My journey back to Sicily continues.

Today we headed to the town of Noto, one of the eight towns in South-Eastern Sicily that were rebuilt after 1693 due to a huge earthquake. All of the architecture was built using the local limestone. These eight towns represent what is considered to be late-Baroque style.  This was a defiant answer to the wrath of nature (the earthquake) and an ambitious affirmation of wealth and the religious order delivered by the local aristocracy. The limestone—all honey-colored or pale white—is like no Baroque you have ever seen.

Noto is only 31 miles from Ragusa and the cathedral and the town’s central district have been beautifully restored. In fact, the eight towns that make up this cluster are all gems in their own right. The approaches to these towns remind me of the barren landscapes in Rajasthan, India; green fertile plains, dramatic rock faces, with clusters of houses literally looking like they have been carved into this mountain of rock, and always a church or a cathedral at the top.

When we arrived in Noto we were fortunate because the annual Flower Festival which takes place every May was happening. This year the festival was based around Japanese-influences and the street leading up to Town Hall was decorated in flowers that portray Japanese paintings and writings. There were balloon sellers lining the streets and the whole town had a magical party atmosphere. Noto incidentally has the best gelato in all of Italy.  There is nothing better in the world then taking in the sites while tasting the delights of a lemon and pistachio gelato. Especially when you can see the lemon and pistachio trees about a hundred yards away.

Eventually we headed into Modica, another Baroque town, for an evening stroll and dinner.  Modica is a place that you can imagine living. It has beautiful architecture, the best chocolate store in the world called “Antica Dolceria Bonajuto,” and the steepest steps that I have ever climbed.  Exhausted, we settled into another spectacular Sicilian meal and headed back to Ragusa for the last night.

The Journey to Mount Etna

We stopped in the early morning at the delightful town of Scicli; again, another spectacular Baroque feast. It was described by the art historian Anthony Blunt as “Baroque preserved in aspic.” We visited a couple of churches including the great church of St. Ignazio and caught a glimpse of the extraordinary Madonna of the Militia. She is said to have saved the local Normans from an attack by invading Moors in 1091. The power of women.

The sun was high and the colors of the limestone made the town a breathtaking site. But we had to push on heading through Siracusa and visiting another Baroque fantasy in Ortygia before moving on and connecting with the main autostrada that took us through Catania and on to Etna. The day was warm and sunny and at the top it appeared that Mount Etna looked clear.

The drive up to Etna is a drive of gradual transition and you have no idea what you are getting into. The green of the lowest slopes gradually gives way to black volcanic rock. The road then starts turning and turning as you make your way up this mammoth mountain. As you get higher, the temperature descends rapidly. At 13,000 feet, Etna is a giant, one of the grandest volcanos in the world.

At the mid-station, we jumped out of our car and got into a cable car for the ride up the mountain to connect with a 4-wheel drive vehicle. The weather had now changed. A cloud had come in, the wind had picked up, the temperature had dropped, and all of us felt hopelessly underdressed. The journey on the 4-wheel drive trucks took us through banks of ash covered snow that were 20 feet high.  Once to the top, we were delivered to winds that nearly blew us over. We walked with a guide along a narrow volcanic path of black lava to the mouth of one of the openings of the volcano. It was so cold and so windy and so high, that I wondered if we would ever make it back.

But thank goodness we did.

Once we reached the balmy and beautiful Taormina, Etna seemed a mountain away. Dinner in Aci Trezza and another spectacular meal to close out the day.

Final Thoughts on Sicily

I am pleased that I returned to Sicily because I really got it wrong the first time.

I loved Palermo. It is a great and fascinating city, rich in history, filled with markets and activity, fabulous food, and the best beaches of any European city.

The Baroque towns of Ragusa, Noto, Modica, and Scicli were a revelation to me. They are also great places to stay and base yourself for excursions to the other Baroque hill towns nearby. The northwest part of the island and Segesta specifically were well worth the visit and are an easy day’s outing from Palermo.

We also visited Cefalù to the east of Palermo and this can be done as a simple excursion in an afternoon. It has a beautiful cathedral and a lovely old town with beaches and umbrellas that sit in the backs of the houses and shops that curl around the center. In May people were already swimming although the locals were decidedly not.

Sicily is drivable and manageable and Palermo or Ragusa can be wonderful and convenient hubs to visit other places. Of course, nothing is more charming than ending in Taormina with its Greek temple and the imposing Etna nearby.

As for Siracusa, it is a good stop between Ragusa and Taormina especially when going to the island of Ortygia. As for Agrigento and Piazza Armerina, they are places worth visiting if you have the time, but they can be avoided at no great cost to the pleasure and love of this beautiful island.

There are so many amazing things to do and see and so much history packed into this tiny piece of land—the football at the edge of the boot—that there is no question of an imminent return.

