After a fairly hot slog of a summer in Rome, we decided to bookend our late Springtime trip to Sardegna with a week or so in the southern island of Sicily in September.
Sicily conjures up a whole range of feelings and ideas, most often related to (outdated) pop-culture references to the mafia. I was never a big fan of the Godfather and have only heard great things about the island since being in Rome, so we struck off on our trip with good vibes and an open mind.
While planning the trip, we had to decide which coast to visit, which major city to structure our trip around. Palermo is Sicily’s capital and it was a close decision, but we finally targeted the east coast centred around Catania. We flew into Catania, picked up our rental car and headed north towards Mount Etna and the incredible city of Taormina.
One of my colleagues is from Taormina and did a really great job selling us on this gorgeous city that we had never heard of. He also provided a load of local tip for sites, food and beaches. We checked into our mostly empty hotel in the countryside and breathed in the tranquility of the place.
We ended up completely blown away by Taormina – somehow this ends up being a pretty common reaction to places in Italy we’ve never heard of. The country is just full of jewels for travellers! Despite the ongoing pandemic, the main streets and squares of Taormina were quite busy. The shops drew us in, buying shoes and a hat for Aleksander and Pistacchio liquor for mommy and daddy.
We spent two full days doing this and that in Taormina. Trying Giuseppe’s gelato recommendation, familiarizing ourselves with Sicilian dishes like caponata and arancini, debating which is our favourite restaurant, taking in all the views, visiting the Churches, peaking down alleyways and even eating ice cream for breakfast Sicilian style, in the form of brioche granita. Dalia was so smitten she was pretty much ready to move in. If the drive up the cliff side wasn’t so harrowing, I might tend to agree!
We couldn’t resist the beach views for too long and spent our final day near Taormina in the beach town of Giardini Naxos. An interesting connection in name with Naxos in Greece where we vacationed a few years back. Apparently the ancient Greeks named this Sicilian town after the Greek original. We didn’t complain about either!
From the north-east of the island we drove south past Catania to the uber-historical seaside city of Siracusa. Neither of us are particularly historically minded but Siracusa speaks to all the layers of what has made up Italian and long-pre-Italian history. The Greeks, the Romans, the Sicilians, North African influences, a living classical Mediterranean outdoor museum.
We took in the culture, the architecture, we walked and walked and walked. Eventually we found another beach for a quick dip, took advantage of the wonderful sea wall for evening strolls and enjoyed our coffees and aperitivos on Siracusa’s Piazza del Duomo. Siracusa is another incredible Italian destination that offers so much to all who find its friendly shores.
Really hitting our Sicilian stride, we headed even further south next. And I have to say that this is where the distance and isolation of the place became most evident. We would drive for what felt like hours without seeing much then coming across a full formed city hanging off a mountain. The first of these stops for us was Noto.
Noto is one of southern Sicily’s famed Baroque style cities and again made for a wonderful day strolling, eating and snapping pics.
We stayed at an agriturismo farm just outside the city and it proved to be a real win for Aleksander who got to meet and interact with more animals than he’s ever seen. Kittens, donkeys, Vito the friendly sleeping guard dog, horses, chickens and goats!
Our next day trip stop was in Ragusa. A smaller but equally as intriguing location as Noto. The city peaked in the Grand Cathedral where a wedding was taking place. The sun bore down on us and even feeling a million miles from everything, we deeply appreciated the beauty and serenity of the day.
Our final day in the south-east of Sicily was split between another short beach visit (why not?!) and the absolutely charming town of Marzamemi, which apparently had become almost entirely abandoned before a couple Michelin starred restaurants put it firmly back on the tourist trail. Neither was disappointing as Sicily continued to reveal more and more elements to itself to us.
With full hearts, bellies and phone photo storage, we made the trek back to Catania where we had booked our final night before flying back to Rome. Even though it’s probably the portion of our trip we planned out the least, it offered another wonderful experience. Our hotel was located on the waterfront on the outskirts of Catania, was equipped with a pool and made for a perfect final snooze in Sicily. We ate pizza, swam some more, ate our final plates of pasta alla Norma and prepared for life back in the real world.
We left Sicily completed converted. There may be no more misunderstood island in the world! It’s a beautiful, welcoming, historical, modern, artistic, rooted, lush, surprising and scenic place that is much more than you expect. We’re so happy and grateful to have had this visit and hope to make it back to the other side of the island as soon as we can!
Dad In The World 