Jonathan Grado

It’s been well documented through Grado Labs that my family came from Sicily in 1911, opened a fruit store in Brooklyn in 1918, and eventually turned that fruit store into an audio company in 1953. But what about the family that didn’t come over from Italy? That’s what we decided to explore this past summer, 114 years later.

A Return to Sicily

I've never actually been to Sicily before, and I only know it exists because of The White Lotus season two. The Grados originated in Montallegro, a town in the Province of Agrigento, Sicily. In 1911, when my great-grandfather immigrated to New York through Ellis Island, his brother stayed behind. Pinpointing this branch in the family tree was a fun discovery. The trip took us all over Sicily, from the northern side of the island in Palermo to the southern coast of Modica. Looking at a map as I type this, and we drove the circumference of the island. There were so many of us that most nights we cooked at home in our Airbnbs. When we got to Montallegro we finally met the relatives who never left. One night was the big feast, a whole hill full of Grados making pizza. The dream.

Packing Cameras and Water

I brought the X-T5 and X100V. I ended up taking over 2,000 photos, mostly candids with the X100V. Most of them are just keepsakes for the family and wherever my mom decides to frame them. The Fuji XF 16-55mm was the only lens I brought for the X-T5 and I don’t regret it. Of course I was in a few situations where I wish I had a specific focal length, but it was hot and I needed whatever room I had for water. I love water. Not just being in it, but having it in me. Normally I would overpack camera gear without a second thought, but this time I needed the room for water. The salty air and the Sicilian sun had me chugging water every chance I got.

Quick Coffee Break

Speaking of chugging, let’s take a quick detour and talk about coffee in Italy. My normal routine is making or grabbing an iced coffee in the mornings, no matter the temperature outside. I don’t know, it’s just always been like that. Italy though doesn’t really do iced coffees, they do caffè freddo. While the translation is literal, the drink is pretty different. It was usually premade and batched in one of those cork-on-a-hinge bottles you might get water in at a restaurant. The ones where you have to fight the urge to cork and uncork it while you wait for your food. Anyway, they were near frosty but never served over ice. I think they were batched with a little sweetener of some kind. They kind of reminded me of martinis: hopefully ice cold in the beginning but if you take too long to drink it the room temperature takes it over. Most of the coffees I had were finished in a few minutes though so it was never a problem. Alright back to photography.

Since this was a family trip, I don’t want to post too many candids or faces. So! I picked a small, random batch of photos and put them below. Everything from diving into the Tyrrhenian Sea off the coast of Terrasini, to the pink and yellow architecture of Palermo, to a broom leaning against a wall.

If I ever go back, I’ll bring a bigger backpack for my medium format camera. And much, much more water.

Some photos below can be found in The Singles.