When You think of Sicily, the ming goes to Taormina, the tourist beaches of Naxos and the mysteries of Cosa Nostra.
If it is true that these two aspects belong to the Sicilian reality, it also said that they are a long way from summarize the amount of attractions in the region and its deep historical and artistic tradition and culture.
Sicily has known fact in its history several waves of invasions and occupations, which remain numerous testimonies that difference between Palermo, strongly characterized by the Arab civilization and Norman, the grandeur of Greek ruins of Agrigento and Siracusa, and the harshness inland where perpetuate yet, here and there, ancestral traditions worthy of novels by Leonardo Sciascia!
Sicily Travel Guide
Environment
Sicily fascinates for its ancient culture and its art cities but also for the countless natural beauty of the territory.
A deeply diverse nature ranging from the majesty of Etna to rolling hills planted with olive trees, vineyards and fragrant citrus groves, sandy beaches of the Reserve Vendicari, Pozzallo and Isola Bella to steep cliffs overlooking the sea, from the spectacular Gorges' Alcantara to the islands, worldly and not, as Pantelleria, Ustica, Lipari, Stromboli, Favignana, Salina, Panarea.
Culture
Through the centuries, Greeks, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Swabians and Spaniards dominated the Sicilian cities, building and changing from time to time habits and customs of peoples to their subject.
Visiting the Sicilian cities, even today, you can admire ancient buildings, greek-Roman style fortresses with their Arab-Norman, majestic baroque buildings, churches from the interiors coated with Byzantine mosaics as the famous Palatine Chapel of Palermo and much more.
The cities of Greek origin are concentrated mainly in the western part of where we find Selinunte, Segesta, Syracuse and Agrigento, with its spectacular Valley of the Temples.
From an architectural point of view, Eastern Sicily is characterized by baroque Sicilian style with which were built palaces and monuments following the devastating earthquake of 1693.
The area most affected by the earthquake, completely rebuilt by the end of 1600, is called Val di Noto and includes the city of Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Ispica and Noto, beautiful "gardens of stone" testimony of Sicilian Baroque and included by UNESCO in prestigious World Heritage List.
Exploring the island will find other cities jewel-like Taormina, the "pearl of the Ionian Sea," Enna, Sicily navel, Piazza Armerina, Caltagirone "the city of ceramics" and Catania, with its baroque palaces in black and white and his irresistible nightlife.
Eating
As the architecture, even the kitchen is a meeting point between East and West: This contamination between different cultures has led to bold combinations of flavors that make traditional Sicilian dishes a sensory experience unique and fascinating.
The fish, the main ingredient of the table, is prepared in a thousand different ways with herbs and spices such as mint and wild fennel.
A note to deserve the famous Sicilian pastry, cassata and martorana fruit, and wine, particularly the Nero d'Avola, quality product that is gaining success abroad.
Travel Tips and Events
The best seasons for visiting Sicily are spring and autumn, during which the mild climate allows you to swim and at the same time will not be oppressed by the heat while visiting the sites.
In summer, indeed, the beaches are invaded by hordes of holidaymakers and prices tend to rise.
The religious festivals still play a very important role in the Sicilian society, resulting in fervent and spectacular celebrations. With their processions of penitents, the events of Holy Week recall closely the Spanish tradition, in particular those held in Enna from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday are particularly impressive.
Outside this specific period, every city and country celebrates its patron saint, which Palermo is Santa Rosalia (from July 10 to 15).
For fans of the stage should follow the Week Pirandelliana (late July-early August), in Agrigento, which proposes theatre performances, operas and ballets.
At the international festival Taormina Arte (from the end of July to September), you can attend concerts, theatrical performances and film inside the greek theatre and public gardens in the city.
To have an idea of Sicilian folklore do not miss the Festival of almond trees in bloom organisations in the first ten days of February in the valley of the temples in Agrigento.
On 14 and August 15 instead takes place on August Messinese, during which takes place "walk of giants.
How to get there (flights, ferries, cars)
To move to 'internal' island the most convenient mean is bus. Links are provided by numerous companies and local services can reach virtually any destination, the main city on the coast to small internal towns.
There are quite efficient railway lines from Messina to Palermo, Messina in Siracusa and Palermo to Agrigento is a private line, the Circumetnea, which allows you to tour around the Etna.
The other links are picturesque but terribly slow and uncertain.
The best and fastest to reach Sicily is the plane. There are two airports: that of Punta Raisi, the Falcone-Borsellino, is 32 km from Palermo, while the Fontanarossa is only 7 km from Catania.
In both cases shuttle services provide the link with the city centre.
If you prefer to travel by land, there are bus lines that connect directly Rome to Palermo, Trapani, Messina, Catania, Agrigento.