The gelato alone would make it worthwhile.

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I had been to Sicily some years ago, but it didn’t “wow” me.

We had visited Taormina and then travelled to Siracusa, Piazza Armerina, and Agrigento.  Taormina, I recall, was a stunning and beautiful picturesque village with a Greek temple at the end of a delightful pedestrian shopping street with spectacular views across to the omnipresent Mount Etna.

The rest of the journey was spotty. Spectacular ruins interspersed with badly maintained roads and unspectacular scenery. My Italian friend explained to me very simply that I had missed the essence of Sicily. We travelled together a couple of weeks ago to revisit and rediscover his favorite island.

First stop was Palermo. The approach to the Old Town is through a modern barrage of trendy shops along a wide boulevard. Then the place begins to Baroque-it up. A lot of Baroque in fact. The city started to feel very, very different from any place I have ever visited in Italy before.

There is this grand fusion of history that stretches through the centuries from early Phoenician settlements up to the modern day Baroque. In between the Romans, the Normans, and the Bourbon kings, there is the magnificence of the Moorish period. It reminds me of Andalusia and then of Morocco with the Baroque elegance of Italy. The Royal Palace is a classic example of this mix of styles stretching from the 5^th century B.C. all the way to the 17^th century. There is a church dedicated to St. Peter; decorated by Islamic artists with a Phoenician foundation. It is as life should be.

There are markets everywhere alongside tiny lanes which zigzag through this ancient maze of a town. I love the markets and there are plenty of them. They sell anything from fish, including swordfish beaks, to bottarga, the tiny blocks of dried tuna eggs that they sell to grate onto pasta, to sarde (big sardines) that are also used in pasta, along with every fruit and vegetable imaginable. Oh and it seems that there were a lot of pigs’ heads just to keep the vegetarians on their toes.

Sicily is the land of the cherry tomato and the sundried tomato paste. Plenty of tomatoes and plenty of sun here. There is olive oil—the good kind—which Sicilians use exclusively to cook with. There are cheeses such as the famous Sicilian cheese, ricotta, along with cannolis. Not to mention the abundance of artwork, tacky T-shirts, and the usual plastic kitsch that makes up any “fine” market day forage.

Sicily is literally the engine room of food for most of Italy. Palermo, through its markets, is where you find it. There is so much to do and see in Palermo that it becomes slightly overwhelming. The Moorish influences that reminded me of Andalusia pop up in the most unexpected places. The centuries are layered like a sensuous dessert. It seems that everyone has passed through this island and in Palermo this creates an extraordinarily unique feel.

It is a late-night city; noisy and fun. It is a seaside town with the most beautiful, clean beaches and clear water you could ever ask to find. All of this within 15 minutes of the center. The food is pasta, fish, ricotta, and ice cream, and the olive oil is not bad either.

This is not Tuscany, this is raw and in your face. It blew me away.

The Road to Ragusa

After a quick morning visit to the rather spooky catacombs, we began our journey around the island. Incidentally, as a side note, if you do not have the stomach for seeing lots and lots of dead bodies fully clothed hanging decoratively around the walls (and I mean lots!) dating from as late as the 19^th century, then you should not head into the Palermo catacombs. But if you fancy it, it can be quite an experience as it’s also one of those places that you just simply never forget. A quick stop at the best pastry place in Palermo and then off on the road we went.

Getting out of Palermo can be difficult. The traffic is intense, the rules are chaotic (none), and the roadway is in desperate need of money (it disappeared!). But such is life in Sicily.  What is striking once you leave the city and head inland is how incredibly green the countryside becomes.

Our first destination today was to visit the amphitheater and temple in Segesta. It is without equal and because it was outside of the earthquake zone, it remained pretty much as it was built some 2,500 years ago.

We continued on past the beautiful seaside resort of San Vito Lo Capo where some of the most stunning beaches are. We passed Erice and Traponi on Sicily’s far West coast down towards our destination of Mozia.

Fields of vineyards and orange groves are everywhere. This is the area known for marsala wine and the principle producer of oranges for all of Italy. En route, we also passed groves of almond trees and pistachio trees. It is so rich in viable vegetation that you can only imagine what the invaders from the northern countries thought when they first discovered the island.  One thing is for sure, they didn’t leave and who could blame them?!

After a late afternoon arrival in Mozia, we took a boat out to the ancient island of San Pantaleo. The island was bought by a wealthy English chap named Joseph Whitaker who made his fortune in the marsala wine trade, but spent his life collecting and excavating this island.  In so doing, he discovered one of the most important Phoenician settlements in the Mediterranean. Established in the 8^thcentury B.C, it is also the best preserved Phoenician site in the world. The boat ride out to the island passes endless salt flats and windmills that are dotted all over which functioned to grind the salt into powder. The salt is stored under terracotta tiles which create mini mountains around the flats. It is a beautiful site and an unusual landscape.

