This is the report of a weekly trip that I made in June 2021 in southern Sicily, from Catania to Trapani. It is a journey that I made with my (beloved) partner and my (also beloved) children; some travel choices might seem senseless but they were conditioned by the presence of my kids; I had already been to Sicily, my children had not; some places I wanted to show them, others I thought would be just boring for them, so the path was also influenced by this; in some places I wasted time unnecessarily, while others I had to visit too hastily. This, therefore, is not THE ideal tour of Sicily, but a possible tour, not necessarily the best.
Sicily has always exerted a particular fascination on me, which I don't know if I am able to convey to a foreign reader. Running the risk of running into some cliché, Sicily is the land of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Leonardo Sciascia, Andrea Camilleri (limiting myself to mentioning some authors I particularly love), the films of Luchino Visconti, Pietro Germi and Francesco Rosi; the land of Ettore Majorana, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino and many other civil heroes. Sicily is the land where two of the greatest cultures expressed by civilization (the Greek and the Arab) have been combined in a way tangible still today in the language, in the toponyms, in the cuisine, in the architecture, in the urban planning and in general the Sicilian culture. Sicily is not Italy, nor Greece, nor Morocco, it's somethine else.
Sicily is the land where Sebastiao Salgado immortalized the fishermen of the tonnara (tuna trap) of Favignana, among whom you can see men with blond hair and blue eyes, clear heirs of the Norman occupation, together with fellow workers who seem to have stepped out of the pages of Homer's Odyssey.
Decades of literature and cinema have handed down and rooted an image of Sicily made of the smell of citrus and prickly pears, of gargantuan banquets, of tough, loyal and hospitable men, of baroque churches overflowing with decorations and stuccoes and ruins of Greek temples emerging in the landscape overflowing with gorse and palm trees.
Leaving for Sicily, it is inevitable to me to think of the image of the Prince of Salina who sadly observes his possessions burned by the sun reflecting on the end of his age and how the attitude to adapt to the evolution of the times leaving everything unchanged is a typical trait of Sicily and of the Sicilians.
These are just a few of the thoughts that I had in my mind at the beginning of my trip. As with any trip, some expectations were disappointed and others powerfully confirmed.
Warnings and general info
Crime
Southern Italy is the poorest area of the Country. A fairly widespread prejudice in Northern Italy tends to consider the South, and some areas of the South in particular, as particularly backward areas; it is a prejudice that is based on some real element: the per capita income in the South is significantly lower than in the North, infrastructures are often not adequate, some essential services such as health care are worse in the Southern Italy compared with the North, all the major criminal organizations (Mafia, Camorra, Ndrangheta) are based in the South etc. Some friends of mine, traveling to Sicily a few years ago, had suffered an attempted highway robbery a few kilometers away from the airport, a real attack on the stagecoach, and while I was planning my trip that episode kept coming to my mind.
Therefore, leaving for Sicily, some part of my brain kept whispering "be cautious ...". I must say that in retrospect my fears were completely unfounded: I crossed all of southern Sicily, from east to west, even in peripheral and not exactly touristic areas, carrying with me a Lowepro backpack which yelled at every moment "expensive equipment inside!" but never, at any time, did I feel threatened or intimidated. On the contrary, on several occasions I have been able to personally experience how passionate and spontaneous the sense and tradition of hospitality can be for Sicilians.
On balance I felt a bit of a "polentone" (Italian slang term that indicates a rigid, cold and a bit snobbish citizen of the north, as opposed to the noisy and a bit careless "terroni" of the south) conditioned by stupid clichés about a region of my own Country.
As I picked up the rental car from the desk in the Catania airport, the Hertz manager asked me if I would like to take out theft insurance and after a short thought I said yes. In retrospect, I think I have wasted 200 euros, because I have never felt the real danger that my car could be stolen.
My advice: exercise normal precautions, just as you would do in your hometown; avoid the suburbs, don't leave stuff unattended and things like that. As far as I am concerned, Sicily is a safe place.
Driving
Did I just say that according to a widespread prejudice in Italy, Sicily is a land "not so civilized" and that it is a stupid prejudice? Well, in road traffic this is absolutely true! Driving a car in the center of Catania, which I did for almost three days, is equivalent to a Masters degree in defensive driving. Do not absolutely assume that other drivers respect the right of way, expect any unexpected events, from huge unmarked potholes in the streets, to scooters with four people on board, without a helmet, coming out from all sides, testing your reflexes, motorways ending in a moment against a wall without any warning... The three hour drive that I did from Siracusa to Agrigento was probably the worst driving experience of my life; I kept praying to get to my destination alive...
I am not saying that you should avoid travel for this, but that you need to be prepared and extremely cautious while driving in Sicily, and don't take anything for granted.
