Gianluca & Flavia
Some love stories are bigger than a single place can hold.
Gianluca and Flavia were married in the Baroque heart of Ragusa Ibla, at the Duomo di San Giorgio. But their story began somewhere else entirely: on the slopes of Mount Etna, among the woods and lava fields where they had grown up as scouts. This film moves between the two, from the volcano to the cathedral and down to the sea.
Gianluca & Flavia, the award-winning same-day edit
The day at a glance
- Date
- Saturday 1 July 2023
- Ceremony
- Duomo di San Giorgio, Ragusa Ibla
- Reception
- Silva Suri Resort, Marina di Ragusa
- Engagement session
- Mount Etna, in their scout uniforms
- Wedding planner
- Luisa Mascolino Wedding in Sicily
- Award
- Inspiration Photographers Award, 2023
Where It Began: Mount Etna
Before the wedding day, Gianluca and Flavia chose to mark the beginning of their story with something deeply personal: an engagement session on Mount Etna.
Scouts since childhood, they went back to the mountain in their original scout uniforms, the clothes that connected them long before the wedding. We followed them through the woods on the lower slopes, rucksacks on their backs and scarves knotted at the neck, and then up onto the lava fields and the red earth of the old craters, where the landscape turns almost lunar.
The contrast between the raw, ancient force of the volcano and the tenderness of two people in love gives images that feel unlike anything else. For couples planning a wedding in Sicily, an Etna session offers what no studio or manicured garden can: a sense of place that is primal, poetic and entirely Sicilian.
The Serenade and the Morning
The night before the wedding, Gianluca kept an old Sicilian tradition alive: the serenata under the bride’s home. Friends and family gathered in the street, Flavia came down to the door, and the evening turned into a party on the pavement.
The next morning began, as it does in Sicily, at home. Gianluca got ready surrounded by family and friends, between laughter, cufflinks and last adjustments to the jacket. At Flavia’s home there was a quieter moment with her father, a few seconds of stillness before leaving for the cathedral.
The Ceremony at the Duomo di San Giorgio
The Duomo di San Giorgio in Ragusa Ibla is one of the most iconic churches in Sicily, and one of the most breathtaking settings on the island for a religious ceremony. Its monumental Baroque façade, the sweeping stone staircase and the warm amber glow of the interior create an atmosphere of extraordinary solemnity.
The ceremony was intense and deeply moving: silences, glances and promises made in front of family and friends. When it was over, the guests gathered on the great staircase to wait for the couple, and the piazza below filled with voices.
Between Ibla and the Sea
After the ceremony we stayed a while in the streets of Ibla, with the late sun coming in low between the palazzi. Then the day moved towards the coast and the reception at Silva Suri Resort in Marina di Ragusa.
On the rocks by the sea the wind took over: Flavia’s hair, the veil, the bouquet held tight. Those few minutes with the two of them became some of the most loved images of the whole film.
A Same-Day Edit, and an Award
The film at the top of this page is a same-day edit: edited on the wedding day itself, weaving the Etna session together with the day as it unfolded, so that Gianluca and Flavia could watch their story with their guests the same evening. In 2023 it won Raffaele Chiavola an Inspiration Photographers Award.
The wedding was planned by Luisa Mascolino Wedding in Sicily, with photography by Angelo Alborino. We work with couples who want more than a recording of their day: a film that understands who they are, and builds the story around it.
The Details
- Ceremony
- Duomo di San Giorgio, Ragusa Ibla
- Reception
- Silva Suri Resort, Marina di Ragusa
- Engagement session
- Mount Etna
- Wedding planner
- Luisa Mascolino Wedding in Sicily
- Photography
- Angelo Alborino, wedding photographer in Sicily
- Wedding film
- Film Vision, wedding videographer in Sicily
- Award
- Inspiration Photographers Award, 2023
Questions about this wedding
Can you get married at the Duomo di San Giorgio in Ragusa Ibla?
Yes. The Duomo di San Giorgio hosts religious weddings, and Gianluca and Flavia married there in July 2023, followed by a reception at Silva Suri Resort in Marina di Ragusa.
Can you do an engagement session on Mount Etna?
Yes. Gianluca and Flavia chose Etna for their engagement session, among woods, lava fields and volcanic craters, wearing the scout uniforms that first connected them. It is one of the most distinctive settings in Sicily for a pre-wedding shoot.
What is a same-day edit?
A short film edited on the wedding day itself, so the couple can watch it with their guests the same evening. Gianluca and Flavia’s same-day edit won an Inspiration Photographers Award in 2023.
Keep reading
Planning a wedding in Ragusa Ibla or across Sicily?
Whether it is a cathedral wedding, an elopement or a session on Etna, we would love to hear your story.
Get in touch