Based on a real family, The Florios of Sicily follows, well, the Florio family, of Sicily - who built themselves up from nothing, to a life of wealth and influence. A long, multi-generational family saga, great for fans of slow burns, historical fiction, and family legacy.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Via for advanced access to this title!

Spanning several generations of the Florios family, The Florios of Sicily tells the rags-to-riches story of real life family the Florios, who went from being shopkeepers to one of the most powerful families in Italy.
Beginning with the forced relocation of the Florio family from Calabria to Palermo, Sicily in 1799, the book spans three generations of Florios and chronicles their rise from obscurity to notoriety. Paolo and Ignazio Florios are brothers forced to leave their home following an earthquake. Settling in Sicily, they are determined to enter the spice trade in Palermo.

Told in vignettes over time, we see the struggled the family went through as they uprooted their entire life and struggled to make a name for themselves in Palermo. I learned a lot more about the history of Sicily than I knew before, seeing the effect of the wars and Napoleon, as well as the aftermath of those political events on the community. Many of the stores were bolted closed, and the harbors were empty. Sicily lost its place in the merchant trade route for some time.

Meanwhile things within the Florio family were unsettled as well. Paolo’s son Vincenzo grows up in Sicily and leaves for a time to see how merchants operate in England, under the guidance of Paolo’s brother Ignazio. Meanwhile we see the divide that has formed between Paolo and his wife, who has never forgiven him for relocating the family. Following Paolo’s death, the family business prospers under the leadership of Ignazio, who holds an unrequited love for his sister-in-law.

As Vincenzo continues to grow the business of the family and establishes them as the family they are known as today, personal troubles follow in his wake as well. Giulia is by far the character that most readers will fall in love with. Her love for Vincenzo and her strength as a woman are the highlight of the book for me.

Overall an interesting read that covered a part of history I knew little about. Thank you TLC Book Tours and HarperVia for my copy. Opinions are my own.

- [ ] This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Beautifully written. I felt like I was there. I don't normally comment on covers but this one is perfect. I hope to read more by this author in the future.

A story about Italian history that was well written. It was a long novel but overall a good story.All the characters are very well developed.

This is a fascinating work of historical fiction, depicting the lives of the Florio's of Sicily. Moving to Sicily in the 19th century after an earthquake forces the to abandon Calabria, the Florio's establish a dynasty in their new home. Starting with an apothecary shop, they grow their business to include canned tuna processing and marsala wine. Despite their wealth and success, they are looked down upon by their aristocratic neighbors. Inter-twinned with the history of the Napoleonic Wars and Italy's unification, the novel is a well researched and elegantly written saga of this powerful family.

I highly recommend this to fans of historical fiction, literary fiction and family sagas.

The Florios of Sicily By Stefania Auci

This is a beautifully written book about the illustrious lives of the Florio family from Sicily. It is great to read about a rags to riches story about this family and to know that they have created an empire and control of a good portion of Italy is quite an astounding story in itself.

The story not only covers the family but also the surrounding political and societal turmoil of the time. I learned a lot about the Sicilian history and the beautiful and rich culture of the people and their difficulties in their role in their community still being considered outcasts despite their riches because they earner their money rather than being from nobility.

The writing was engrossing and beautifully told which I enjoyed immensely.

This story captures many lives of the Florio family, from their humble beginnings as impoverished shopkeepers to building an empire. The official founder is Vincenzo Florio Sr. (1799-1868). However, the story starts with his father Paolo, who moves family from the mainland of Italy to Sicily and opens a shop in Palermo.

After an earthquake in 1799, Paolo moves his family – wife and newborn Vincenzo, and also his brother Ignazio and niece Vittoria, from Bagnara to Palermo. “Venice built her wealth on the spice trade and customs duties.” Now, Paolo wants to trade spices in Palermo. After much struggle, the brothers become known.

Their struggles are intertwined with the volatile history of Sicily. Napoleon’s wars have effects across Europe. It is 1817 and everybody is having a rough time. "Now it’s only closed store windows and bolted doors where the British warehouses used to be.” After Napoleon’s defeat, “the island has lost its strategic importance. The harbors are empty. Palermo seemed dead. (…) The changes over recent years have been too many and too quick.”

