Connie Milano wasn't keen on leaving California for her Sicilian husband, Gino's, more remote hometown, high in the Erean Mountains. Born in Scotland, she moved to Santa Barbara as a young woman and, over the course of four decades, carved her own niche in the vibrant coastal community.
"I'll move to Sicily, and we'll buy a house there, but I don't want to live in Enna," she told him, finding it too small and isolated.
But that changed when Gino shared a video of a villa he'd located just outside Enna and above Lake Pergusa.
"I did see the potential," Connie recalls.
A self-described "workaholic" and salesperson, she and Gino converted the home into Villa Isabella Bed & Breakfast (named after their daughter), catering primarily to former clients from their Santa Barbara restaurants. While it lacks the coastal breezes and buzz of city life, it more than delivers with stunning Mount Etna views, natural beauty, and rich history. Still, with two newborn grandchildren (twins!) in Philadelphia, this Nonna of seven wonders how much longer she and Gino will keep the villa they so lovingly built.
She's not only fallen in love with Enna; she's become one of its biggest boosters. But life as an expat isn't all lemon groves and volcano views.
Adapting to Sicilian life has required overcoming a language barrier and cultural differences. However, those challenges are part of the adventure—and a chapter of the book she hopes to one day publish.
Connie shared more about her journey and its rewards, highlighting both the struggles and the joys of her life in Sicily.
Connie and Gino Milano
What challenges have you encountered while adjusting to life in Sicily?
Language for sure. I am just not a language person. I've tried it, and I'm not.
People say to me, "But you've been coming here for 29 years!"
I understand it more than I give myself credit for. But to actually have a full-on conversation… I use Google Translate to talk to people, and it's not the same, but it's what I do, and I survive. So, language, the pace of life, and how things are done here.
I'm challenged every day. I'm challenged by the way people drive. I'm challenged by people smoking when I'm trying to have a cup of coffee. I'm challenged with trying to communicate. But I deal with it, and I'm not going to complain about it. This is their country.
After being here for 29 years, I'm a lot more forgiving. I was the one who chose to live here.
Villa Isabella is just outside of Pergusa in the province of Enna.
Share more about Villa Isabella.
It's a large villa set in a lovely location with an amazing view. And we're in the countryside. We're a seven-minute drive from Pergusa. And Pergusa is famous for a Formula One racetrack from the late sixties (now used mainly for car shows and bike shows), and it's around a famous lake, which goes back to Greek mythology called Lake Pergusa.
There was a young goddess called Persephone, who was kidnapped by a god. He took her to the lake and kept her there, and he made a deal with her mother. And that's where the four seasons came from.
We also have a Norman Castle. Enna is over 3,000 years old. We have a gorgeous cemetery and a beautiful museum. So, there's a lot to see in Enna.
Enna's got a lot of charm. The people are lovely. It's also safe.
The villa itself is pretty tranquil. It's pretty big. There are two levels. The bottom is a huge room with a grand piano and a professional kitchen.
It's a fun space. There are six bedrooms upstairs, two bathrooms, and a small kitchen. And we built a swimming pool. I usually have a vegetable garden. I've had cats and dogs.
One of the things I love about Enna is that we are the belly button of the island. We're right in the very middle. I'm 10 minutes from the freeway when I go down the road, which has been getting renovated for as long as I can remember. I can go on the freeway and be in Catania in one hour and 10 minutes. I can be in Palermo in less than two hours.
Villa Isabella guests and friends participate in a sing-along.
Tell us about your clientele.
Ninety-five percent of the customers who have come here over the years come from our restaurant businesses. I always had a guestbook in the restaurants and spoke to people. Our restaurants were always very Sicilian, because Gino was from Sicily, and we would put up the Sicilian flag.
I've been in retail, so I really adore and realize the value of a customer. If you don't treat them with respect, it's a two-way street. So my customers became friends. If you come into my restaurant with a baby, I'd say, "Give me the baby. You enjoy your pizza." And I would walk about the restaurant, talking to people, taking orders, and holding the baby.
That's just the way I am. It's the way I was brought up. I come from a very close-knit Scottish-Irish family, but the restaurant business gave me a lot of customers, and most of the people who have come over the years have come from the restaurants.
I don't look for the business, to be honest. It comes to me.
Guests learn to cook and appreciate all of the flavors of Sicily.
How did life change once you opened your doors as a business?
I obviously had to make sure that I was organized and ready to give customers the best experience of Sicily and a wonderful experience with us, because they were coming from the other side of the world to spend time with us. I wanted their memory of Gino and me to be a good one.
Anybody who comes here is my ambassador for sending other people. We bought a minivan because we would get people who would say to us, "We want to come to Sicily, but we don't really want to drive. Where do you recommend?"
So, I put together little packages. I'll say, "You want to go have pizza and see the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina. We'll take you." Or "You want to go to Agrigento and see the Greek temples? We'll take you."
I progressed into not just a B&B and a cooking school. I always say to people, "What do you want to learn how to cook? Do you want to learn how to cook pasta from scratch?" And they say, "We want to know how to make the meatballs that Gino made in the restaurant or the tiramisu that you made." So, we just go with the flow.
Gino and Carmelo harvest eggplants in the garden.
For those dreaming of relocating to Italy, what's one piece of advice you'd offer?
Do your homework. I'm on many, many different websites. I have many friends all over the island now because I'm very outgoing, and I meet people. I'm noticing that many people didn't complete their homework. They went to a town to buy a Euro House that ended up costing them 70,000 euros in a town that's literally dead.
Rent before you buy, and make sure that you can legitimately live here, that you can get your permesso di soggiorno status.
Sunset over Pergusa
What's one lesson or realization that continues to guide you today?
This was an adventure that I'll never regret. Sicily is so stunningly beautiful, no matter where you go. And the people are lovely, and so is the history.
You could do something here every single day for the rest of your life, and you'd never be bored. Never. It can be overwhelming.
Some people say things like, "When you put your bare feet on the land…" I'm more of a realistic person than one of those people, but I've actually tried it. I took up yoga here and meditation, and there's something about this island that just gets to you. Maybe it's the antiquity. There's just something that calls me.
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