2023: Sicily

For many years we had promised ourselves a visit to Sicily - partly because we love their wines so much - and finally in 2023 we decided to go there for my birthday, and booked it through Titan Travel. As well as its food and wines, of course, Sicily is known for its Mediterranean climate and for its wealth of historical architecture - particularly from when the Greeks occupied the island and from when the Romans conquered it (note the difference in terminology there). We were eagerly looking forward to sampling them all.

A few weeks before we were due to depart, our chances of taking the trip looked unlikely after an eruption of Mount Etna closed down much of the island including the airport but, with just a few days to spare, the airport was re-opened and we were on our way to the Land of Figs and Olives (that is what 'Sicily' actually means).

Our tour of Sicily

The coach met us at Catania airport and took us to the beautiful Hotel Politi at Syracuse. Built 160 years ago for the Sicilian painter Salvatore Politi and his wife (who was an Austrian noblewoman) this magnificent building has a fabulous garden with many magnificent statues. The hotel's impressive history includes having been used by Winston Churchill during the allied invasion of Italy as well as having on occasions been a meeting place for Kings, Princes, presidents, prime ministers, and Popes from all over Europe. We were extremely pleased with our large high-level room, which had an excellent view across the city through the unusual oval window of its balcony. It was quite late in the evening so we strolled down the road to a nearby bar, and sat happily on their terrace enjoying a delicious glass of local wine while watching a fireworks display which was taking place down at the harbour; it made a magical atmosphere in which to start our holiday.

The beautiful Hotel (see the oval windows on the top floor)	The view through our balcony's oval window	Our room was excellent	One of the many statues in the garden

The next day we visited the local Roman amphitheatre, including the orchards and quarries where the slaves were employed. We made a brief stop at the Ear of Dionysius, a strange ear-shaped cave beneath the amphitheatre which had the most incredible echo and acoustics. The site was already important before the arrival of the Romans: it has the largest Greek altar in the world, at which thousands of animals were ritually slaughtered (the meat was then used to provide a feast, so it was not wasted)

The Roman amphitheatre of Syracuse	The Ear of Dionysius cave.		The Greek altar behind Debbie is over 200 yards long

We then went to the nearby island of Ortigia, where the original city of Syracuse was located, passing a statue of Archimedes (who was one one of its early residents) as we walked across the 16th century bridge. We were given a guided tour of the narrow streets, passing beautiful medieval buildings including the cathedral at the town square

Archimedes at the entrance to Ortigia	The main street across the island was crowded	The narrow side streets were mainly deserted	The main piazza had a beautiful cathedral ...	... and several other wonderful old churches.

After a leisurely stroll around Ortigia and a delicious lunch of locally-caught seafood in a small cafe (with of course a glass or two of the local wine) we were treated to a round-the-island boat trip.

We've got to get under that low bridge	You'll have to duck, we need to put the roof down	No, that's not enough. I meant RIGHT DOWN	Yes I think we should just fit now

The coastline is pierced by many caves	Let's take a closer look	Will we fit inside this one?..	Yes, even with the roof raised	Looking out from the cave
Spectacular rock formation near the island	We went deep inside some of the caves	This cave had amazing stalactites	A view of the city from the sea	These fortress walls look pretty unassailable

After the boat trip we returned to the Hotel Politi for dinner and a leisurely evening, followed by a rather short night's sleep after Debbie accidentally set our clock to a sort of 'Double-European' time which meant that we were up very early in the morning. At least it gave me plenty of time before breakfast to open my birthday cards and presents!

That day our coach took us to several hilltop towns; the first of these was called Noto. We strolled through the town, enjoying the sunshine and the beautiful baroque buildings, and then we spotted signs to an art exhibition which looked rather interesting.

The entrance gate to the town of Noto	Noto has some wonderful statues ...	... and many amazing buildings ...

... including a fabulous cathedral ...	... whose door  tells many biblical tales	The interior of the cathedral is beautiful	Some of the modern artwork inside the cathedral is actually quite disturbing

We were so glad that we visited the exhibition. The art gallery was just wonderful, and although we were not so impressed by the modern sculpture section, the 'Pop-Garden' experience room was just mind-blowing!

