‘Nonna’ Lorraine Bracco Made Sicily Home for Less Than a Starbucks Coffee

Lorraine Bracco may forever be known as Dr. Melfi from The Sopranos or Karen Hill in Goodfellas, but she’s embracing a new role: Nonna. On All on the Table with Katie Lee Biegel, the Oscar-nominated actress dished on her latest project, her surprising second home in Sicily, and the power of pasta to heal just about everything.

‘Nonnas’: a new movie that celebrates the grandmas who raised us

Nonnas is Bracco’s new Netflix film based on a true story. The heartwarming movie tells the tale of Staten Island restaurateur Joe Scaravella, who opened Enoteca Maria—a restaurant run not by celebrity chefs, but by grandmothers worldwide.

“They have Nonnas from all over—Japanese, Polish, Italian,” Bracco explained. “They come in and cook their traditional dishes. It’s incredible.”

Bracco was immediately drawn to the script: “I laughed, I cried. It just sang to me,” she told Katie. “I wanted to play all the parts.” The film honors more than just food—it’s about family, grief, connection, and the fierce wisdom of women who’ve lived long enough to earn every wrinkle and war story.

The one euro house that became a Sicilian dream

Bracco’s love for all things Nonna extends far beyond the screen. In 2019, she famously bought a home in Sambuca di Sicilia for just €1, or about $1.25. That deal was part of a well-publicized initiative by the Sicilian government to revive depopulated villages by offering abandoned homes at rock-bottom prices.

Sounds dreamy, right? Not so fast.

“You’re not just handed a key and a cannoli,” Bracco joked. “The €1 gets you a roof with a lot of holes in it.”

Under the program’s conditions, buyers must commit to renovating the property within a few years—an expensive and time-consuming endeavor not for the faint of heart. Bracco’s journey was featured on HGTV’s My Big Italian Adventure, and it was more Extreme Makeover: Nonna Edition than Under the Tuscan Sun.

“I got there, met the mayor, and within 10 minutes I was being offered spaghetti with wild asparagus by a woman named Angela,” she laughed. “I was in.”

Sicily: where the heart—and heat—is

Sambuca is a picturesque hilltop village about an hour south of Palermo, surrounded by olive groves and wheat fields. But don’t expect a Hallmark postcard version of Italy. Sicilians are Sicilian first, Italian second—and they’re fiercely proud of it.

“They have their own thing going on,” Lorraine Bracco said. “It’s not ‘la dolce vita’ with men singing opera at your window. It’s real. It’s raw. It’s family.”

Sicilian culture is famously insular and wary of outsiders—yes, even fellow Italians. But Bracco has charmed the locals with her warm, no-nonsense energy. “Now everyone in town knows me,” she said. “I walk everywhere. I hitch rides. It’s my home.”

She makes frequent trips during olive-picking season and treasures the simplicity and soul of the island. “Sicily is self-sufficient,” she said proudly. “When Ukraine needed wheat, we sent it from Sicily. That’s the kind of place it is.”

Food is love. Period.

Bracco’s deep connection to food—and Nonna culture—isn’t just cinematic. It’s personal.

“I think food communicates love,” she said. “It always has. When you come home crying and someone hands you cookies and milk, that’s love.”

Though her maternal grandmother passed away when she was very young, Bracco grew up surrounded by family recipes, Sunday dinners, and one mantra: mangia, mangia (“eat, eat”).

“I make a ricotta ball every Christmas morning,” she smiled. “It’s dough with ricotta, fried, with powdered sugar. The kids won’t let me skip it.”

Bracco’s fridge isn’t fancy, but it’s always stocked. “I cook for myself,” she told Katie. “A steak, some spinach, a chicken thigh. Nothing complicated. But I like it.”

Like any good Nonna, she’s passing the torch. Her kids—and even her grandchildren—call her regularly, asking for recipes. “They’ll say, ‘Mom, how do I make that sauce again?’ and I’ll send them a picture of the recipe,” she said. “It’s like I’m feeding them, even when I’m not there.”

Lorraine Bracco’s advice: Life begins at whatever age you decide

Whether playing a grandmother on-screen or becoming one in real life, Lorraine Bracco proves it’s never too late to start over. Want a new career at 60? Done. Want to buy a fixer-upper in Sicily for less than a latte? Why not? Want to become a food-obsessed matriarch with her own olive trees and secret pasta recipes? Bracco says: Do it.

“It’s nutty, I know,” she laughed. “But it’s special. And I love it.”