirs) both the asked and unasked during her Sicilian trips. This is why this book is 5 star for me, as well. So much explained from and about those who left and never returned to the glorious and fruit laden hills and sparkling stone and sand beaches. And those who stayed- that reveals too! But why not the visiting return? How could they go from so much beauty to so little? The culture of quirks! If you have never witnessed the custom of "prendere cinque" explosion of that plate of food hitting the wall- I don't know how I can explain this core to you.
"She's just nervous."
Beyond the emotive, there is such detail of cultural connotation here too. Theresa Maggio knows to recognize the world of the cloistered and self-home imbedded spinster, as well as the shepherd or goat keeper who lives with a recluse celebration of the surrounding beauty without any need for a salutation for a morning or an evening or any pertinent declaiming for any measure of time. Trust completely betrayed and yet belief in a possible luck and spiritual connection to a subsequent rescue so very real at the same time. The ability to take that extra tax and robbery too in silence to live another day. That takes a strength beyond defining.
In this book, I had reflection for at least 10 "different" slants to habit and custom that I have always questioned since literally babyhood. Why covering the mirrors? Why newspapers put on the floor so you don't walk on the clean tiles? Why the complete objection to staring or "giving me eyes"? Why the humongous pinch that really hurts on the cheek, instead of a hug? Why the precise preparation of perfect and completely fresh fruits and vegetables of the earth as central, every single day? Why is stone always far better than wood- even for furniture? Why do wax figures of body parts play such a part in ritual? Ten more things I could list- questions answered in this book.
Lovely, lovely read. But especially for me. Just as Theresa's parent and grandparents- mine never went back either. And answered quite similarly too. "Nothing there." For mine it was not an earthquake but it was just as true. They were completely poor peasants, but they were never stupid. Like so many others who exited, they continued the immersion in produce. Fruit truck to store. And he even made a fig tree grow in Chicago, although he needed to bury the entire within a huge mound for long months' sleep every winter.
She gave an entire chapter here for several of the Mt. Etna mountain towns. Those were the best but I loved every part of this book. Dialect to dialect- Sicilian is strong and surviving within a mixed land of magical extremes.
Like Theresa, this intrinsically reveals and echoes the wells of self. In her ancestors she finds their patterns of habits/ answers to questions (hers AND theirs) both the asked and unasked during her Sicilian trips. This is why this book is 5 star for me, as well. So much explained from and about those who left and never returned to the glorious and fruit laden hills and sparkling stone and sand beaches. And those who stayed- that reveals too! But why not the visiting return? How could they go from so much beauty to so little? The culture of quirks! If you have never witnessed the custom of "prendere cinque" explosion of that plate of food hitting the wall- I don't know how I can explain this core to you.
"She's just nervous."
Beyond the emotive, there is such detail of cultural connotation here too. Theresa Maggio knows to recognize the world of the cloistered and self-home imbedded spinster, as well as the shepherd or goat keeper who lives with a recluse celebration of the surrounding beauty without any need for a salutation for a morning or an evening or any pertinent declaiming for any measure of time. Trust completely betrayed and yet belief in a possible luck and spiritual connection to a subsequent rescue so very real at the same time. The ability to take that extra tax and robbery too in silence to live another day. That takes a strength beyond defining.
In this book, I had reflection for at least 10 "different" slants to habit and custom that I have always questioned since literally babyhood. Why covering the mirrors? Why newspapers put on the floor so you don't walk on the clean tiles? Why the complete objection to staring or "giving me eyes"? Why the humongous pinch that really hurts on the cheek, instead of a hug? Why the precise preparation of perfect and completely fresh fruits and vegetables of the earth as central, every single day? Why is stone always far better than wood- even for furniture? Why do wax figures of body parts play such a part in ritual? Ten more things I could list- questions answered in this book.
Lovely, lovely read. But especially for me. Just as Theresa's parent and grandparents- mine never went back either. And answered quite similarly too. "Nothing there." For mine it was not an earthquake but it was just as true. They were completely poor peasants, but they were never stupid. Like so many others who exited, they continued the immersion in produce. Fruit truck to store. And he even made a fig tree grow in Chicago, although he needed to bury the entire within a huge mound for long months' sleep every winter.
She gave an entire chapter here for several of the Mt. Etna mountain towns. Those were the best but I loved every part of this book. Dialect to dialect- Sicilian is strong and surviving within a mixed land of magical extremes.
January 23, 2017
Just at the end of this wonderful book and I am having withdrawal symptoms..It was an experience reading. I wish there were pictures in the book to relate with the cities and towns the author visited.