You can also reach Sicily by train, traveling along the line Milan / Florence / Rome / Naples / Reggio Calabria / Palermo / Catania. But the journey times rather long, partly because of crossing the Strait of Messina.
Who reaches the island with its means must take the ferry at Villa San Giovanni (Calabria) or in Reggio Calabria, where there is also a hydrofoil service.
The island is also accessible by sea from Genoa, Livorno, Naples, Malta and Tunisia.
There are also ferries and hydrofoils linking the Aeolian islands and Egadi.
Weather
The climate of Sicily is Mediterranean, with hot summers and mild winters. On the coasts, particularly the south-west, the weather is influenced by African and currents occur torrid summers.
Generally the Sicilian summer is hot, rainy, dry and ventilated. More humid, but generally not afose, areas along the coast that are also beneficate of the system of sea breezes and in general a frequent ventilation.
The inland areas, the findings of the Tyrrhenian Sea and Etna are the most cold and snow of the island. On the highest hills of the island (Etna, Madonie, Nebrodi) the abundant snow falls.
Agrigento
Placed on top of a hill, it's an ancient Greek colony overlooking the Mediterranean and the famous Valley of Temples. This site, heir of the past greek of ancient Akragas, is famous for the philosopher Empedocles.
The Archaeological Museum displays artefacts brought to light in area, and in particular the telamons (atlases) of the Temple of Jupiter.
After visiting the site, is a good idea to stroll the narrow streets and winding old Agrigento that extends in the upper part of the city.
As its name, Santa Maria dei Greci, a Norman church of the eleventh century, stands on a greek temple of the fifth century BC probably dedicated to Athena: note the wooden ceiling and Byzantine mosaics.
The cathedral, built in 'years 1000 and accompanied by a tower of the fifteenth century, has suffered splashy remodelling. Worthy of attention painted beams in the nave, the stucco of Baroque apse and a Madonna attributed to Guido Reni in the sacristy.
Founded in 1290, the abbey church of the Holy Spirit is adorned by a beautiful coffered ceiling (1758) and four pretty low stucco of Giacomo Serpotta.
Just 6 km southwest of Agrigento is the birthplace of Luigi Pirandello transformed into a museum.
Catania
The name derives from the Greek Katane, which means grates, lava from the ground on which rises. It is the most vibrant cities of Sicily, and headquarters of the oldest University, founded in 1434 under the domain aragonese.
It is capital of the province dominated by the giant volcano Etna. Catania was destroyed nine times and nine times is reborn, so his motto is the mythical Phoenix, "Melior de cinere surgo" Risorgo ever more beautiful from my ashes, which reads under the arch of the eighteenth Port Ferdinandea, today Porta Garibaldi.
Enna
Situated on top of a rocky ridge in the midst of the land, Enna is a little far from the route followed by most tourists. The path to reach the city is very pleasant, appreciate even more by stage at Piazza Armerina, where the Roman Villa retains splendid mosaics of rare finesse.
Built by the Swabians, Castello di Lombardia, the most imposing medieval fortress of Sicily, has retained only six of the twenty original towers.
The above will have extraordinary views until the city of Calascibetta, founded by the Arabs in the ninth century, and sees the profile of Etna. The construction of the cathedral was begun in 1307 on the initiative of Eleanor d 'Aragon.
To admire the findings brought to light by excavations made in the province, go to the Archaeological Museum set up in the palace Varisano.
In the modern part of town, there is the Tower of Frederick II (XIII century) in the middle of the park.
Monreale
Monreale picturesque town located up to 310 m. overlooks the Conca d'Oro. On top of this hill, you can admire one of the most significant monuments of religious of all Italy, the famous cathedral.
Palermo
Palermo, that was one of the most flourishing cities in the Mediterranean world, lost the enamel of a time but remains a fascinating city and extremely interesting.
Palazzo dei Normanni, the Palatine Chapel (1130-1140) beautifully embodies the richness of the Arab-Norman style, with its Byzantine mosaics and wooden ceiling to stalactites.
Mosaics adorn the equally splendid internal Martorana, a church dating back to the twelfth century but several times enlarged and restructured.
Not far, the Arab domes of San Cataldo (XII century) suggest a mosque more than a place of Christian worship.
The church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti (1136), topped by five domes and adorned with a beautiful garden that encloses the ruins of a cloister, arouses the same impression.
Let then the Middle Ages and head towards Piazza Pretoria, where the fountain of the sixteenth century is one of the rare examples of Renaissance art in Sicily; due to the nakedness of marble statues nicknamed the "fountain of shame".
If you are attracted to the macabre not miss the Catacombs of the Capuchins, which contain approximately 8000 bodies stuffed.
The Vucciria market offers, on the contrary, the same spectacle gaudente and the same pleasure of the senses of a souk Maghreb or the Middle East.