The day is losing us and we head down through Marsala with sadly no time to stop. Finally we reach the outskirts of Agrigento and there on the hill sit three beautiful Greek temples amidst a modern barrage of ugly architecture. How could such a magnificent place be so polluted and engulfed by this landscape? The old town of Agrigento, barely visible and desperately in need of exposure, is the only respite apart from the temples. The Greek temples are not as impressive as Segesta but stand out amidst a background of dreadful buildings and pollution.  We keep moving on and eventually head inland as darkness falls into a delightful town called Ragusa.

Dinner is served.

In Part II of my Sicily recap, I venture to the flower festival in Noto (which also happens to have the best gelato in all of Italy) and survive a windy trek up Mount Etna for an experience of a lifetime.

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When I travel to Rome, I remind myself each time how magical this city is by doing the same exact walk every time. It is really a walk of piazzas and fountains, of ancient monuments and baroque, and it starts in the Piazza della Minerva at the back of the Pantheon with Bernini’s Elephant (pictured) plopped in the middle of the square. The whole walk takes about an hour or two or three depending on whether you stop for coffee, lunch, or ice cream. My recommendation is to do all three!

At the Church of Santa Maria della Minerva there is a statue by Michelangelo. A good iconic way to start the walk. At the Piazza della Rotunda, the Pantheon square, ancient Rome comes crashing down on you. This is the lowest part of Rome. Note that most Roman statues or monuments are submerged under the belly of the modern city.

The Piazza is surrounded by cafes, restaurants, a hotel, and of course the marvelous Pantheon itself. Originally built in 29 BC by Agrippa and then restored and rebuilt after a fire by Hadrian, this is the most perfectly preserved piece of Roman architecture that you can see.  Here is the resting place of Rafael, the composer Corelli, the first two kings of the united Italy, and Queen Margarita who gave her name to a pizza! Inside, the oculus opens to the sky so that shafts of light illuminate what were the original statues of the Gods around the edges.

Just out on the back end of the square is the Tazza D’oro. Here you find the finest shot of espresso in all of Italy. A cut through the back streets, and we are into the Piazza Navona (pictured below).  Bernini’s Fountain of Four Rivers is spectacular and now shining and clean after several years of scaffolding had hidden it from view. Borromini Church works perfectly against the statue. This is a marvelous square that was formally a stadium in Domitian’s time and was subsequently used during the medieval period for fun water battles. If we walk through the back of the square, away from the Tibur, we drift past the famous statue of Pasquino. In medieval times, citizens were able to post naughty comments right on it and it has been used this way ever since.

We cross the road, surviving the traffic of the Via Vittorio Emmanuelle, and pass a delicatessen with the largest slab of mortadella I have ever seen in the world. It is at least three feet wide and six feet long! And oh, so healthy. And then on into the Campo de Fiori.  Famous today for its bars and restaurants and its daily market, it is the hub of the city. It has the best Pizza sold in the city at the Forno and a great restaurant called ‘La Carbonara’.

The fountain that is at the end of the square was moved to accommodate the ominous chap in the center who looks like Darth Vadar. His name is Giordano Bruno (pictured) and he was burnt at the stake here in 1600. He claimed that the earth was the center of the universe. Oops…bad timing. The palace next door to the square is La Cancellaria. It has a famous set of frescoes by Vasari who wrote the “Lives of the Artists.”  It is said that he set out to compete with the Sistine Chapel and boasted to Michelangelo that his work was completed in just 100 days.  According to my sources (and they are reliable!) Michelangelo replied, “It shows.”  Since then, it has been called the 100 day gallery.

Down at the other end of the Campo, the buildings follow the curved foundations of the theater. This was actually the Theater of Pompey, the first stone theater of ancient Rome.  More importantly, it was here that Julius Caesar was assassinated.

A hop, step, and a jump away is the Piazza Farnese. The Palazzo Farnese dominates the square. Michelangelo even designed the top floor. It has been the French embassy since Mussolini’s time. Sometimes you can get in to look at the famous frescoes of the Carracci Brothers on the second floor. The piazza itself houses two lovely fountains with bathtubs that were pulled from the baths of Caracalla which is famous nowadays for its opera performances. Standing in the middle of this square, you get this real sense of the full power of the Renaissance with baroque fountains and the ancient Roman granite bathtubs of Caracalla.

Grab a moment here; close your eyes, time travel, and wander back through the busy shopping streets and know that you have walked a walk of 2,000 years.

[Photo credits: Piazza della Minerva, Piazza Navona, Giordano Bruno statue,Piazza Farnese]

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