The Best of Sicily

The Best of Sicily

The largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily is a land of beauty, mystery, and world-class monuments. It’s an exotic mix of bloodlines and architecture from medieval Normandy, Aragonese Spain, Moorish North Africa, ancient Greece, Phoenicia, and Rome. Much of the island’s raw, primitive nature has faded in modern times, as thousands of newfangled cars clog the narrow lanes of its biggest city, Palermo. Poverty remains widespread, yet the age-old stranglehold of the Mafia seems less certain thanks to the increasingly vocal protests of an outraged public. On the eastern edge of the island is Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe. Many of Sicily’s larger urban areas (Trapani, Catania, and Messina) are relatively unattractive, but areas of ravishing beauty and eerie historical interest are found in the cities of Syracuse, Taormina, Agrigento, and Selinunte. Sicily’s ancient ruins are rivaled only by those of Rome itself. Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples, for example, is worth the trip alone.

The Best Travel Experiences

Walking among the Dead: Outside Palermo, the Catacombe dei Cappuccini amazingly preserve the lifelike corpses of some 8,000 Palermitans entombed here from the late 16th century until 1920, when the last victim, a 2-year-old bambina, was laid to rest. In dimly lit, murky, subterranean corridors, you can wander among these mummies. It’s a gory sight, but it’s absolutely fascinating. 

Wandering Palermo’s La Kalsa: The ancient quarter of La Kalsa, created during the city’s Arab domination, is as close as Sicily comes to having a Casbah typical of the North African cities to the south. This densely populated district of narrow streets and markets provides a view of local Sicilian life unlike anywhere else on the island. To make your experience more authentic, purchase some babbaluci from one of the many vendors. (These are marinated baby snails sold in paper cornets for devouring on the spot.) Head for Piazza della Kalsa, theheart of the quarter, and the day is yours.

Encountering the Sicilian Apennines: The island isn’t all coastline, even though most visitors rarely dip into the hinterlands. For a close-up view of life as lived in the “Sicilian Alps,” head inland to explore Sicily’s greatest national park, Parco Naturale Regionale delle Madonie, sprawling across 39,679 hectares (98,049 acres). Castles dotting the park’s lofty villages evoke the Middle Ages; the town of Cefalù makes the best base. This area is the breadbasket of Sicily, so you’ll pass through pretty farms and vineyards. Fields ideal for a summertime picnic give way to downhill skiers in winter. Climbing the Volcano: Follow in the footsteps of the “disgraced” Ingrid Bergman, who came here in 1949 with her lover and director, Roberto Rossellini, to make the ill-fated film Stromboli. On the Aeolian island of Stromboli, the most spectacular of its archipelago, you can witness showers of flaring rock and sparks from its volcano. For the most dramatic viewings, visit at night, when you can witness up close the channels from which the lava flows toward the sea along sciara del fuoco, or “trails of fire.” At the top, you’ll be treated to fiery explosions, a great show that’s gone on for centuries. Just wear something over your coiffure so that you, too, don’t light
up the night. 

Cooling Off in Gole dell’Alcantara: Often visited from Taormina en route to Mount Etna, the Alcantara lava gorges are the best place to experience almost freezing waters when the temperatures in eastern Sicily soar from May to September. These gorges were carved by a river of the same name into rock-hard basalt, the creation of one of Mount Etna’s ancient eruptions. You can rent thigh-length boots, but many prefer to take along a bathing suit. This wonderland is the place to be a kid again: There’s nothing quite like splashing around in these cooling waters.
 

Visiting Medieval Erice: This once heavily fortified and walled mountain town, left over from the Middle Ages, is suspended 755m (2,477 ft.) above sea level. Ancients called the city Eryx, and a glorious golden temple dedicated to Aphrodite at the pinnacle of the town was like a gleaming lighthouse for ancient mariners. You can wander its cobblestone streets and peer into flower-filled courtyards along twisting lanes. Nothing seems as foreboding as a walk down a vanelle, an alley so narrow that only one person can pass at a time. Many Sicilian men journey here looking for a wife, as the women of Erice have been considered the most beautiful in Sicily for centuries.