11 km from Palermo, Mondello beach, an elegant seaside resort, stretches in arc of a pretty bay of Mount Pellegrino (606 m).
Syracuse
Greek city founded in 734 BC by a group of Corinthians, Syracuse grew rapidly, as to constitute a threat to Athens.
He reached his zenith economic and cultural under the dominion of Dionysius I, when the city attracted thinkers of the calibre of Plato.
Hometown of mathematician Archimedes, Syracuse was converted to Christianity by the same St. Paul. The island of Ortigia is the physical and spiritual heart of Syracuse, with a predominance of medieval buildings interrupted here and there from churches and baroque palaces.
The Cathedral of the seventh century incorporates in its structure columns of a greek temple dedicated to Athena.
Damaged by several earthquakes, has a composite architecture and the towers on the left side of building testify to its use as a mosque during the period Arabic.
The Piazza del Duomo, in the highest of island, where once stood the ancient Acropolis of the Greek city, is surrounded by baroque palaces, including the Palazzo Beneventano and the Archbishopric,the Church of Saint Lucia to Badia Devoted protector of the holy city, which was martyred in Syracuse during the reign of Roman emperor Diocletian.
Not far from there, you can see Fonte Aretusa, a natural source that flows a few metres from the sea, according to legend, the nymph Aretusa was transformed into a source from Artemis to escape the attentions of river god Alpheus.
On the mainland extends the Archaeological Park of Neapoli, the new city. His Greek Theatre (fifth century BC), completely dug into the rock, could accommodate up to 16,000 spectators, also derived from the rock, large Roman amphitheatre dates from the third century AD the Ara of Gerone II, imposing in size (22 , 80 x 198 m), was used for public sacrifices of animals.
The Ear of Dionisio, a cave 65 mt. long and 23 mt. high, so christened by Caravaggio because of its shape and a legend that the tyrant of Syracuse would have exploited the exceptional acoustics of the cavity to listen to the conversations of prisoners it locked up.
If you intend to remain in the province of Siracusa, 33 km south of the city awaits Noto: completely razed to the ground by the earthquake in 1693, the town was entirely rebuilt in the style of Baroque era.
Taormina
Placed along the flanks of Mount Tauro, overlooking the sea and with views of Etna, Taormina has a particularly fortunate situation, which enabled it to fall into the most famous of the island.
Founded by the Sicilians, was conquered by the Greeks in the fifth century BC, following the destruction of Naxos. After Roman occupation, it was the turn of the Byzantines, who did their Sicilian capital.
Destroyed by the Arabs in 902, the city will remain a very important business and artistic center during the next centuries.
Worth a visit the Greek Theatre built in the third century BC remain primarily the elements remade or added in Roman times and, in addition, part of its structure is hidden by a room of the twelfth century.
From the place on which stood the scene is an enchanting view of the Etna and the whole coast.
In the center of town there is the Odeon, a small Roman theatre not well preserved.
The Cathedral of the thirteenth century has undergone several changes, the last dating back to 1636.
In Taormina you can admire different residences, including Palazzo Corvaja: was born as a bastion for work of the Arab in XI century and in 1410 was the seat of the Sicilian Parliament.
For fans of the beach, there is a cable car that allows you to reach those of Isola Bella and Mazzarò at the foot of the city.
Trapani
The site and the port of Trapani probably already existed before the Greeks, having been founded by people Sicane towards the eleventh century BC.
In the same time, Eryx (Erice) was founded by the Elimi, a people of origin troiana, while the Phoenicians gave life to the emporio of Mothia.
From the Middle Ages until the second world war, Trapani was an important maritime centre and craft, thanks to salt production, fishing for tuna and processing of coral.
Islands
Aeolian (Alicudi, Filicudi, Lipari, Panarea, Salina, Stromboli, Volcano) in the province of Messina
The Aeolian Islands or Lipari take its name from Aeolus, god of winds, located off the north-eastern Sicily, this archipelago is a paradise of caves, small bays, unexplored corners and active volcanoes.
The volcanoes of Stromboli and Volcano (which says lived the god Aeolus) brothers are the children of Etna, have created a melancholy landscape, made of black sand beaches.
Egadi (Favignana, Marettimo, Levanzo) in the province of Trapani
Pelagie (Lampedusa, Lampione, Linosa) in the province of Agrigento
Pantelleria, in the province of Trapani
Beaches
The surprising coastline of Sicily is a mixture of caves and inlets wet beaches quiet. Crossing more than 2 km, the beach at Mondello, near Palermo is one of the most impressive of Sicily, as is the bay of Cefalu.
Among the inlets of the famous resort Taormina is the beach of Mazzaro and the wide beaches of Letojanni and Giardini Naxos on the east coast, enormously popular by lovers of the sun.
Other very nice beaches: Selinunte, Gioiosa Marea and Marina di Patti.
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