A grown-up Vincenzo gets a chance to travel to England and see how businesses operate there. He comes back with some ideas to improve their business. He also craves social recognition after having an unpleasant experience with an aristocratic young lady.

It’s January 12, 1848 and the time for rebellion has come. Palermo has had enough of taxes and tyranny imposed by the Bourbons. The rebels don’t see one’s humble beginnings. They see money and they resent people with money. With gun pointed at Vincenzo, he is forced to pick sides.

Sicilian revolutionary unrest continues to smolder beneath the surface for years, shaping Sicilian history and the Florios business.

The story is mostly concentrated on Vincenzo, the founder.

This story weaves interestingly developed characters with the rich Sicilian history and culture. It vividly portrays a man’s struggle of starting a new life at a new place, which is not that welcoming. They are foreigners and they are hated. They can feel it and it really bothers them. It gives them an extra push to excel at their business. The brothers know how important it is to make the right appearance and talk the right way. They are quick learners. No matter how successful they are, in aristocratic eyes they are still simple laborers. “They want coat of arms. Noble blood,” which gives respectability. Not the hard work and building an empire with one’s own hands. Their emotions are very intense.

Beautifully written and engrossing depicted story of inspiring characters.

If you love family sagas steeped in history, you will most likely enjoy this book. I enjoyed that the book showed the evolution of the family as they worked hard to succeed in business, overcome obstacles, and build their wealth. Not only did I get swept up in the Florio family, I also learned a tremendous amount about the history of Sicily that spans over a century.

The writing was beautiful and the history was well-researched. My only two drawbacks - the translation was a bit choppy at times and the timelines were slightly confusing. But nothing a little backtracking couldn’t fix. This book seems like it has legs to be a series and I would love to see that!

Thanks to Harper Via and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. This review will be appearing on my blog as part of an upcoming tour and I will add the link then.

The Florios of Sicily is a sweeping epic based on the true story of the Florio family in Sicily, from 1799-1866. They come to Sicily with nothing and build a shipping empire that makes them incredibly wealthy. The story follows Vincenzo, whose father and uncle began the business, a business that Vincenzo builds larger than they could have imagined.

I don't know anything about Italy during this time period but I found this book completely fascinating. I learned way more than I expected about the various different items that the Florio family traded in (spices, bark, sulfur, lace, tuna, etc). There was a lot about the political history of Sicily as well, and it was actually pretty interesting learning about how it effected Sicily and the Florio family. I liked the contrast between the men and the women: the men who are so focused on becoming wealthy and remembered, and the women who are smart and fierce. Sometimes I find family sagas a little boring but this kept my attention and I couldn't put it down. The balance of family history and political and trading history worked very well.

Thanks to #netgalley and #HarperCollins for the opportunity to read and review this book #TheFloriosofSicily
Pub date 4/21/2020
What a marvelous story of this family who was an integral part of the history of Sicily . The book spans a couple centuries and tells of the rise of the Florios from a poor village in Calabria to the influential and powerful family they established in Palermo. You may not like the personality of Paolo, Vincenzo or Ignazio, but one can't deny their ability to bring their vision for their company to fruition. Guilia will capture your heart though and her love for Vincenzo is what holds the thread of the story together. There is a lot of descriptions of the city, the company and the history of Sicily in the book. I enjoyed learning about this fascinating island and the struggles the people endured with various countries and families ruling over it. I highly recommend this book

Thank you to NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishers, and HarperVia for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

There is something special about books based in Italy by Italian writers. The way these writers (including Stefania Auci) write about their history and culture is so full of pride and reverence that it’s hard not to believe what they’re writing about. The Florios of Sicily is no different in that regard. It is a sprawling family epic about the Florio family who went from escaping a devastating earthquake with nothing but the clothes on their backs to the start of an entrepreneurial dynasty that flourished in the late 19th century.