In Noto there was an exhibition of art which included paintings by Caravaggio and Van Gogh together with modern sculpture and also this fantastic immersive multimedia 'flower-power' room			Outside the exhibition we found a mime artist

Leaving Noto, the coach took us to Ragusa (where we had a fantastic lunch) and onwards to Modica. Here we climbed a very long steep stairway to visit a chocolate-maker for a tasting experience; I was not particularly impressed by the visit which was actually little more than a sales-pitch, whereas Debbie simply took a bus-tour of the town and had a very enjoyable time.

The scenery was amazing, with spectacular roads passing many hilltop towns

That night, to celebrate my birthday, we had a special meal in the hotel's dining room. It was simply marvellous! Then the following morning we were on the coach immediately after breakfast, all packed up and ready to move to our next hotel which was on the outskirts of Palermo the capital of Sicily. On the way we visited the fortress city of Enna, where we greatly admired the hilltop cathedral, followed by the seaside town of Cefalu. Here we just strolled through the town and sat outside a cafe in the town square for a delicious lunch.

Another spectacularly beautiful Cathedral with biblical tales on the door, this time at the hilltop city of Enna

Later that afternoon we arrived at the Hotel Splendid La Torre, on the outskirts of Palermo. Although it was rated 4-star because of its facilities (including a private beach) we quickly nicknamed it 'Fawlty Towers'. Actually it was fine, apart from the chaotic check-in at reception, and the ultra-slow porterage, and the need to amend the dining times, and the lack of milk for the coffee, and all the drinks that the bar had sold out of, and the way they had printed the menus in German specially for us English guests, and the ultra-slow dinner service, and the air conditioning switch in our room being broken and stuck on 'extremely cold', and the utterly chaotic breakfast arrangements, and the lack of any hot water to the baths and showers in the rooms, and the way that when we asked for an ice-bucket for our wine at dinner, they brought us a saucer with 2 ice cubes, and ... (well I could go on but by now I expect you've got the picture)

Times are changing in Sicily (I saw this in Palermo)	This wonderful fountain was created for a Florentine Villa, but the owner sold it to the city of Palermo to cover his debts. The square in Palermo would have been an ideal location except that it was opposite the Nunnery and the enraged Mother Superior came out one night with a hammer to 'improve' the statues
The magnificent Palermo Cathedral	Close-up of the statue on top of the spire	In front of the Cathedral is this statue of St Rosalia slaying a sailor (see paragraph below)	This beautiful traditional carriage is displayed inside the Palatine Chapel

Palermo was fascinating, and we enjoyed a detailed guided tour amongst its many styles of architecture which reflected its many occupiers including Arab, Turkish, Greek, Roman, and European. We learned about St Rosalia, who had lived as a hermit in a cave outside Palermo during the 12th century. When the city was struck by a plague in the 17th century, one citizen had a vision of her asking to be brought to down from the cave; he went to the place that the vision had described, and there he found her bones which he carried back to Palermo. Wherever he carried the bones, the plague disappeared, so she was venerated as the patron Saint of Palermo. The statue outside the Cathedral shows her victory over a (male) sailor because it was believed - probably correctly - that the plague was carried to the island by a visiting merchant ship.

We saw many beautifully decorated traditional horse-drawn carriages ...			... and some beautifully decorated carriages which were less traditional

After a short break for coffee and gelato, we walked to the nearby Palatine Chapel for a short tour.

 

The spectacular interior of the Palatine Chapel in Palermo ...				... including the story of Noah

The Palatine chapel in Palermo was indeed beautiful; however at nearby Monreale they were determined to build one that was bigger and even more beautiful. Well, you certainly cannot deny that it is bigger.

The wall friezes at Monreale Cathedral tell the story  of Noah in great detail

Back at Fawlty Towers, Debbie actually went for a swim in the warm waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Then again the following morning we packed our cases and embarked on another coach trip. After a brief stop at the ancient salt pans of Trapani we drove back up into the hills to visit the town of Erice for lunch.