March 17, 2018
This book is made of a series of small essays about even smaller Sicilian mountain towns. It starts off a little dry, but it isn't long before you find yourself googling the town names and planning vacations. The way Ms. Maggio speaks of Sicily and these towns it's impossible not to fall in love with them. I enjoyed learning about cultural traditions and culinary landscapes.
I know I've probably said this before, but I've always been genuinely fascinated with Sicily. My father's family is from there, and I've always wanted to visit. Reading about these hidden villages made Sicily seem more accessible to me, even more, it made deepened my desire to visit it ASAP.
I know I've probably said this before, but I've always been genuinely fascinated with Sicily. My father's family is from there, and I've always wanted to visit. Reading about these hidden villages made Sicily seem more accessible to me, even more, it made deepened my desire to visit it ASAP.
February 3, 2017
This book seemed to magically appear on my bookshelf! I do NOT remember buying it!
But it was very much appreciated and enjoyed, and now I believe I MUST go to Sicily!!
Theresa Maggio shared her own journeys through the intriguing hill towns of that island and in such an interesting way!! She wove history, food, people, relatives, and the Mafia together in such a readable way--I felt like I was there, and I have never been....YET!!!
Soon! I will go SOON!!!
But it was very much appreciated and enjoyed, and now I believe I MUST go to Sicily!!
Theresa Maggio shared her own journeys through the intriguing hill towns of that island and in such an interesting way!! She wove history, food, people, relatives, and the Mafia together in such a readable way--I felt like I was there, and I have never been....YET!!!
Soon! I will go SOON!!!
June 9, 2012
When I travel, I read. A lot. There are so many hours on planes, in airports, and I don't care about the movies on board or sneaking an hour with "People" or some other silly magazine. Getting back to my hotel room after a day exploring, I look forward to winding down for an hour or two with a book. So on a two week vacation, I logged a lot of pages. Of the books I read, this was probably my favorite.
Is that because it's a memoir about an Italian/American woman's study of Sicily, a little time reading about her adventures while I'm in the midst of my own exploration of Eastern Europe? There is a synergy there. I am transported on the page to small towns perched on Sicily's rugged hillsides while my body rests after walking through the historic streets of Belgrade and Budapest all day.
So I am now home and full of my own memories and stories, my camera's memory card packed with several hundred snapshots, plus little videos of Bulgarian dancers and a procession to St. Stephen's Cathedral on the Feast of Corpus Christi in Vienna.
But read this book. Maybe it will cause you to put Sicily on your bucket list. I just added it to mine.
Is that because it's a memoir about an Italian/American woman's study of Sicily, a little time reading about her adventures while I'm in the midst of my own exploration of Eastern Europe? There is a synergy there. I am transported on the page to small towns perched on Sicily's rugged hillsides while my body rests after walking through the historic streets of Belgrade and Budapest all day.
So I am now home and full of my own memories and stories, my camera's memory card packed with several hundred snapshots, plus little videos of Bulgarian dancers and a procession to St. Stephen's Cathedral on the Feast of Corpus Christi in Vienna.
But read this book. Maybe it will cause you to put Sicily on your bucket list. I just added it to mine.
May 20, 2015
I just wrote Theresa Maggio a fan letter; I don't often do this. Having traveled to Sicily more than 20x, falling in love with it -- its food, people, geography and history -- I can so understand what she has done and how she feels. I do agree the initial chapter does not sing with the same tunes her work does further inside and that is where the magic takes place, when she gets to the core ..
I love this book; I love the love with which you write about each character, the close-up vignettes, your spare phrasing that allows the characters to tell their own stories sans interpretation and the gentle ways in which you educate us, your readers with salient facts re legend, customs. I fell in love with Sicily maybe 35 years ago, am not of Sicilian blood, but my mother in law was and as much as I have family in other parts of Italy, it is Sicily I love returning to most. Thank you for the journey and the inspiration.
I love this book; I love the love with which you write about each character, the close-up vignettes, your spare phrasing that allows the characters to tell their own stories sans interpretation and the gentle ways in which you educate us, your readers with salient facts re legend, customs. I fell in love with Sicily maybe 35 years ago, am not of Sicilian blood, but my mother in law was and as much as I have family in other parts of Italy, it is Sicily I love returning to most. Thank you for the journey and the inspiration.
