About » Essence of Sicily

Essence of Sicily is a full service boutique Travel Company, devoted to luxury, hand-crafted journeys and one-of-a-kind trips in the beautiful island of Sicily.

The care, research and exclusive resources that are put into each trip are enhanced through the process of getting to know my clients and collaborating alongside each other. It’s our passion to create your dream vacation by bringing together unique hand-selected elements that inspire each personalized journey.

Viviana Buscemi, co-owner of Essence of Sicily graduated in Economics of Tourism from the University of Bologna, and specialized in Marketing at the European Institute of Design in Milan. She lived and worked outside of Sicily for several years, but her dream was always to return home to start up a unique business of her own: a tour operator specialising in the creation and development of customized tours, aimed at the discovery of the real essence of Sicily. While working as an event organizer and hospitality tourism instructor, she set up “Filovacanze Luxury Tours in Sicily” in 2003, which later evolved into Essence of Sicily, owned in partnership with Peppe Mendola. Viviana welcomes the opportunity to help you choose the best itinerary for your custom-made tour, and carefully advise you according to your own tastes, wishes and needs, in order to make your holiday a truly memorable experience! She loves to give her guests the unique opportunity to experience Sicily through its fascinating history, countryside and culinary delights!

viviana

I was born and raised in Agrigento, and my main motivation in life is to impart my passion and devotion to Sicily to everyone I encounter. I am proud to say that I have helped develop upscale and luxury travel in Sicily since 2002, before there was even the right infrastructure to accommodate the discerning traveler. My motto has been and always will be, if it’s in Sicily, we can arrange it for you. My love for the “Island of the Sun” grows deep and we ensure that you will have a high-touch experience, one that exudes authenticity at every turn and at every hour during your journey. And, if that isn’t enough, I’m happy to give you a private performance, taking a song or two from the folklore group Val d’Akragas’ repertoire, the folk company that I belong to and that travels the world to share Sicily’s rich cultural heritage through dance and song.

Peppe