Ketty Federico

What places and activities do you specialize in?

"I specialize in Sicily and in Southern Italy, but I have also lived for over 10 years in Northern Italy. That's why I call Catania, as well as Bologna or Turin my own home, and I have learnt to enjoy all aspects which make those cities special and unique in their own way. The core of the travel experience lies in the exchange, so that for me the main activities are experiencing the typical food and the wines, meeting locals and participating in their daily activities, discovering hidden beautiful spots and lovely little villages spread all along the peninsula. All these activities are possible in Italy, and especially in Sicily, where I currently live: an island shaped by the contrasting forces of fire and water, surrounded by smaller, even more special little volcanic islands."

How did you get involved in travel?

"I got involved in travel quite early. At the age of eighteen, during my summer holidays, I bought a train ticket to Rome where I met some friends, with whom I took the next train to Germany, to one tiny little village in the ex-GDR. There, I took part in a work camp, organized by the Italian environmental association Legambiente: I spent over a month in Catterfeld (Thueringen) working as a volunteer for the local community in the morning (mainly in the fields or painting walls in some village buildings) and visiting the nearby cities, or enjoying the lake in the evening. It was a beautiful experience, an exciting one to share with people coming from all over the world. Later, I moved to Northern Italy for my studies and from there I traveled a lot as an Erasmus student, as well as on my own. After several years, most of which spent in Germany, where I studied the language and worked as a translator, I moved back to Sicily: here, thanks to some very fortunate circumstances I had the chance to turn my deepest passion in what now is my job. "

Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.

"Portugal is one of the travel experiences I will never forget: standing in the middle of Praça do Comércio, in a city on a river and on the ocean at the same time, where the change from sun to heavy rain and back to sun is a matter of seconds, and where the sea breeze surprises you at every corner. Another experience I won’t forget is biking through the Thueringer Wald for over 50km, without exactly knowing where we were heading. Quite an adventure, and with consequences indeed: a very late dinner and some everlasting friendships!"