hello all saia's from sicily. my husbands grandfather and grandmother left cefalu sicily, as young newlyweds, in the early 1900's and landed in the missisippi gulf area. the name saia is very common in cefalu as we found when we visited there 2 years ago. you are correct on the pronunciation it is si-ee-yah, though many sicilians arriving in america changed it's spelling to accomodate the immigration folks. we have seen many variations on it but the original is saia. we were told this name originally hails from naples italy but have not had the time to do further research. for those who have not had the chance to make the trip, sicily is a gorgeous place with a fascinating history of conquering influences. a must for anyone with interest. we are hoping to locate any other saia's from the cefalu /polermo region.