Palermo,
It’s 2pm in a warm afternoon in late September. Like
good tourists, we take a map and we enter the narrow streets of the most festive
part of the city. A small mental jam forces us to ask the first passer-by for information:
The fate sends us Pietro, the best guide I've ever met. Educated man, double
degree in arts and law, doing nothing, according to him, evidently coming from
a wealthy family, and extremely sensitive to art and history. He shamelessly
takes Sebastian’s side, like a good chauvinist, but he’s also polite to me. He
accompanies us throughout the afternoon to visit the whole area of Palermo,
which includes the Vucciria, Ballarò, and the Quattro Canti, pushing us to make
the effort to reach the Cathedral. They are all areas that we have already seen
a couple of hours before, but with different, distracted eyes that could only
grasp what appeared to be the most attractive things. In fact, looking more
carefully, with eyes and heart, Palermo offers thousands of small hidden
treasures in every corner.
During our 2 days of stay in Palermo, we also visit
the Cathedral of Monreale, located a few kilometers from the city, reachable by
bus. We would like to visit the catacombs of the Capuchin Friars but we happen
to get there on their day of closure (Sunday).
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| Palermo, Vucciria neighborhood. 2010 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. |
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| Palermo, Vucciria neighborhood. 2010 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. |
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| Palermo, Vucciria neighborhood. |
Do you wanna see all pics taken in Sicily? Then click here!
Leaving Palermo, we head towards Alcamo where, due to
a misunderstanding arose with the owner of the B & B, we stop only for one
day. It would have still been a good base to explore the area, so we decide to
find an accommodation elsewhere. We reach Custonaci, where we find a B & B with
a very good price.
We spend a few days exploring the area: San Vito lo
Capo, where we attend the International Festival of Cous Cous, the Zingaro Nature
Reserve, where we find an exceptional sea and very interesting nature trails,
the pretty village of Erice, perched on the mountain where, in the evening, the
temperature drops at almost winter levels (I suggest you bring a jacket with
you), the salt pans of Trapani, where we see a lady stealing bags full of salt
and where we visit the old museum. Please note that to enter the town of
Scopello you must pay but you can't take any photographs or video. Evidently,
this is done to preserve the image’s rights, because they say that it’s
supposed to be a private property. Therefore, we refuse to get inside and we
admire Scopello from the road. Obviously, in the adjacent parking lot you are
not warned about all this, so you will pay 1 euro even if you decide to return
to the car after 5 minutes.
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| The Zingaro reserve. 2010 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. |
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| Scopello. 2010 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. |
Before moving in the southern part of the island, we
stop to admire the old Segesta, the no longer inhabited ancient city founded by
the Elimi and located at about ten kilometers from Alcamo.
We find the temple in Doric style and the theater,
partly dug into the rock of the hill, particularly beautiful.
After Segesta, we can't miss Selinunte, an ancient
Greek city, directly overlooking the sea. We visit it on foot, but if you want,
you can rent small jeeps to get up to the Acropolis. I recommend to use them
only if your time is limited or if you aren't in shape to face some kilometers
under the sun.
The next stop is the Scala dei Turchi, a place that is
not often visited by many tourists because little advertised, but uniquely
beautiful. It's basically a rocky type, which rises above the sea near Porto
Empedocles in the province of Agrigento. It has a wavy and uneven shape, with
sweet and round lines. The name comes from past piracy raids by the Saracens,
Arabs and Turks. In the late afternoon, we visit the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento:
perfect time for both the low flow of tourists and for the magnificent sunset
light. We stop to sleep in a very nice and well maintained B & B, booked
the day before on the internet.
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| Selinunte. 2010 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. |
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| Segesta |
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| Segesta. 2010 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. |
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| Selinunte.2010 © Giovanna Puccia.
All rights are reserved. Do you wanna see all pics taken in Sicily? Then click here! |
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| Scala dei Turchi. 2010 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. |
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| Scala dei Turchi |
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| Valley of the Temples. |
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| Valley of the Temples. 2010 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. |
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| Valley of the Temples. 2010 © Giovanna Puccia. All rights are reserved. |
In the second part of our mini-tour in Sicily we move
again in the northern part of the island as we're guests of Sebastian's uncles
in Milazzo for a couple of days. Before getting there, we stop in
Cefalù, a charming seaside town, and at the Sanctuary of Tindari, where we can
see the black Madonna.
The days spent in Milazzo are pleasant and calm, very relaxing.
Once we leave Milazzo, we reach the last stop of our
tour: Taormina. Acclaimed and publicized around the world, Taormina is situated
on a hill, 206 mt above the sea level, suspended between the rocks and the sea
on a terrace of Monte Tauro, in a unique setting of natural beauty for its variety
and the contrasts between themes. We visit the old Roman theater and the
streets full of shops of the upper-middle bourgeoisie, until we reach the
famous terrace, from where you can enjoy a fantastic view of the east coast. A
short stop at the beach in the Naxos gardens for a little rest and in the
evening we're at the airport in Catania to return the car and board the flight
to Milan.
SOME TIPS
During the tour, we stayed always in B&Bs for 9 days; the only quite dishonest one was the one in Alcamo, where the owner rented us the room without sheets and towels, when they were included on the website. We left the following day after paying only for one night.
If you rent a car, make sure you check it carefully
before you pick it up.
The rental center admits scratches and minor damage
not exceeding 3 cm in size.
Here's the video of our 10-day tour in Sicily in
September.
The video can be viewed directly at the youtube link
Do you wanna see all pics taken in Sicily? Then click here!
