Jul 12, 2007
A self-drive car and a seaside itinerary are the right approach to exploring Sicily
In our last word on the subject, I need to respond to those readers who have asked, in effect, how do you undertake a first visit to Sicily? Where do you start, where do you go?
The major cities and sights are all along the sea, and the seaside highways are the routes taken by most visitors, as they were for me. You start in Palermo, site of the international airport, and concentrate there on the 12th century, mosaic-covered churches and structures associated with the Norman conquerors of that time. From there you might drive for an overnight stay to the medieval mountaintop city of Erice (with its awesome views of the western tip of the island), and then down the western side of Sicily to Agrigento, home to a breathtaking, Greek Valley of the Temples dating from the fifth century B.C., more than six of them, including one -- the Temple of Concordia -- that is surely the best preserved, most-fully-intact Greek temple in all the world.
Most visitors then continue to the city of Siracusa (considered in its earlier time to be a more important Greek capital than Athens) and its well-restored "Greenwich Village," the island of Ortygia off one side of the city, where your stay must be for at least two and preferably three nights. A fifth-century Temple of Apollo is a secondary sight, overshadowed by a stupendous Archaeological Museum (a statue of Venus its outstanding item) and a giant Greek (and later Roman) amphitheatre, where plays of Euripides and Sophocles are still performed, as they were in ancient times. (The museum and the amphitheatre are in the city of Siracusa proper, and not on the island of Ortygia).
Your final stop (before returning to the airport of Palermo): the sensuous, colorful resort city of Taormina high overlooking a breathtaking vista of sea and coastline, enlivened further by purple bougainvillea everwhere you look. Taormina is a rival to Monaco, to Acapulco, to every other glittering seaside resort; and some would claim it tops them all. From Taormina, you cut through the center of Sicily and then north, back to the airport at Palermo for your homeward-bound flight.
If you seek a memorable, instructive, and yet pleasure-filled European experience at moderate cost (airfare and car rental are the major expense), think Sicily.
Write and read comments about this post.
The major cities and sights are all along the sea, and the seaside highways are the routes taken by most visitors, as they were for me. You start in Palermo, site of the international airport, and concentrate there on the 12th century, mosaic-covered churches and structures associated with the Norman conquerors of that time. From there you might drive for an overnight stay to the medieval mountaintop city of Erice (with its awesome views of the western tip of the island), and then down the western side of Sicily to Agrigento, home to a breathtaking, Greek Valley of the Temples dating from the fifth century B.C., more than six of them, including one -- the Temple of Concordia -- that is surely the best preserved, most-fully-intact Greek temple in all the world.
Most visitors then continue to the city of Siracusa (considered in its earlier time to be a more important Greek capital than Athens) and its well-restored "Greenwich Village," the island of Ortygia off one side of the city, where your stay must be for at least two and preferably three nights. A fifth-century Temple of Apollo is a secondary sight, overshadowed by a stupendous Archaeological Museum (a statue of Venus its outstanding item) and a giant Greek (and later Roman) amphitheatre, where plays of Euripides and Sophocles are still performed, as they were in ancient times. (The museum and the amphitheatre are in the city of Siracusa proper, and not on the island of Ortygia).
Your final stop (before returning to the airport of Palermo): the sensuous, colorful resort city of Taormina high overlooking a breathtaking vista of sea and coastline, enlivened further by purple bougainvillea everwhere you look. Taormina is a rival to Monaco, to Acapulco, to every other glittering seaside resort; and some would claim it tops them all. From Taormina, you cut through the center of Sicily and then north, back to the airport at Palermo for your homeward-bound flight.
If you seek a memorable, instructive, and yet pleasure-filled European experience at moderate cost (airfare and car rental are the major expense), think Sicily.
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Labels: sicily
What sort of impact do operations of the Mafia have on your visit to Sicily?
Following the appearance in these posts of my recent reactions to Sicily (which were quite positive), I've been peppered with questions from readers on the role of the Mafia in Sicily and the impact of that role (to the extent it exists) on the tourist.
Call me naive, but the impact of the Sicilian Mafia on the tourist is nil. From arrival to departure, you hear not a word of Mafia activities, and no tourist to my knowledge has ever been targeted by a group that has every business reason to encourage visits.
Though Sicily's economic problems -- it is one of the poorer parts of Italy -- are sometimes "pinned" on the Mafia, just as many Sicilians will talk of the wave of foreign invasions that kept Sicily from becoming a strong nation-state for so many centuries. Its strategic position in the center of the Mediterranean made it a constant and irresistible prize for a succession of conquerors. It suffered especial damage from Allied bombardment and battle in World War II.
It is this turbulent history that provides the basis for a fascinating tour. In no other part of Europe with the exception of Malta is it possible to see so many striking remains (Greek and Roman temples, Muslim mosques, Norman cathedrals) of the key eras of human history crammed into such a small space. And all this is found in a place of striking natural beauty, of fields and rolling hills covered with such lush vegetation and agricultural richness that, by all rights, it should be one of the most prosperous areas of Europe rather than one of its poorest.
Far less developed than the rest of Italy, Sicily is also far less expensive, and rarely do you encounter the startling prices or overcharges that are sometimes found in more heavily-visited parts of Europe. You also encounter a warm and welcoming local population who, in my experience, are constantly gracious towards the visitor. I'm going again.