We found this beautiful statue of the Greek God  Triton in Monreale	Flocks of wild flamingos on the salt pans of Trapani	This windmill pumped sea-water to the salt pans	We visited a patisserie at Erice for a tasting of its famous almond-based delicacies

For the afternoon we visited the remains of Selinunte, which was once a huge Greek city. I find myself questioning, from an archaeological point of view, is it right to reconstruct the temples from the piles of stones that are lying all around (as they have done there) or to leave them undisturbed (as they have done at the Valley of the Temples which we visited the next day)?

Some of the incredible remains of the ancient Greek city of  Selinunte, which was their main trading port for the western side of the island. Here we see the reconstructed ruins of two of its seven huge temples (and Debbie on the altar)

We spent the next night at a fantastic hotel (the Baia di Ulisse) in Agrigento. What a contrast from our previous two nights!

At the Valley of the Temples the ruins are still standing (not reconstructed as at Selinunte)	The ruins are magnificent (Debbie thinks this statue of Icarus is rather fine too)	Mosaics at the Roman Villa. Were these female Roman athletes wearing the first bikinis?	This floor shows emblems of the 4 seasons around an erotic scene, symbolising everlasting love	Detail of the scene at the centre of the mosaic

The next morning we went to the Valley of the Temples, where the impressive ruins are in fantastically good condition. We very much enjoyed our guided visit, not least because the coach dropped us at the top of the valley and collected us from the lower end so we didn't have to climb back up the hill in the blazing hot sun. We were then taken to a Countess's country estate for a wonderful lunch before continuing to the Roman Villa del Casale which is justifiably famous for its amazing mosaic floors.

Illustrating the exotic animals they hoped to capture	Setting off on the expedition	Capturing an ostrich ...	... and an elephant ...	... and a rhinocerosle

That night's hotel was just superb in every way. Our lovely double-aspect room looked out over the beautiful gardens in one direction and up to Mount Etna in the other. Full marks to the St Alphio Garden hotel at Giardini Naxos! The following day was very relaxing, strolling around the town of Taormina with an excellent guide before having a wonderful lunch at a busy little cafe, then returning to the hotel for a gentle swim in their pool and a few drinks at their poolside bar before an excellent meal in their restaurant. Just what we needed to build up our strength for the following day's activities!

At a church in Taormina was a wonderful sculpture of the last supper ...	... together with a rather frightening modern picture of the crucifixion	... and a rather more traditional statue of the Virgin Mary	From our hotel window that evening, the steam from Etna formed the shape of a small dragon	... and just a few minutes later the setting sun made a beautiful backdrop for the mountain.

The final day of our holiday was the climax of our visit to the island, with an expedition up its active volcano, Mount Etna. The coach zig-zagged its way up the approach road to a height of just over 6000 feet, at which point we were given our tickets for the cable-car which would take us up another 2000 feet. The views from the car were superb, and then we disembarked to transfer to the bus which would take us to meet our guide at an altitude of 9500 feet. As we got out of the bus we were very glad that we were wearing our warmest clothing; it had been 30 degrees Celsius at the hotel, it was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit near the mountain-top.

The guide led us up the steep track past a rocky gully which he told us was actually just a thin crust of solidified lave with a stream of molten lave running below it (so it was a very good idea to stay on the marked track!). He took us up to about 9800 feet, at which point the steam from the volcano turned and blocked our view; it was time to return

Waiting at about 6200 ft for the Etna cable car	The cable cars don't stop, you just jump in as they pass	Looking back from the cable car, at about 8000 ft	A fleet of 4x4 buses take you from 8200 ft to about 9500 ft	After you leave the bus, you can walk further with a guide

Finally - after a stop for a great lunch at a local winery - we returned first to the hotel and then, the next day, to England.

Arrivederci Sicilia!

At nearly 10,000 feet we were close to the top of Mount Etna

All pictures on this site are © Allan Jones unless otherwise stated