Lindsay Marie Morris

It's hard to avoid the Maria Santissima del Lume while visiting Porticello. Some locals say that the so-called Virgin of the Light appeared to fishermen lost at sea in 1777, responding to their desperate prayers by shining a light to guide them safely back to shore. Others will share the story about the mysterious painting that hangs in Chiesa Di Maria Santissima Del Lume, attributing it to an 18th-century Jesuit priest, Father Giovanni Antonio Genovesi, who they say painted it under the Madonna's guidance. These are the stories my grandparents grew up with before they got married in that very church. Because of this, the Patroness of Porticello, her church, and the village's annual Festa played a significant role in The Last Letter from Sicily, a family-inspired story. 

 

The sacred painting in Chiesa Di Maria Santissima Del Lume

 

Porticello is also the ancestral home of Giuseppe Sanfilippo, President of the San Diego-based Madonna del Lume Society of Our Lady of the Rosary, by way of his Sicilian immigrant parents. The organization kicks off its Madonna del Lume Novena Triduum, starting tonight, followed by a Sunday Festa Mass and light lunch.

Giuseppe maintains a strong connection to the Blessed Mother, whom he says continues to guide those who are "lost at sea" or otherwise in need of light.

"How many times in our lives, especially in these current times, have we been lost, confused, uncertain, or fearful?" Giuseppe shared with me during a conversation last year. "Whether we are fishermen at sea, laborers on land, or workers at home, this story gives each of us hope that there is always a light, no matter how dark, and there is always faith, no matter how hopeless our situation is."

 

Photo courtesy of La Società di Maria Santissima del Lume

The light has guided generations of immigrants from Porticello to the U.S. For 90 years, San Francisco has celebrated Festa della Madonna del Lume, a tradition brought to the city by La Società di Maria Santissima del Lume, founded by Sicilian women from Porticello. Their festivities include a Memorial Mass at the Fishermen's and Seamen's Chapel, a ceremony at sea to honor lost fishermen, a High Mass at Saints Peter & Paul in North Beach, and a grand procession to Fisherman's Wharf for the Blessing of the Fishing Fleet. It's a weekend of smiles, tears, music, and devotion to the Patroness whose illumination endures. 

It was this light that carried Concetta and Gaetano of The Last Letter from Sicily (like my grandparents) through World War II, despite the ocean and instability between them. 

 

Beneath a halo of Sicilian stars: Maria SS delle Grazie
Photo courtesy of Salvatore Coniglio

In Beneath the Sicilian Stars, Maria wears a Maria Santissima delle Grazie pendant, modeled after her namesake, whose statue was said to have been discovered by fishermen after it washed into a cove. Today, that sculpted depiction of the Madonna, holding the Christ child under a halo of stars, is displayed in Parrocchia Maria Santissima delle Grazie in Isola delle Femmine, another Sicilian fishing village. In the story, the Aiello matriarch clings to the necklace as her only link to what she left behind, beneath the Sicilian stars. The statue appears in the novel at a moment of illumination, symbolizing hope and new beginnings.

 

While I am no longer a practicing Catholic, the Madonna holds a special place in my novels. She serves as a symbol of comfort, compassion, sacrifice, and hope for those in need. I still wear her likeness, a necklace my Nonna once wore religiously (in both senses of that word); it reminds me of our shared stories and my personal connection with the place she once called home. It gives me comfort, knowing that even on the darkest days, I have that guiding light. 

 

 

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Working in tourism was never on Amy Chambers' roadmap. As a student at San Diego State University, she immersed herself in cell and molecular biology, not language or culture.

But a study abroad trip to Florence in her twenties changed everything. What began as a detour became a lifelong passion, leading Amy to spend months at a time in Italy over the past two decades. Along the way, she cultivated deep friendships and a nuanced understanding of the country and its culture.

That love of la dolce vita inspired her to cofound the Scappare Travel Club (from the Italian word for "escape") with fellow Italy enthusiast Maria Goldman, whom she met while studying Italian more than a decade ago. The LLC officially launched in January 2024.

Although she still maintains her career as a nurse practitioner in urgent care, internal medicine, and pediatric psychiatry (negotiating time off for extended stays in Italy), Amy pours equal energy into her business. By design, the company offers intimate, small-group tours that eschew conventional tour operators in favor of a trusted network of local friends, opening doors to sights, foods, and experiences that most travelers never encounter.

Amy discussed the origins of Scappare, the philosophy behind its boutique approach, and why sharing Italy with others has become such a personal calling.

Where did the idea for the Scappare Travel Club come from?

The idea for it started a long time before we formed the actual company. I went to study in my twenties and lived in Florence for a while.

It took a little while for me, but after I assimilated, I felt a sense of home there, not in the same way I feel at home here, but with a sense of belonging. And it opened something in my heart.

I felt a different way there. I developed a deep-standing love for the Italian way of life, and when I left, I felt the need to return. So, I did the next year and kept going back year after year.

I also wanted to learn more about the culture and the language. So, I spent the next 10 years studying Italian and learning Italian. And once I learned the language, I went back even more because, for me, learning the language is like the key that unlocks the door to a whole different culture, way of doing things, and way of looking at things: eating, relating to people, conversing—all of it.

