Tuesday 20 September
At the airport waiting for my flight back to Gatwick and various other modes of transport to get home!
Sicily has been absolutely fascinating, so many wonderful things to see and an island steeped in history, the influence of Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans and Greeks all plain to see.
The food has been wonderful as has the wine and the sun shone every day, albeit the one windy day just happened to be the day we were going to Stromboli.
I won’t miss the hair raising drives on cliff edges and I certainly won’t miss the mosquitoes or whatever it was that kept taking chunks out of everyone
Arriverderci Sicilia.
Monday 19 September
Palermo
Back in Palermo for our last day. Free time this morning to watch the funeral and a tour this afternoon to visit the Baroque part of Palermo including the Villa Malfitano, Teatro Massimo and a private palazzo visit.
Our first visit was to Villa Malfitano the former home of Joseph Whitaker, the archaeologist I mentioned when we visited the island of Mozia. A grand house and beautiful peaceful garden in the middle of the bustling Palermo.
Teatro Massimo – the third largest opera house in Europe
Our final visit was to Palazzo Aliata Villafranca, a former aristocratic mansion now turned into a museum. Nothing to look at from the outside but splendid inside
Sunday 18 September
Cefalu/Palermo
Cefalu is a medieval town with a small fishing port and long sandy beach. Its Norman cathedral has exceptional Byzantine mosaics. The town only has a population of 3,000 but the cathedral is huge
Some pictures from around the town
The ancient laundry
Cefalu – under the shadow of the rock
Back on the mainland and looking across to the islands
Time for the boat back to the mainland.
Having breakfast watching the mountains smoke, clear day with another island visible in the distance.
Saturday 17 September
Today is the day we were to cruise out to the island of Panarea and then onto Stromboli to see the lava flow. Unfortunately, after all the glorious weather we have had, the weather has changed and it is too windy to sail☹️.
So a walk around Vulcano and a read of the book.
Friday 16 September
Milazzo/Aeolian Islands
Arrived by ferry onto the island of Vulcano, dropped off our luggage, had some lunch then took the ferry to Lipari.
The Aeolian Islands, shaped by wind and fire, these volcanic islands are just off the north coast of Sicily
One of the most interesting things was watching the plane take water from the sea to dowse the hillside fires.
Walk through the village to the higher part and back down to the marina
Some free time on the bus this morning so thought I would mention the food. Of course the ice cream has been wonderful and I have so far tested the following flavours – lemon, mango, peach, vanilla, strawberry, passion fruit, peanut and salted caramel, sour cherry, pistachio, zuppa inglese, coffee, stracciatella – so many flavours and so few days left!
Cannoli are Italian pastries consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling containing ricotta and many different flavours
Arancini – stuffed rice balls which are deep fried, they can be stuffed with anything savoury or sweet. I had prosciutto and mozzarella which was delicious
A nice red wine that I have found is Nero D’Avola which they often serve chilled.
Thursday 15 September
Taormina/Savoca
Arrived yesterday in Castelmola just in time for a quick dip in the pool. This is a small hamlet in the hills above Taormina with a ruined castle perched on a ridge. Pretty precarious drive up but worth the view. My bedroom has a lovely terrace overlooking Mount Etna.
Savoca – in Messina province and setting for the Godfather, calling at the famous Cafe Vitelli. Another hair raising drive!
The wedding scene was filmed in this church
Around the village
Back down to Taormina, Sicily’s gliziest resort situated on a hill overlooking the coast and Mount Etna. It has a main street and a maze of steep, narrow alleys with lovely flowers around.
The amphitheatre was carved out of the hillside by the Greeks in the third century BC and enlarged by the Romans
Around the town
Some great views from various vantage points
The Calabrian coast on mainland Italy can be clearly seen today.
Walk into the old village of Castelmola
Wednesday 14 September
Mount Etna/Catania
Etna is Europe’s largest and most active volcano, the name Etna comes from the Arabic word for mountain. The eruption of 1669 wiped out Catania and the lava took 8 years to cool!
Catania is Sicily’s second largest city, it has grand Baroque palazzi and stands in the shadow of Mount Etna.
Walk around the centre of Catania, through University Square and onto the market
Last stop of the day was to Palazzo Fiorini in Acireale which is a coastal town on the Ionian sea at the foot of Mount Etna. The privately owned house was sumptuous but sadly photos were not allowed. This is the outside and the view from the balcony
Some photos from around the town
Tuesday 13 September
Syracuse/Ortigia
Another beautiful day
Today we go to Siracusa which was one of the great powers of the ancient world even surpassing Athens. Archimedes was born in Siracusa in 287 BC. The city is full of wonderful buildings including the amphitheatre, Teatro Greco.