Another problem that I've found, driving in Sicily, is the complete lack of gas stations; in northern Italy, when the fuel indicator reaches the reserve position, you can reasonably expect to find a gas station within a few kilometers and at each station there is a sign indicating the distance to the next station. In Sicily it is advisable never to travel with the tank next to the reserve, because you never know when you will find the next station!
As of June 2021 these are the car rentals that you can find at the Catania airport: Sixt, Hertz, B-rent, Italy car rent
Food
Among the many reasons to visit Sicily, one of the main ones is food; anyone who says otherwise is lying. Food is an integral part of Sicilian culture. Sicilian cuisine is one of the most important, if not the most important, regional cuisines of Italian cuisine. Many typical dishes now widespread throughout Italy are of Sicilian origin. When traveling in Sicily you must be prepared to eat delicious food and inevitably put on a few pounds. Sicilian cuisine knows no half measures: the portions are abundant, the dishes tasty and caloric.
Among the typical dishes of Sicilian cuisine, which you cannot fail to try in all its variations, the arancino reigns undisputed: a deep-fried rice balls stuffed with savory ingredients like green peas and meat. The arancino is widespread throughout Sicily from Palermo (where it is called "arancina" in the feminine) to Catania (where the masculine declination "arancino" is a must). Taste it wherever you can, trying the infinite variations, at the cost of endangering your health ... visiting Sicily means leaving your inhibitions at home!
A fundamental element of Sicilian cuisine are desserts, a legacy of the Arab occupation in the Middle Age. I point out four desserts that I consider essential:
- granita: it is a specialty of eastern Sicily; it's a kind of frozen sorbet that has its roots in the time of the Arab occupation and that used to be made from snow collected on Mount Etna by the 'nivaroli' (snow collectors) and preserved in the stone 'niviere' (stores) in the area's natural caves. Today, the recipe for Sicilian granita uses water, sugar and fruit, which are slowly frozen and then mixed continuously to maintain that soft and creamy consistency which has made it famous throughout the world. Almond and pistachio are the most common aromas; but also mulberry, lemon, coffee... In eastern Sicily the typical breakfast is based on granita and brioche, which in this area has a particular rounded shape, called "tuppo";
- almond cakes; these too are more common in eastern Sicily; they are found in numerous variations, including pistachio based ones, and if you can find them fresh and well made they are an unforgettable delight;
- cannoli: a fried and crispy pastry wrap, stuffed with a creamy filling of ricotta, chocolate chips and candied fruit cubes; they are a masterpiece of Sicilian cuisine, but they are typical of the Palermo area that I have only touched during my trip; taste some, if you get the chance, but with the knowledge that the best cannoli are further north;
- cassatine: sweetened ricotta, sponge cake, marzipan and candied fruit; what has already been said for cannoli is valid.
A tip: avoid eating pizza. I'm not saying that in Sicily it's impossible to find an excellent pizza; but, simple as that, the real pizza is found in Naples, Sicily is another world. The Sicilian cuisine offers such a variety of dishes that it would not make sense to eat a dish that simply doesn't belong here.
Music
No trip is complete without the right soundtrack. Here's some great italian singer coming from Sicily:
Movies
Here's a list of movies set in Sicily to get in the mood before your trip:
A few things to know about Sicily and what to expect before leaving
Sicily is an ancient land, where the monuments of ancient Greece and the Arab and Norman occupation alternate with Baroque architecture, with small stone villages perched on the mountains; it is a neglected land, where enchanting places suspended in time unfortunately alternate with open-air dumps, ruined buildings, abandoned car carcasses, so be prepared for an alternation of amazement and disenchantment. Sicily is a land of farmers and fishermen, of blue sea and wheat fields, of fish stalls, markets and banquets. Sicily is an island with an identity of its own; being Italian is one thing, being Sicilian is another matter.
The temperature from June to September is HOT; my advice is to choose spring and autumn to get there; on the other hand in winter you should find a mild climate.
Be prepared to the careless attitude of Sicilians; here the rules are interpreted in a flexible way; It applies to timetables, to the highway code...
Credit cards are widely accepted but you might still occasionally find a shop proudly displaying the "cash only" sign, so bring some cash with you.
Map
As you can see in the map, these are the places that we have seen on our trip:
- Catania
- Modica
- Scicli
- Ortigia
- Noto
- Segesta
- Marsala
- Trapani
Other notable places on our way that we couldn't find the time to visit, but worth seeing (so I am told) are:
- Randazzo
- Militello
- Grammichele
- Caltagirone
- Piazza Armerina
- Castle of Donnafugata
- Ispica
- Gorge of Alcantara.
I believe that the best way to visit Sicily is to divide it into four sectors (North East, North West, South East, South West) and dedicate a week to each of them. Visiting the whole south in a week, as I did, inevitably leads to neglecting some places and visiting others too hastily. All the places that I have indicated above are located in the south east of Sicily, so I believe that the best choice, starting from Catania, is to visit the places I have visited, adding those indicated above that I had to neglect, leaving the visit to the South West to another trip.
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