February 16, 2017
This isn't a travel memoir per se but more a memoir of an American woman from New Jersey of Sicilian descent (Theresa Maggio) who writes beautifully about life in small mountain towns in Sicily. She covers social mores and traditions involving gender roles, religion, food, and other aspects of Sicilian life. She weaves into the narrative of her personal experiences interesting and relevant references to the island's history, weather, and corruption. Overall, I found it to be a very engaging story of life today in an ancient and cultural crossroads: Sicily.
June 22, 2018
Maggio lulls us with a wonderful evening of family and food but pulls us up straight with a young woman who is bullied because she remains unmarried. We see the beauty and the darkness. Maggio’s travels in Sicily are a grand adventure. Pack your bags and keep your passport.
October 7, 2021
“Something thrums in the stones of Sicilian hill towns, and I have become obsessed with them,” writes Theresa Maggio in her colorful and very personal guide through this distinctive part of Italy.
Maggio’s paternal grandparents were Sicilian, emigrating early in the twentieth century from the town of Santa Margherita, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1965. Although her grandmother refused to return to the village, claiming “There’s nothing there,” Maggio decided to see Sicily for herself, visiting while in college, and again, later, with her father, as well as on various vacations. Watching “The Star Maker,” by the Sicilian director Giuseppe Tornatore—who also made the Academy Award-winning movie “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”—she was captivated by Sicily’s stone villages, and in 1992, she finally had the time and money to explore them.
Blending description, history, anecdotes, and her own experiences, Maggio takes us from town to town, focusing both on place and on people. It is a leisurely journey, its style well-suited to these quiet villages. Despite the book’s subtitle, they are not really “hidden”—travelers know that little remains truly hidden these days. Arriving in Castiglione, Maggio thinks she has found a “lost village,” only to discover, hanging on a restaurant wall, autographed photographs of Harvey Keitel, who spent a month in the town while making a film. Still, the towns she visits are hardly tourist attractions: they are small, insular, inhabited largely by older people, and still tied to older customs. And each has its own character.
Maggio explores the cave dwellings in Sperlinga; she visits the farms around Mt. Etna, where people must deal with the still-active volcano; she participates in Catania’s long, dramatic religious procession, the Feast of St. Agatha; and in Santa Margherita, she shares a woman’s first-hand account of the 1965 earthquake.
She introduces us to a bagpiper—it turns out that bagpiping is an old Sicilian custom(who knew?); to a woman struggling to succeed on her own in business in a deeply sexist culture; and to a stone-worker who, after many years, found his talent and success and now dreams of “a death worthy of the stones.”
For Maggio, the stories always return to the stones. “Here the bedrock hums with hidden energy,” she writes. “Sicilians use it to build their houses, churches, and streets. Their lives saturate the rock, carving niches, and pooling in the voids.” Of her beloved town, Polizzi Generosa (“so high, so serene, so alone”), where she rents an apartment on the edge of a cliff, she says, “These streets were so close and intimate that I felt I’d walked into someone’s stone boudoir.”
Maggio’s experience of the Sicilian villages is so visual, it’s a shame that no photos accompany the book. But I am hoping to watch “The Star Maker,” the movie that lured Maggio to these towns, so I can see them for myself.
Maggio’s paternal grandparents were Sicilian, emigrating early in the twentieth century from the town of Santa Margherita, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1965. Although her grandmother refused to return to the village, claiming “There’s nothing there,” Maggio decided to see Sicily for herself, visiting while in college, and again, later, with her father, as well as on various vacations. Watching “The Star Maker,” by the Sicilian director Giuseppe Tornatore—who also made the Academy Award-winning movie “Nuovo Cinema Paradiso”—she was captivated by Sicily’s stone villages, and in 1992, she finally had the time and money to explore them.
Blending description, history, anecdotes, and her own experiences, Maggio takes us from town to town, focusing both on place and on people. It is a leisurely journey, its style well-suited to these quiet villages. Despite the book’s subtitle, they are not really “hidden”—travelers know that little remains truly hidden these days. Arriving in Castiglione, Maggio thinks she has found a “lost village,” only to discover, hanging on a restaurant wall, autographed photographs of Harvey Keitel, who spent a month in the town while making a film. Still, the towns she visits are hardly tourist attractions: they are small, insular, inhabited largely by older people, and still tied to older customs. And each has its own character.
Maggio explores the cave dwellings in Sperlinga; she visits the farms around Mt. Etna, where people must deal with the still-active volcano; she participates in Catania’s long, dramatic religious procession, the Feast of St. Agatha; and in Santa Margherita, she shares a woman’s first-hand account of the 1965 earthquake.
