Some Sicilians says, “I’m Sicilian, not Italian,” but not all. A chef I met recently definitely didn’t feel that way.
When my sons were in Rome, the tour guide - a Roman, had little good to say about us, declaring that we Sicilians are of a different race. She wasn’t completely wrong. ;-)
Italy has been successful in erasing much of the cultural difference among its varied geo g raphicareas. I have Sicilian American relatives who have found it difficult to communicate when they visited Sicily. They spoke the traditional Sicilian dialect of their grandparents while the natives, except for the seniors spoke Roman Italian.