This is a novel of passion, ambition, hurt, love, disappointment, and family. It starts in 1799 and ends in 1868 which leaves nearly 70 years of ground to cover. I largely rate books based on how I enjoyed them while taking into consideration the technical aspects such as plot, character development, writing style, and the author’s passion for the subject. I think a lot of passion for the subject matter was lost in translation here, which is unfortunate. The tone was dry, uninspired, and at times I wondered why the author decided to focus on this family in the first place. That is when I realized that the translation itself shed one star from this.

Other things I don’t like about this book include the information dumping both historically and when it comes to business. This novel is marked as historical fiction and literary fiction, not a biography or a person or business. I was hoping for a bit more literary elements. Since I’m not familiar with this part of Sicilian history, it was difficult to get into a big chunk of the story. I also wish it focused a little less on the business aspects. I understand that it was trying to focus on the rise of the Florio dynasty, but I found that part clunky.

The bits about the family life from Paolo, Ignazio (the brother of Paolo), Giuseppina (the wife of Paolo), and Vincenzo and then once Vincenzo married Giulia and had his own children (Angelina, Giuseppina, and Ignazio) were the most interesting parts. By the way, there are so many duplicate names in this book but there is a character glossary at the beginning of that I recommend familiarizing with. The deep and loving relationship between Ignazio and Giuseppina while raising Vincenzo after Paolo died really captivated me. Both Ignazio characters were characters of interest in the story.

As I said earlier, the novel spans nearly 70 years so the characters introduced don’t last. Once Paolo and Ignazio die, the stars of the show are unsympathetic Vincenzo and his ungrateful mother Giuseppina. My enjoyment dwindled, especially as Vincenzo essentially seduces Giulia into carrying his children outside of wedlock which impacts her life negatively until she has their third child and son. From here, the synopsis is misleading because Giulia doesn’t really “run” the empire from the shadows, Vincenzo treats her like an ignorant mistress most of the time. Angelina’s whole presence in this novel would take up maybe 4 or 5 pages and she doesn’t chart her own future; she just gets married as soon as she can to a nice man. Once Vincenzo’s son Ignazio became older, my interest in the story returned. At this point I longed for the story to go into more detail about his life and escapades in France, but it doesn’t

Beyond that, I found it enjoyable even though it was a chore to read at times because there were passages that were beautiful and warm in tone, but the clunky information dump felt detached. It should have been more literary.

Perfect for fans of Italian literature translations and Italian history.

This novel hooked me early on, beginning with a devastating earthquake that rumbles through the small village of Bagnara and propels the Florio family to start a new life in Sicily. Ignazio immediately establishes himself as different from the other male characters; he is more level headed and patient than his brother Paolo, and he also respects the women and children in his family. As a result, he is a very large component to the success of the story. This is a multi generational saga, so when he inevitably dies, the reader is left with a cast of unlikable characters, led by the unscrupulous Vincenzo and his ungrateful, bitter mother. Even Vincenzo's mistress Giula, strong and passionate, is not enough to carry the story forward. I found my attention wandering after the death of Ignazio, and the story lost its power for me. I wasn't interested in the business components of the story, and I found the portrayal of the Florio's family life depressing and sad. The translation at times felt awkward and it lacked a pleasant flow.

Thank you to Netgalley and HarperCollins Publishers for an advanced copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

I loved this historical epic tale of the Florios of Palermo, Sicily. This is a rich story populated by charismatic characters and I enjoyed following their success and loss, love and anger as the history of Sicily unfolds around them. Historical fiction is one of my favorite genres, and if it is your favorite, you will enjoy this book. I also found this to be a read alike for Elena Ferrante novels- she is one of my favorite authors, and this was just as compelling to me.

The Florios of Sicily by Stefania Auci is an epic family tale of life in Sicily. It was rich in hurt, quiet feelings and lost souls. I was so excited about the subject, but found the translation to be a bit clunky at times and because of that it just didn't keep my attention. I would love to listen to this in an audiobook, I think that would really help the flow stay consistent.

This was my first book by this author, It was pretty enjoyable. I would give this book a 3.5 star rating! It was a pretty Quick and easy read!