She introduces us to a bagpiper—it turns out that bagpiping is an old Sicilian custom(who knew?); to a woman struggling to succeed on her own in business in a deeply sexist culture; and to a stone-worker who, after many years, found his talent and success and now dreams of “a death worthy of the stones.”
For Maggio, the stories always return to the stones. “Here the bedrock hums with hidden energy,” she writes. “Sicilians use it to build their houses, churches, and streets. Their lives saturate the rock, carving niches, and pooling in the voids.” Of her beloved town, Polizzi Generosa (“so high, so serene, so alone”), where she rents an apartment on the edge of a cliff, she says, “These streets were so close and intimate that I felt I’d walked into someone’s stone boudoir.”
Maggio’s experience of the Sicilian villages is so visual, it’s a shame that no photos accompany the book. But I am hoping to watch “The Star Maker,” the movie that lured Maggio to these towns, so I can see them for myself.
September 28, 2019
Slices of life that are beautiful and sometimes tough to read. I got this from the library (of course, because libraries rule), but may keep an eye out for a copy to have around to read as I please.
Made me both thankful my bisnonno* left Sicilia and also hella achey to go see it myself as an adult.
*And it makes me wonder what the word is in his dialect
Made me both thankful my bisnonno* left Sicilia and also hella achey to go see it myself as an adult.
*And it makes me wonder what the word is in his dialect
June 27, 2017
The Stone Boudoir has helped flesh out a rough itinerary for my tour of Sicily later this year. This was an alternative and sometimes whimsical travel memoir. It reveals the lifestyle persisting in isolated Sicilian villages, including the customs, rural conservatism and superstitions. The author makes several journeys to trace her ancestral trail and the less familiar parts of Sicily. The memoir reveals her love for meandering travels, her non-judgemental insights as well as her eye for colour, flavours and landscape. Her descriptions of the black volcanic rock around Mt Etna contrasting with other colours and even snow, were vivid. What is not revealed is very much about the writer herself, yet her empathy with the poverty-stricken (especially the women) also comes through. Theresa Maggio's writing is light, fresh, delightful. I sense that, as a traveller, she has the same qualities. Lastly, I so wish she'd had a map of her explorations at the beginning or end of her book.
May 26, 2016
This book inspired me to go to Sicily when my long term relationship ended. I spent six weeks in Sicily, and two of them in Polizzi Generosa, a village in the Madonie mountains that Theresa Maggio keeps returning to. Polizzi was beautiful, and I kept the book with me while I was travelling, leaving it behind with a restauranteur/hotelier in Polizzi for his generosity.
Two and a half years later, that trip is still with me. I can feel the cold dampness of the hotel room in March, when I arrived unexpectedly. The hotel room had been part of a sultan's palace when the Muslims ruled Sicily. I can taste the meals I ate there. I can hear the sheep being let out on the spring mountain side.
Part of me still lives there and this book has become very bittersweet: it refreshes my memories but reminds me I'm no longer in Sicily.
Two and a half years later, that trip is still with me. I can feel the cold dampness of the hotel room in March, when I arrived unexpectedly. The hotel room had been part of a sultan's palace when the Muslims ruled Sicily. I can taste the meals I ate there. I can hear the sheep being let out on the spring mountain side.
Part of me still lives there and this book has become very bittersweet: it refreshes my memories but reminds me I'm no longer in Sicily.
May 4, 2015
a lovely memoir of a woman to traveled through the small villages of sicily discovering her family's roots. plan to spend some time in simiar villages - most of these were in an area south of palermo. sure wish that i had a skill with foreign languages but then if i did it wouldn't have taken me over 5 years to pass 2 semesters of french in college. even then i brown-nosed the teacher by trading recipes to get the C- that i "earned"
March 16, 2019
A pleasing collection of short stories centering on the lives and customs of small Sicilian hill villages.
Beautiful scenery and appealing characters abound and are evocatively described. It really makes you want to head for the hills - or at the very least look at pictures on Google!
This was a real ray of sunshine in the British winter.
Beautiful scenery and appealing characters abound and are evocatively described. It really makes you want to head for the hills - or at the very least look at pictures on Google!
This was a real ray of sunshine in the British winter.
August 26, 2017
I really enjoy books that take me to places I would like to see. This book made me feel like I was on the journey through Sicily with the author. Good descriptions of the towns, people and customs throughout the island.
January 22, 2018
Loved this! I could so easily picture these towns in Sicily, having just been there a couple of months ago. The description of the procession of St. Agatha in Catania was particularly memorable.
