About Ilaria

The voice behind
Sapuri of Sicily

A Sicilian teacher, language specialist and cultural guide helping people reconnect with heritage, identity and the deepest sound of Sicily.

Discover Her Story The Experience

Language, memory and flavor

Sicilian is not presented as a distant subject, but as something alive: spoken at home, shaped by family, carried through food, gestures and stories.

Ilaria Cassibba, Sicilian teacher and cultural guide

Salutamu!

My name is
Ilaria Cassibba.

I was born and raised in Modica, in the province of Ragusa, Sicily, in a bilingual family where everyone speaks Sicilian and Italian.

I have been passionate about languages since I was a child. This passion led me to study Foreign Languages and Translation at university, with the desire to become a language specialist and help people reach their language goals.

In 2016 I started teaching several languages, including Italian, English and Spanish. But in 2021, something changed: I understood that teaching Italian was not enough. The language that shaped my earliest memories, my family life and my identity was Sicilian.

“U sicilianu è a lingua dô cori.”

Roots & Formation

A teacher shaped by
language, family and Sicily.

Ilaria’s work grows from a rare combination: academic preparation, real teaching experience and a personal connection with Sicilian as a mother tongue.

Born in Modica

Raised in southeastern Sicily, Ilaria grew up in a family environment where Sicilian and Italian were both part of everyday life.

Language Specialist

Her academic path in Foreign Languages and Translation gave structure to a lifelong passion for words, meaning and communication.

Teacher Since 2016

Through years of teaching Italian, English and Spanish, she developed a practical and human approach to language learning.

The family motto

Sicilian is
the language
of the heart.

For Ilaria, Sicilian is not only a language to study. It is memory, belonging, family and the most intimate sound of home.

Her Mission

Helping people claim
their heritage back.

Ilaria’s mission is to make Sicilian language and culture available to those who were deprived of the right to learn Sicilian as children.

Heritage

Many Sicilian descendants grew up far from the language of their families. Ilaria helps them rediscover what may have been interrupted across generations.

Identity

Learning Sicilian becomes a way to understand where one comes from, not only through grammar, but through stories, sounds, gestures and culture.

Transmission

Ilaria works to raise awareness about Sicilian as an independent language that deserves to be spoken, studied and passed on to the next generation.

A Personal Journey

From language teaching
to cultural awakening.

The path behind Sapuri of Sicily is both professional and deeply personal: a movement from language lessons to cultural restoration.

2016

Teaching begins

Ilaria starts teaching languages and helping students improve their skills, confidence and personal language goals.

2021

The epiphany

She realizes that teaching Italian alone is not enough: Sicilian, her first language and family language, deserves a central place.

Now

Sapuri of Sicily

Through teaching, culture, food and hospitality, Ilaria invites people into a living experience of Sicily — intimate, meaningful and real.

Join the Journey

A language to learn.
A culture to feel.

Ilaria hopes you will join her in this journey: to reclaim heritage, reconnect with identity and experience Sicily through its language, flavors, memory and home.

Discover the Experience Contact Book Your Experience