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Call me naive, but the impact of the Sicilian Mafia on the tourist is nil. From arrival to departure, you hear not a word of Mafia activities, and no tourist to my knowledge has ever been targeted by a group that has every business reason to encourage visits.
Though Sicily's economic problems -- it is one of the poorer parts of Italy -- are sometimes "pinned" on the Mafia, just as many Sicilians will talk of the wave of foreign invasions that kept Sicily from becoming a strong nation-state for so many centuries. Its strategic position in the center of the Mediterranean made it a constant and irresistible prize for a succession of conquerors. It suffered especial damage from Allied bombardment and battle in World War II.
It is this turbulent history that provides the basis for a fascinating tour. In no other part of Europe with the exception of Malta is it possible to see so many striking remains (Greek and Roman temples, Muslim mosques, Norman cathedrals) of the key eras of human history crammed into such a small space. And all this is found in a place of striking natural beauty, of fields and rolling hills covered with such lush vegetation and agricultural richness that, by all rights, it should be one of the most prosperous areas of Europe rather than one of its poorest.
Far less developed than the rest of Italy, Sicily is also far less expensive, and rarely do you encounter the startling prices or overcharges that are sometimes found in more heavily-visited parts of Europe. You also encounter a warm and welcoming local population who, in my experience, are constantly gracious towards the visitor. I'm going again.
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Labels: sicily
Jun 25, 2007
Pardon the boast, but the rules of smart travel worked again last month in Sicily
If you've been following this blog, you've learned that I traveled with my wife to Sicily last month. And though the lessons from that trip will seem obvious to any user of the Frommer's travel guides, I can't resist the temptation to repeat them again.
The first vital step is to learn in advance the key words and phrases of the local language. By spending just a few minutes prior to departure, remembering the Italian for all the simple questions and for counting from one to twenty, all sorts of good things were brought about. Arriving at the central railroad station of Palermo (we took the train from the airport into town), I asked a passer-by whether our hotel was far from the station (E' lontano l'albergo da qui?). He responded that it was only due centi metri (200 hundred meters away). Hearing that, we simply rolled our suitcases there, avoiding what would surely have been a meandering and expensive taxi ride.
And in advance of leaving for Sicily, we read histories and art appreciations of the five basic destinations we had chosen for the trip: Palermo, Erice, Agrigento, Syracuse and Taormina. Arriving in each city, we had no need to be herded as part of a group from place to place, nor to stuff ourselves in a motorcoach that would wall us off from the exoticism of this unique area. We knew what we wanted to see, and we walked from place to place, mixing with locals, often conversing with them, asking questions, dropping into their cafes and shops, scanning their newspapers and political posters, free from the constant jostling presence of other tourists.
We had once again applied the key rule of enjoyable travel: that advance reading in the history and culture of the destination is infinitely preferable to relying on the simplistic commentary of a tour guide.
Write and read comments about this post.
The first vital step is to learn in advance the key words and phrases of the local language. By spending just a few minutes prior to departure, remembering the Italian for all the simple questions and for counting from one to twenty, all sorts of good things were brought about. Arriving at the central railroad station of Palermo (we took the train from the airport into town), I asked a passer-by whether our hotel was far from the station (E' lontano l'albergo da qui?). He responded that it was only due centi metri (200 hundred meters away). Hearing that, we simply rolled our suitcases there, avoiding what would surely have been a meandering and expensive taxi ride.
And in advance of leaving for Sicily, we read histories and art appreciations of the five basic destinations we had chosen for the trip: Palermo, Erice, Agrigento, Syracuse and Taormina. Arriving in each city, we had no need to be herded as part of a group from place to place, nor to stuff ourselves in a motorcoach that would wall us off from the exoticism of this unique area. We knew what we wanted to see, and we walked from place to place, mixing with locals, often conversing with them, asking questions, dropping into their cafes and shops, scanning their newspapers and political posters, free from the constant jostling presence of other tourists.
We had once again applied the key rule of enjoyable travel: that advance reading in the history and culture of the destination is infinitely preferable to relying on the simplistic commentary of a tour guide.
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Labels: sicily
Jun 19, 2007
A very brief introduction to Sicily, based on a trip of two weeks ago
Thanks to the miracle of the jet airplane and the self-drive car, Roberta and I were dining -- it seems like it was yesterday -- near the main square of the mountaintop resort of Taormina, Sicily, on risotto soaked in melted cheese and the juicy red tomatoes for which Sicily is famed. And with those modest but marvelously satisfying plates we were consuming a chilled bottle of heavenly white wine from vineyards on the slopes of Mount Etna which we could see as we dined. And while we dined we listened to two Sicilian guitarists in straw hats who were singing all the hokey tunes of that island south of the boot of Italy, ranging from "Funiculi Funicula" to that familiar melody whose every stanza ends with da da da da da da, S-a-n-t-a L-u-c-i-a.In subsequent posts next week, I'm going to try to describe that southernmost part of Italy that is poorer than the rest of the country, largely rural, and populated by a warm-hearted and generous people. It is a less-developed Italy that is also less expensive than Europe generally and reminds you of the Europe of 50 years ago, a remarkably historic country that underwent successive waves of invasion and is today covered with Greek and Roman temples and amphitheatres and by churches that once were mosques and have inscriptions of the Koran chiseled into their facades. To Americans who regard Italy as consisting only of Rome- Florence- Venice, Sicily will be a revelation, and it is a modestly-priced country that should be on your list of eventual trips. More in a week or so.
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Labels: sicily
Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
