The produce of this coast: what to eat, and when
A salami that is Sicily's only IGP, a Slow Food Presidium cheese, and the lemon that built this town's wealth. Between coast and mountain everything changes within half an hour's drive: what to look for, and in which season.
The lemon that built the town
Before tourism, Capo d'Orlando lived on lemons. The Costa Tramontana lemon takes its name from the wind that comes down off the Nebrodi and mixes with Tyrrhenian air: it dries the fruit, concentrates the essential oils in the peel, and balances acidity against sweetness. It's the Femminello cultivar, and until the 1980s it left by the tonne from the town's railway station for half the world — that boom built the houses you see today. The growers' consortium has applied for IGP status; the process is ongoing. The Pro Loco devotes a festival to it, Limun'aria. Lemon gelato here is not the same thing it is elsewhere.
The salami that is the island's only IGP
Fifteen minutes away, in the valley of Sant'Angelo di Brolo, they make Salame S. Angelo IGP: the only Sicilian cured meat with Protected Geographical Indication, granted in 2008. It uses only the noble cuts — leg, loin, fillet, shoulder, coppa — cut with the point of a knife, never minced: which is why each slice has that coarse, irregular grain. Sea salt, whole black peppercorns, natural casing, thirty to ninety days curing in a microclimate the Normans had already worked out in the 11th century. Cut it thick. Anyone slicing it paper-thin has missed the point.
Up in the mountains: provola, black pork, mushrooms
Provola dei Nebrodi is a Slow Food Presidium: whole raw cow's milk, kid or lamb paste rennet, pasta filata stretched by hand. Fresh it's sweet and elastic; aged up to two years it turns sharp and tastes of mountain pasture. The Nebrodi black pig is the other Presidium: a hardy breed raised semi-wild, with dark, deeply flavoured meat — try it cured, or roasted at a mountain agriturismo. Autumn brings porcini mushrooms (picking is regulated and needs a permit) and Nebrodi hazelnuts. And ricotta: buy it early, because by mid-morning it's gone.
From the sea: bluefish
Seafood here doesn't mean lobster: it means anchovies, sardines, mackerel — bluefish landed that morning, cheap and tasting of the sea. Pasta con le sarde, marinated anchovies, involtini, and swordfish alla ghiotta in season. The fishing quarter of San Gregorio holds a festival for it, Sapore di Sale, on 9 August.
Breakfast: granita and brioche col tuppo
Granita with brioche col tuppo: almond, mulberry, lemon or coffee. It isn't a snack, it's breakfast, and the brioche is for dunking. Real granita gives itself away by its muted colours — real fruit doesn't glow — and by melting fast. It's the most Sicilian thing you'll do on holiday, and the cheapest.
The calendar of flavours
Summer: bluefish, granita, figs, lemon gelato. Autumn: mushrooms, hazelnuts, ricotta, the first olives, chestnuts as you climb into the Nebrodi. Winter and spring: citrus, from November to April, when this coast really does smell of lemons. Provola and salami have no season — those are always here.
Taking some home
Salami, aged provola and hazelnuts travel well; ricotta and granita don't — those you eat here. If you'd rather buy from the producers than the supermarket, ask us on WhatsApp: we'll tell you where to go and which days they're open. And here's the guide on where to eat →
Frequently asked questions
What is Capo d'Orlando's typical product?
The Costa Tramontana lemon, Femminello cultivar, grown along the coastal strip between the Gulf of Milazzo and the Fiumara di Tusa. Until the 1980s it was exported by the tonne from the town's railway station, and the consortium has now applied for IGP recognition.
What is Salame S. Angelo?
It is the only Sicilian cured meat with Protected Geographical Indication, granted in 2008. It's made in Sant'Angelo di Brolo, fifteen minutes from Capo d'Orlando, from the noble cuts of pork cut with the point of a knife and cured for 30 to 90 days.
What cheese do they eat in the Nebrodi?
Provola dei Nebrodi, a Slow Food Presidium, made with whole raw cow's milk and kid or lamb paste rennet. Fresh it is sweet; aged up to two years it becomes sharp and intense.
Where do you eat fresh fish in Capo d'Orlando?
Head for the fishing quarter of San Gregorio; the catch here is mostly bluefish — anchovies, sardines, mackerel. On 9 August the quarter hosts Sapore di Sale, the bluefish festival.
Related destinations: Capo d'Orlando, Nebrodi Park.
Stay in Capo d'Orlando
A base in the centre — and everything else becomes a day trip.
The port for the Aeolians is 45 minutes away, the Nebrodi right behind. Breakfast served early for dawn departures.
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