Reclaiming Sicilian Memories
Not a cookbook. Not a photobook.
A portrait of a place told in two languages: images and food.
Tre Contrade – Reclaiming Sicilian Memories
Tre Contrade – Reclaiming Sicilian Memories Photography by Øivind Haug · Written by Jon Moslet and Marco Scirè
A sensuous tribute to Sicily, captured through Øivind Haug's evocative natural-light photography and told through the story of Rocca delle Tre Contrade – an old country estate in the shadow of Etna that the authors discovered as an abandoned ruin in 2005 and slowly brought back to life.
Haug's images take you inside the villa's daily rhythms, traditions and atmosphere, and bring to life the house's own recipes straight from the kitchen of head chef Dora and her team.
From Dora's arancini al ragù and spaghetti ai tre pomodori to cannoli, almond granita and signature cocktails like the Etna Spritz and Tre Contrade Sour – honest, generous dishes where every single ingredient is allowed to shine, the way only a Sicilian kitchen can.
With anecdotes from the restoration and intimate portraits of the people who have shaped the place, this is more than a cookbook – it's an invitation home to Sicily, seen through the lens of one of Scandinavia's most distinctive food and travel photographers.
Credits Photographer: Øivind Haug Authors: Jon Moslet and Marco Sebastiano Scirè Co-writer: Jennifer Goulding Art Director: Rashna Mody Clark Photo Editor: Caroline Metcalfe Food Stylist: Lucy Attwater Designer: Miguel Batista
Limited to 50 copies.
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My friend Magne knows me well. He knew that if I started taking pictures, I wouldn't really be there. The rule was simple: no photographs. Be present. Eat. Ski. Enjoy.So when we arrived at Rocca delle Tre Contrade for a winter escape — skiing on Etna, of all things — the rule was clear.I tried. I really did.And then I walked inside. The light, the rooms, the food, the mood.
“Some places don't ask to be documented. They insist”
I went up and down to Sicily eight or nine times over six years. Winter mornings. Spring greens. Summer heat. Autumn shadows. The book isn't just about what Tre Contrade looks like — it's about how it changes, how it breathes, and how the light teaches you to slow down.
And in the winter of 2020, when the world paused, I called Jon and said: "Should we make a book?" He said yes. And we simply started — no grand plan, just curiosity, trust, and the smell of olive oil in the air.
The book
Reclaiming Sicilian Memories moves through Rocca delle Tre Contrade and the land around it — interiors, landscapes, everyday rituals, the slow build of a day and the long exhale after dinner. Woven through it are 100+ recipes from the estate's kitchen: tried, seasonal, deeply local. Dishes that belong to a place.
It is a book you can cook from. It is also a book you can simply live with — open at random, and return to when you want to remember what Sicily feels like.
400 pages Four seasons 50+ recipes
Photographer's note
"When I first visited Tre Contrade, I had no plan to make a book. I went back because I couldn't stop thinking about the light in that kitchen. And then I went back again and again and again. Six years later, this is what I have to show for it — and I am proud of every page."
— Øivind Haug, Oslo / Sicily, 2016–2026
The Team
Art direction
Rashna Mody Clarke
PPA Designer of the Year. Former art director of Condé Nast Traveller, House & Garden and Harper's & Queen.
Writing
Jennifer Goulding
Former commissioning editor at House & Garden. Contributor to The Telegraph, Homes & Gardens and Elle Decoration.
Director of Photography
Caroline Metcalfe
Director of Photography at Condé Nast Traveller from launch until 2014. Now runs CMC Consulting, working with luxury and lifestyle brands globally.
Food styling
Lucy Attwater
One of the UK's most accomplished food stylists. Contributor to books by Yotam Ottolenghi, Nigella Lawson and Martha Stewart.