Italo Barocco ... the story of Sicily's famous dog

This summer whilst being on The Inspector Montalbano Filming Locations Tour we visited the beautiful town of Scicli in South East Sicily. Scicli is one of Sicily’s UNESCO listed Baroque towns and one of my favourites, it is so beautiful with wonderful architecture framed by rocky limestone cliffs.

Italo Barocco
Whilst it is well known as the fictional town "Vigata" in the Inspector Montalbano series it is also famous for another reason.

Knowing that I am a big lover of animals and that we have a rescue dog called Daisy, my guide Christy told us a very special story about a dog called Italo who stole the hearts of Scicli and became Italy’s darling.

Italo was a dog without a master who used to stroll around the town hall square. Some say that he wandered into town after the death of his owner. At first no one noticed him but then the locals started to notice that the dog entered the church to attend mass and take part in funerals and weddings. In a short time he became the dog of everyone and mascot of the city.

It all started when Scicli’s four legged friend arrived in 2009. He was a half breed of large size similar to a honey coloured Labrador, he arrived hungry and dirty. The people of Scicli fell in love with this sweet stray and thereafter he never went hungry.
Sunday Morning Mass, Scicli



As well as attending church, he joined in parades and festivals. He would wait for children to finish school and then walk them home.

Although everyone was Italo’s friend he did have one special friend a young man whom he used to meet at a bar every morning, tragedy hit the town when this young man died prematurely. Italo went to the church and kept vigil laying by the coffin until the day of the funeral.

He was also a local hero, one evening a waitress finishing her late night shift was attacked by a drunken man, Italo was nearby and chased the aggressor away and after that every night at 2am he would wait for her to walk her home.

Scicli Tour Guide

Tourists visiting Scicli were greeted by Italo and he would escort them around the places familiar in the Inspector Montalbano series.


One day he was hit by a car and the driver failed to stop, although he was unharmed there was a national outcry and through the wonders of social media, the lady driver out of guilt gave herself up.

After this the Mayor of Scicli prepared a kennel in the square next to the town hall and Italo was made an honoury citizen of Scicli.

He was loved by everyone until the day of his death in 2011 which grieved the whole town. 

Italo is buried in Scicli’s cemetary and his memory still lives on today.

An exhibition was arranged after his death by artists that painted portraits of him.

You can visit Italo’s favourite bar “italo BARocco”, there is a large beautiful photo of Italo on the wall outside and inside a gallery of photos and newspaper cuttings.

In 2014 a film was made called “Italo” his life was depicted in this Italian Romantic Comedy, Italo was played by an eight year old golden retriever called Tomak and the film was shown at the 60th Taormina Film festival. Watch the International trailer below in our gallery. The movie was filmed in Scicli and surrounding areas.

We have our own little celebrity in Daisy, she is much loved by everyone in our home town of Giardini Naxos and Taormina, she also has her favourite restaurants and bars. She was once offered a job by a fisherman digging holes on the beach so he could moor his boat.

Browse my Blog archives and read about her Sicilian adventures in our posts;

Daisy our V.I.P (Very Important Pet)
"The Puppy Road Trip … Day 1"
https://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-puppy-road-trip-day-one.html

"The Puppy Road Trip … Day 2 and 3"
https://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-puppy-road-trip-day-two-and-three.html

"Fisherman’s Friend"
https://whitealmond-privatesicily.blogspot.com/2015/04/fishermans-friend.html

Daisy was rescued at eight weeks old by the charity All Dogs Matter who are based in North London … All Dogs Matter have many wonderful dogs looking for their forever home just like Daisy and Italo.

Visit www.alldogsmatter.co.uk for more information.



In Memory of Italo Barocco













Italo ... The Movie, Animal Actor "Tomak"




Daisy ... Our V.I.P (Very Important Pet)



Now watch the International Trailer for Italo


Thank you for following me at White Almond Sicily

For NEW Blog updates and all things Sicilian

You can also follow me on
Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Google + and Linkedin

I am also a contributor to www.timesofsicily.com

for Travel Advice and Recomendations 

Popular posts from this blog

Forza d'Agro

Image
In the Godfather Part I, when Michael Corleone (Al  Pacino) and his two bodyguards are walking in the hills, they see a picturesque village in the distance, they point and remark “Corleone”. The town in the distance is in fact Forza d' Agro a short drive from Taormina. Forza d’Agro is an ancient hill-top town and is a warren of narrow streets and tiny houses leading up to a ruined Norman castle. Most of the stone paved lanes here are impassable by cars. The town was also used as a filming location for The Godfather Part II and III. In the opening scene of The Godfather Part II, following the assassination of young Vito Corleone’s father, the funeral procession was shot in the dry riverbed below Forza d’Agro, Michael’s older brother is assassinated in this scene after being found hiding in the hills. Following this his mother is also brutally murdered, and so being the only surviving male, Vito Corleone must escape Sicily and with the help of local residents he c
Read more

Ripley … Sicilian Filming Locations

Image
The Talented Mr Ripley is a 1955 psychological thriller novel by Patricia Highsmith. The novel introduced the character of Tom Ripley, who returns in four subsequent novels. It has been adapted numerous times for screen including in 1999 starring Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gywneth Paltrow. This year it came to our screens on Netflix as "Ripley" starring Andrew Scott. Tom Ripley is a young man struggling to make a living in New York City by whatever means necessary including small time confidence scams. One day he is approached by shipping magnate Herbert Greenleaf to travel to "Mongibello" (based on the resort town Positano) in Italy to persuade his son Dickie, a spoilt playboy, to return to the USA and join the family business. Ripley agrees and exaggerates his friendship with Dickie in order to gain Mr Greenleaf's trust. Shortly after his arrival in Italy, Ripley contrives to meet Dickie and his girlfriend Marge on a beach. Dickie allows Ripley to stay with him
Read more

25 Sicilian Myths and Legends

Image
Sicily is a place full of myths and legends and there are many stories associated with the island. From the stories of nymphs and gods from Greek and Roman mythology to tragic love stories from an exotic era when the island was under Arabic, Norman and Spanish rule. Some stories have happy endings and some not so happy endings.  What is a legend? Legends are stories which are thought to be based on true events but have developed fictional elements that have deep significance to the culture from which they originate. For example historians claim that King Arthur really existed but his existence is shrouded in different legends, such as is his final resting place on Mount Etna?  What is a myth? Myths are stories derived from cultural traditions or legends most of which have a deep symbolic meaning and usually involve a lesson that will be helpful to the listener or reader. Mythical characters are often non-human in some form or related to a god or supernatural being, often set in ancient
Read more