First visit is to Parco Archeologico della Neapolis containing quarries,tombs and caverns and the amphitheatre
The amphitheatre
Around the site
A walk to Ortigia, an island reached by bridge from Siracusa. The first house looks very Venetian
The restaurant where we ate lunch was called Vecchio Lavatoio and in the basement was the ancient laundry
We also visited a church which had three levels below the ground level and we visited the catacombs which went on for miles
Lovely walk back through the town, back to the hotel and a welcome dip in the pool
Monday 12 September
Scicli/Punta Secca/Noto
Our first visit today is to the house of Sicilian detective Montalbano in Punta Secca, dipped my toes in the sea and took some photos around the village
Then onto Scicli, another town devastated by the earthquake and completely rebuilt in Sicilian Baroque style. It has stone paved streets and squares with ornate palazzi adorned with gargoyles. It is also home to Montalbano’s office, which is really the office of the mayor.
The mayor’s office, the police station and Montalbano’s office
Around the town
Last stop of the day, the town of Noto, yet another town destroyed by the 1693 earthquake. Some of the beautiful buildings.
The cathedral – on March 13, 1996, a large part of the cathedral collapsed: four of the piers of the southern side of the nave, one of the four piers supporting the dome, the entire roof of the nave and much more ending with many of the cupolas and much of the roof at right angles. It has now been rebuilt, although it will take many years to decorate all the walls inside.
Sunday 11 September
Ragusa/Noto
Today we visit Villa del Casale in Piazza Armerina, which has one of the richest collections of Roman mosaics in the world.
Passing through Piazza Armerina where they cultivate the prickly pear
Onto Ragusa, another town completely destroyed by the earthquake of 1693, where we saw the rooms of a private club, once only for men but now open to all. The red silk room was used in filming Montalbano and was the coroners office.
A very wealthy family also own a small private theatre which is once again being used for productions.
We also visited a private garden with lemons and tangerines.
Some photos of the town and cathedral
We now have three nights at the historic Villa Favorita, just outside Noto, a country house still owned by the original noble family. In the evening we had a group dinner
Saturday 10 September
Selinunte/Agrigento
Selinunte took its name from selinon, the Greek for the wild celery which grew everywhere. The temples and ruins are set in a lovely isolated spot beside the sea and were founded in 628BC.
In the museum
Then onto Agrigento, Valley of the Temples. From the 5th century, it is said to have rivalled Athens in splendour.
Built by colonists from Gela, Crete and Rhodes, then sacked by Carthaginians, a Roman revival, then destroyed by Byzantines
We had a lovely walk with olive, pistachio and almond trees.
At the hotel a choice of sea one side or pool the other, the pool won!
Final drink of the evening by the pool with the full moon looking down
Friday 9 September
Marsala/Mozia
Today we took a short boat ride over to the island of Mozia, Sicily’s chief punic site and was a colony set with a ring of ramparts and towers. The earliest Phonecian settlement dates back to the 8th century BC. The island was bought by Joseph Whitaker in the 1900’s whose family was from Ossett.
Some of the excavations and some pictures from around the island
We then had some free time in Marsala which is a charming town with many Baroque buildings and an old town entered by impressive gates.
Below is the Triscele, symbol of Sicily,which has its origins in Greek mythology. It represents a head of a Gorgon, whose hair is entwined with serpents and ears of wheat, and from which three bent legs branch off with its feet pointing in the same direction.
Thursday 8 September
Trapani/Segesta/Erice
Our first stop today was at Segesta to see the Greek doric temple and amphitheatre on Monte Barbaro which date from the 5th and 3rd centuries BC and where the Arabs and Normans settled.
This is a wine growing region and the countryside is very pretty
The teatro where they perform plays in the summer
Then onto Erice a lovely town in the hills and a walk around the cobbled streets. Un arancino and gelato for lunch.
The salt pans of Trapani with egrets and pink flamingoes
Wednesday 7 September
Palermo/Monreale
Full on day today and I must remember not to call people from Sicily, Italians, they are not they are Sicilian!!!
We started our day at the Norman Palace and Palatine Chapel, passing through the gates with the mosaic roof showing the eagle, the symbol of Sicily and the beautiful kapok tree’s pink flowers
The Palatine Chapel one of the finest examples of Norman art and the private Chapel of Roger II, King of Sicily
Visits to La Matorana and San Cataldo.
The fountain in Piazza Pretoria (called the square of shame by the nuns because of the naked statues).
The Cathedral
The four corners where each corner represents one of the seasons
Took the coach just out of Palermo to the town of Monreale, lovely Square and church
Tuesday 6 September
Palermo
Arrived in the capital of Sicily, home to 750,000 people. It has the usual big city vibe about it with Louis Vuitton and Prada shops on the street corners.
The first thing our tour guide pointed out was along the motorway and the place where Judge Falcone, his wife and bodyguards were killed by a bomb placed by the Mafia – welcome to Sicily!!!
Had a short walk around and dinner on the rooftop terrace of the hotel with a lovely couple from Paisley, then an early night.
