Mary-Ann Gallagher - Sicily: Catania & the Southeast Footprint Focus Guide; Includes Taormina & Mount Etna

Mary-Ann Gallagher

Introduction

Map: Sicily

Map: Syracuse

Footnotes

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Index

Sicily is a sly seductress. Youll fall for her everyone does but she wont make it easy. First impressions are intense, but paradoxical: beautiful and brutal, anarchic and serene, exuberant and insular, the island resists all easy definitions. Countless rulers have come and gone, each adding something different to the mix. The result is a complex yet infinitely beguiling land.

For the Greeks, Sicily was the island of Demeter, who endowed it with beauty and natural abundance. They built their cities as though their civilisation would last forever even now, these ancient ruins are breathtaking. The subtle legacy of the Arabs is apparent in the islanders hospitality and rich cuisine, and the glorious, golden cathedrals were bequeathed by the Normans. Tragically for Sicily, everyone else from the Romans to the Bourbons was out for what they could get. And what wasnt stripped out, was bombed to smithereens during the Second World War.

Grinding poverty, institutionalised corruption and the Cosa Nostra have taken a heavy toll. But there has been a renaissance in recent years: historic cities are being slowly restored; swathes of the glorious landscape are protected in nature reserves; and grassroots organisations have found the collective courage to stand up against the mafia. Theres a heady sense of hope in the air just one more reason to fall a little more in love.

In this guide we focus on the islands southeast corner, from the ebullient city of Catania, which sits in the shadow of Mount Etna, to a trio of ravishing Baroque towns in Noto, Ragusa and Modica. We dawdle in the ancient ruins of Syracuse, once one of the greatest cities of Magna Graecia, and relax on remote beaches and nature reserves. We take a tour around mighty Etna herself, and stroll through enchanting Taormina. We also visit the finest surviving antique temple complex outside Greece in Agrigento, and then head to the tiny, paradisical Pelagie Islands.

Sicilys eastern coast is spectacularly beautiful, with undulating cliffs overlooking exquisite coves and the startlingly blue Ionian sea. At the tip of the island, Messina is a big working port that sits just a few kilometres from mainland Italy. Taormina, Sicilys loveliest and best-preserved hill town, has been the islands biggest tourist magnet since Goethe waxed lyrical about its charms in his 18th-century travelogue Italian Journey. One of Taorminas biggest attractions is the superb view of Mount Etna afforded from its elegant squares and terraces. The huge volcano, the largest and most active in Europe, dominates the entire eastern coast physically, and in other less tangible ways. Even when entirely hidden by cloud, its menacing, unpredictable presence is felt. The trip to the top whether you choose to hike, take the cable car, or a jeep is thrilling. The towns and villages that circle Etnas base may be threatened by eruptions, but they are immersed in a sea of orchards, olive groves and vineyards. They are linked by a panoramic railway which culminates in Catania, Sicilys flamboyant second city, where the elegant Baroque monuments of the historic centre are now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Poverty and neglect may have taken their toll, but Catania remains a vibrant and engaging city.

The southeastern corner of Sicily is packed with enticing sights, including the superb archaeological remains of Syracuse at modern Siracusa and the exquisite little time-capsule island of Ortigia. Then there is the string of superb Baroque cities, awarded UNESCO World Heritage status, built in one glorious surge after a massive earthquake decimated the entire region three hundred years ago. Foremost among them is Noto, a golden city laid out around a splendidly restored cathedral, but dont miss nearby Ragusa and Modiza, where gastronomy vies with architecture as the main attraction. These cities are all firmly on most tourist itineraries, but inland, amid the gentle peaks and farmsteads of the Monti Iblei, you can escape the crowds in quiet villages and gorges. Along the coast, youll find a spectacular nature reserve at the Riserva Naturale Oasi Faunistica di Vendicari, a haven for migratory birds, which boasts some of the wildest and most beautiful beaches on the island.

There is only one blockbuster attraction in central Sicily, but it is a stunner: the Villa Romana del Casale at Piazza Armerina. Built during the fourth century AD, this magnificent late Imperial villa was probably built for the Emperor Maximianus, and boasts the finest and most extensive Roman mosaic decoration to be found anywhere in the world. Nearby, the ruins of ancient Morgantina are serenely set overlooking the undulating hills of central Sicily, where few visitors penetrate. At the heart of this quiet region is Enna, a citadel city on a lofty crag with a smattering of churches and an enormous medieval castle. To the north, the rugged hills rise up sharply to join the Madonie mountains, and are scattered with quiet, agricultural villages linked by panoramic small roads. The southern coast, an otherwise workaday region with gritty ports and low-key resorts, contains another of Sicilys headlining attractions: the stunning Valle dei Templi in Agrigento. This magnificent and extraordinarily well preserved temple group, dating back to the sixth to fifth centuries BC, is the finest to be found outside mainland Greece. The far-flung Pelagie Islands, closer to Africa than Europe, are barren and windswept, but their glorious beaches draw huge crowds in summer.

Taormina Writers, aristocrats and celebrities have flocked to fashionable Taormina since Goethe first put the town on the map in the 18th century. The towns palaces, churches and a spectacular Greek theatre have an unforgettable clifftop setting by the sea, with Mount Etna looming in the background..