Italy is now a meaningful part of my life, one that I hold dear and cultivate. Starting the Scappare Travel Club came from that. It came from my love affair with Italy. It's nice for me to see that love affair develop in other people, too.

 

Scappare Travel Club Co-founders Maria Goldman and Amy Chambers enjoy an aperitivo in Pienza, Italy.

How did the business idea become a reality?

I met Maria 12 years ago while studying Italian at the Italian Cultural Center here in San Diego. She was learning Italian at the same pace that I was.

As a nurse practitioner by day, I have been able to spend two to three months a year in Italy, so I've been able to realize my dream of sharing the magic of Italy with other travelers. And people began to want to experience what that was like.

So, Maria and I got together and thought, "What if we could do this formally? Maybe even people who don't think they want to go to Italy could experience its magic—but in a way that's different from typical tourism."

My dear friend Andrea drives us around Tuscany, and our friend Massimo is a nationally licensed tour guide in Sicily from Ragusa. We love to share backdoor experiences with small groups. You eat at restaurants that tour companies don't send you to. You meet our friends, you become friends, too.  

 

Amy with Local Friends in Montepulciano, Italy

 

Share the significance of the name Scappare.

It means "to escape" in Italian, and I wanted to name the company after this concept. I wanted the name to be a hybrid of Italian and English, like me.

I'm from California, but I wanted to include Italian words, and I actually received a lot of pushback about that. I heard, "If you name your company with an Italian word, no one's going to know what you are. No one will know what it means. They won't know how to look you up. It's going to be confusing."

I felt that people would be able to relate to the feeling of getting on a plane and escaping their everyday routine. That feeling of escaping and flying away is the best. For me, knowing Italy is on the other end of that destination is a very important and meaningful feeling. Escaping to Italy is my love in life. 

Not that your life here is not important, but escaping to Italy is just the best thing ever. It's the best place on earth, according to me!

So, I wanted to have that feeling front and center in the name of my company.  There's some fun in explaining it to fellow travelers. And when I do, people can relate even though it's not in English.

 

Amy with her friend Paolo, who leads Florence walking tours for Scappare Travel Club.
 

What does that concept look like in practice?

Our signature trip is the Florence and Tuscany trip, and our Italian friends arrange the ground transportation. We have Paolo, a friend of mine whom I met years ago, who does walking tours of Florence.

Many people organize tours, and they take larger groups than we do. We want to maintain the boutique, small-group experience.

With us, you're traveling with friends. Maria and I (at least one of us) are always there on the trips. We're not necessarily doing all of the activities, but we are there in the background or in the foreground, so that our guests have a familiar face close by.

We like to get to know our guests; we don't just put together a tour and say, "Okay, go have fun." We are there with them.

Many tour companies work with destination management companies in Italy and create packaged tours that they pay for. While we do work with destination management companies (sometimes for the bare bones of the tours), we don't package everything with them. We actually pay extra to use our own people that we know and trust.

Maria and I go on research trips and meet people. We vet every single hotel. We meet tour guides ourselves.

We want people to see the authentic Italy. Not a restaurant that's front and center in the Piazza, where you'll be overcharged or there's a tourist menu, but the restaurant five blocks away, where you might have to walk, but Massimo's friend owns it.

 

Scappare Travel Club guest Glenn shares pasta he made in class as part of a farm tour in Tuscany. 

What advice would you offer to someone who wants to pursue a similar path?

Be prepared to take out the trash and do all of the things. It's not just about your vision.

I love Italy and I love to talk about it, but when you're starting a business, there's a lot of nitty-gritty work on the backend, and things I've had to learn how to do on the business side that are new to me. But I'm willing to do it.

I started this company because of my love for Italy. I love the feeling I get when I go there. I love the culture. I love its history. I enjoy discussing it with people. Italy has done so much for me personally in my life.

I started the company to promote that feeling, that affinity. I want to share that. 

People start companies for all kinds of reasons: for profit, necessity, or as a hobby. Mine was for the genuine love of Italian culture and people. So, keeping my day job and starting slow was the way to go for that. Eventually, I'd like the company to grow so that more people can experience the magical feeling I have felt.

Scappare Travel Club guests Carol, Carol, and Pamela in Calabria, Italy  

What do you ultimately hope to share?

When we travel, we expose ourselves to things outside of our own bubble. And when we expose ourselves to different things that, at first, are uncomfortable, like the discomfort of being in a different place with a different language, it breeds tolerance. The less exposed we are, the less tolerant we become.

 

Italy is an incredibly special place. I've traveled to lots of places in the world, but, in my opinion, there is no place like Italy. There is no place like the culture and the people, the language, the way of life; it speaks to me.

I want to show people the magic that it is. And I know not everybody will be as passionate as I am, and people have different affinities towards different places, but Italy is amazing! It's magical. It draws you in. It'll make you want to go back.

I want people to see and experience that.

 

Amy at Mercato Centrale in Florence  

 

 

 

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