Sicily with Michael Portillo | Preview (Channel 5)

Join Michael Portillo as he takes us to the stunning island of Sicily where he explores its magnificent and intriguing ancient capital of Palermo.

On an electrifying weekend packed with adventure, Michael dines with a Duchess, tackles the island’s murderous links to the Mafia, journeys off-road to discover an ancient wonder, witnesses the incredible transformation of a crumbling 19th centuy palazzo, hits the beach to cook up a secret seafood speciality, and toasts a Hollywood legend.

Michael begins by flagging down an ‘Ape’, a three-wheel taxi, to zig-zag through Palermo’s maze of narrow medieval streets, an exhilarating introduction to this unique city’s chaotic beauty.

The colourful Ballarò street food market is over a thousand years old, and here Michael samples Sicily’s gastronomic heritage, including a curious spleen sandwich, before he lifts the lid on the island’s dark underbelly meeting courageous anti-Mafia locals whose brave stand against the mobsters has helped make Palermo one of Italy’s safest cities.

Felling intrepid, Michael heads deep into the countryside to find one of Sicily’s finest panoramas looking over the magical ancient temple of Segesta; unearths the stunning 19th century Palazzo Butera, a derelict palace that’s now been restored to its spectacular former glory; and searches out the secrets of the idyllic seaside town of Mondello.

Palermo is a foodie paradise and Michael hones his culinary skills making pesto pasta with an Italian Duchess, tackles Sicilian delicacies with a Michelin-starred chef, and visits a traditional pasticcerie to make cannoli, the famous pastry loved across the world.

Michael also checks into the opulent Villa Igiea, where he enjoys an aperitvo named in honour of Burt Lancaster, the Hollywood legend who stayed at this hotel, roasts coffee at a family run torrefazione, and digs deep into the city’s multicultural past visiting the wonderful Arab-Norman church that helped Palermo be crowned a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Sicily with Michael Portillo airs Saturday 17th August on Channel 5.