We returned from our first trip to Sicily a few weeks ago, and while I haven't had time to write a full-blown trip report, I did want to mention and recommend a few guides we spent time with, and all of whom we highly recommend:
Serena Raffiotta: we really enjoyed the couple of hours with Serena visiting Villa Romana del Casale to see the mosaics. She is so knowledgeable and passionate, it felt like visiting the site with a good friend who knows boatloads about archeology, mosaics, and the area around Piazza Armerina. I can't imagine getting nearly as much out of our visit had we just used a guidebook. It was easy to connect with Serena via email, and she met us promptly at 9:30 so we had the Villa to ourselves for a while before the crowds came.
Michele Gallo: we spent a couple of hours with Michele visiting the Valley of Temples in Agrigento (that's all he had available on the day we were going to be there, and that was fine with us), and we learned so much about the area and architecture, all of which was new to us. It was a warm, lovely day and we got an early start, so once again we had the site almost to ourselves for the first hour. Michele knew all the best vantage points to appreciate the construction and views. He answered all of our questions patiently, and we happened to stop by an area of excavation where he chatted with the archeologists and translated for us. Contact through his website, www.sicilytravel.net
Francesca Lombardo: Francesca was our tour guide for a morning walking tour in Palermo and afternoon visit to Monreale. She is enthusiastic, knowledgeable about history, architecture, culture, food and wine and is a great ambassador for Palermo and Sicily. We had some great conversations about all sorts of things, and enjoyed lunch in the Capo market. Communication with Francesca was easy via email and WhatsApp, and she was very flexible in scheduling a tour that met our needs. I had also corresponded with her about restaurants and things to do elsewhere in Sicily and she had great recommendations.