Highly recommended for lovers of Italy and Sicilia!
Highly recommended for lovers of Italy and Sicilia!
January 13, 2019
Excellent
This was a very well-written book about the author's travels to small Sicilian towns. After reading this I am now going to read more about the history of Sicily. Highly recommended.
This was a very well-written book about the author's travels to small Sicilian towns. After reading this I am now going to read more about the history of Sicily. Highly recommended.
August 22, 2017
This was a well written and interesting book. I read this after my trip to Sicily and wish I had been able to read it before.
September 2, 2025
Loved reading this collection of essays--vignettes of life in Sicily, written by a US citizen with Sicilian roots. Happy to have it on my list of books about Sicily, written from a personal perspective. Maggio intertwines official history--largely from well-known historian Denis Mack Smith--with local lore. She describes her surroundings, she captures people's voices, she makes you want to experience small-town life and the blending of cultures on this island that has hosted so many peoples through the centuries. Yes, the book was written more than twenty years ago, so it is dated in some ways. But it captures a slice of time in which Maggio was discovering her family's history--the 1980s & 1990s. Happy to know about this book and recommend it to anyone who wants more than The White Lotus.
March 7, 2024
The author, of Sicilian ancestry, loving returns again and again to Sicily to explore primarily the remote mountain villages to record the life, customs and stories of the villagers. She covers their religious festivals; love of the land/water/farming; their generous and open nature particularly for visiting Sicilian emigrants; the role of the church and sequestered nuns; strict beliefs about gender roles and the courting process; the influence still of the mafia and resulting government corruption; life in centuries old cave homes; and the deep friendships she created there. Her love of the country is evident and her descriptions of the high mountain villages, the rocky terrain, the stunning views and misty air all transport you there.
June 6, 2022
A collection of mostly short pieces detailing the author's travels and life in the small mountain towns of Sicily, particularly the town where her grandparents cam from. This is not a "I left my problems and found true love/happiness in [place]" travel memoir, but more of a straight description of the people and places she stayed. Like all such collections, some pieces are better than others, but I didn't think there were any duds. A cut above the typical travel articles you see in the NY Times Travel section or travel magazines (do they still exist)? No hotel or dining recommendations are provided.
January 22, 2022
An American journalist's love affair with Sicily that her grandparents did and didn't know. A single woman, sometimes a little gushing and romantic but interesting nonetheless. She clearly has the gift of getting on with people and getting them to tell their stories. But also you get the sense that she is a bit of a loner and that the settled life with a man is not for her. She loves Vermont as well and that is where she lives.
November 11, 2025
This was recommended to me by a friend who traveled with the author many years ago. It made an excellent companion to my trip around Sicily. Our activities often synched up with my nightly reading - Theresa seeing an active lava flow on the day that I hiked on an extinct volcanic crater, etc. She clearly loves the island and its people, and that love comes through in her curiosity and wonder at this beautiful place.
July 10, 2025
While this book is a little dated, it’s a wonderful book of essays about traveling through the remote mountain villages of Sicily. While I’m sure there are plenty of changes since the early 2000s, when the book was published, much still seems to be the same (at least that’s what Mr. Google says). A fun book to read if you’re traveling to Sicily, for sure.
April 11, 2020
Travel book
If you are looking for a book about small towns in southern Italy this book is for you. Other than that, do not read it! I thought this would be an interesting story. I was mistaken.
If you are looking for a book about small towns in southern Italy this book is for you. Other than that, do not read it! I thought this would be an interesting story. I was mistaken.
August 11, 2025
Very descriptive account of life in Sicily. A good read for those travelling the island or planning to. As I did a similar trip to discover my family roots, and currently reading it while on my 3rd trip to the island, this book felt quite special. Wished the author wrote more books.
June 6, 2019
A nice collection of stories about the people in small towns across Sicily.
March 1, 2020
Pictures drawn by words
As I read this book, I came to see and slightly understand Sicily. The hardships, corruption, and persistence were beautifully painted.
As I read this book, I came to see and slightly understand Sicily. The hardships, corruption, and persistence were beautifully painted.
May 6, 2021
Het is een heel luchtig boek. Het voelt als op vakantie gaan naar Sicilië. De hoofdpersoon reist af naar mooie plekken en ontmoet bijzondere mensen. Er zit weinig tot geen spanning in.
June 3, 2022
This book gives an intimate look into Sicily and I want to see more.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 86 reviews