- Sicily
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Italy
Corleone, a small Sicilian city in Palermo province, is a must-see for fans of Mario Puzo's The Godfather. In Corleone there is another place which can be interesting for another group of fans - Soprano Castle, which was the root of the name for the TV series The Sopranos.
For more info please visit
en.sizilien-netz.de/165/palermo-en.html
We found this quiet oasis, close to Ognina, that provided us with an ideal base for visiting Siracusa, the surrounding countryside and beaches. We thoroughly enjoyed the large beautiful garden (including a massive swimming pool) and the relaxed unpressured atmosphere - much appreciated after a hard days sightseeing! The family were delightful and the breakfasts excellent.
Via Ognina, 45 - Siracusa
Tel. 0931.794516 (mobe.3394902782)
www.asparano.it
email: info@asparano.it
Pitch your tent among the pine trees. There’s a restaurant, cafe, disco and shop, but this is a peaceful place close to an ancient theatre and other archeological sites and there’s a vast sandy beach.
0039 922 846023, www.eracleaminoavillage.it
Small hotel at Agrigento Sicily with private car park 2km from the beach 4km from the vally of the temples, comfortable and peacefull,all you need for a stay with local culture,hospitality and tradition.
Double rooms from 45 euro.
A family run place.
Via Ettore Gabrici n.9 AGRIGENTO
Tel: +39 0922606332
Website:www.villaholidayagrigento.com
E-mail:info@villaholidayagrigento.com
In Sicily there are three big natural areas and other little ones.
The first one in the Etna Park. Mount Etna is not only a volcano - it also has a lot of paths and trekking opportunities. The best ones are the excursions on the summit craters on the south side starting from Rifugio Sapienza in Nicolosi (Catania).
The second park is the Nebrodi Mounts. This is between Messina and Catania. This park is full of forests the most known is the "Bosco di Malabotta". The park is a little less accessible so it's advised to use a four-wheel drive vehicle and take a good map.
The latest park is the park of the Alcantara river. This is a river formed in a lava eruption thousand years ago. The river is walkable.
Etna Park - Nicolosi (Catania)
Nebrodi Park - Between Messina and Catania
Alcantara River - Near Francavilla di Sicilia (Very near to Taormina)
The nearest station for Etna Park is the Circumetnea. From here, a rail road goes around Etna and its villages. You can take it in the Catania central railways station (Piazza della Repubblica) or in the Station of Giarre if you come from Messina by train.
More info here:
www.volcanoetna.com
A wine bar with fantastic locally sourced food and a very enthusiastic owner. We had an excellent meal, great guidance on the wine we'd like and a lot of impromptu tastings of things that he thought we really should try. Welcoming, relaxing and a good introduction into the more interesting Sicilian dishes. Probably the best meal that we had on the island and one of the cheapest. It is in Ortigia which is the picturesque old town of Syracuse.
Via Cavour,8 (near Piazza Archimede), Ortigia, Siracusa
Tel: 340-0602428
Before going to Sicily I was surfing the net and I found out this directory full of hotel websites. They are arranged into different categories, even if some of them are empty, it is clear and you find what you need immediately.
I would recomend this site for who don't like to deal with middle men, but want to contact the hotel directly.
That's Amore B&B is situated only 5km distance from the motorway exit of Giardini Naxos (if you are travelling from Catania e/o Messina), 9 Km from Taormina, 7 Km from the Alcantara Gorges, 28 Km from the northern side of Etna and 50 Km from Catania airport.
The river Alcantara marks the boundary between the Provinces of Messina and Catania. The Greeks called the river Akesines, the Arabs Al-cuantara (the bridge).
Along 48 Km (30 miles) of its length it brushes up against the territory of Randazzo and flows on towards the coast, separating the volcano Mt.Etna from the mountains to the north.
The spectacular gorges were created by the erosion and cooling of the lava flowing from the crater of Mount Dolce, between Linguaglossa and Randazzo, on the Etna massif.
The gorges show the inner part of the flow with the splendid, columnar fissures of magma rapidly cooled by the gushing water.
More than 20m (57 ft) deep the gorges have bizzarre basalt prisms dotted here and there with cool spontaneous vegetation.
Check the following url
www.thatsamorebedandbreakfast.com
An easy to use website for holiday houses in Sicily. It is about holiday rentals mainly by private owners and it allows to contact these owners directly. There are houses of different sorts, as apartments and villas, and in different tourist locations, which is good if you intend to travel in the island rather than staying in one place and need to look for more places where to stay. The best thing is that where owners have done a good job you can find many pictures of the house and very good local information. If you are travelling in Italy and not just to Sicily then look for other Italian tourist destinations with houses listed.
For a slice of unpolished Sicily, catch the hydrofoil from Trapani to the Egadi, a mini-archipelago off the north-west coast. We stayed on Marettimo, the smallest and most remote. There are walking trails across the island but the real joy is in the simple pleasures — sunning yourself on an empty, rocky beach, ordering a brioche con gelato in La Scaletta, the local ice-cream parlour, watching the fishing boats offload their catch on to wooden trolleys to be sold through the village.
When you arrive at Marettimo’s tiny harbour you’ll be greeted by locals offering rooms in fishermen’s houses. To guarantee a bed for the night — and more space — book into the Residence, the island’s only hotel. May and September are sleepy; in July and August the Italians pile over.
Restaurant in a converted oil mill with much-coveted terrace overlooking the sea (the views are beautiful but, more importantly for Italians, it's outside so you can smoke). The main attraction is the lobster, clams, sea bass, cuttlefish and just about anything else that can be removed from water with a net, pot or hook. But it's also a great place to come to watch people make idiots of themselves: get a table in the atmospheric stone-walled interior (much more room, aircon), order a prosecco and watch as the beautiful people attempt to beg, threaten or bribe their way on to the terrace. We saw cash, fags and what looked like an offer of sex, but the maitre d' stood firm: no prenotazione, no prime preening spot.
Via Bordonaro 96
This former part-Gothic church is now a beautiful open-air theatre (the roof is gone now), staging exhibitions, concerts, theatrical shows.
Piazza Spasimo, Kalsa
From Palermo airport to the centre of town, the airport bus leaves every half hour and costs 5 euros. We arrived at the airport at 9pm, and were in our hotel (near the top of Via Roma) by 9:40.
The airport is now also known as Falcone-Borsellino Airport in honor of Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, two anti-Mafia magistrates killed in separate bomb attacks.
Palermo airport website: www.gesap.it
Okay, I'm going to be totally perverse here by suggesting a place that isn't in Sicily. Vulcano is actually one of the Aeolian Islands just north of Sicily (others include Stromboli and Lipari) and is quite unlike anywhere else I've visited. The name's a bit of a giveaway (Vulcano/volcano geddit), as these islands are all volcanic (and there's Etna on mainland Sicily of course. Vulcano itself has (apparently) Italy's largest 'non submarine' volcanoes, there are little 'fumaroles' spouting steam, the beach has black sand - unbelievable - and there are thermal spas and mud baths. A bit like Iceland with hot weather we reckoned. Stayed at a very nice modern hotel on the Gulf of Ponente.
This fourth century AD villa houses truly spectacular mosaics, mostly in suberb condition. Follow the trail of rooms and corridors to enjoy vivid hunting scenes of exotic beasties. Covered with a roof to protect the tiles from direct sunlight, it is worth avoiding the midday sun as the greenhouse effect can make for sweltering conditions!
Villa Romana, Casale, Piazza Armerina
www.villaromanadelcasale.net/
A small fishing village between Palermo and the airport. Most of the seafront restaurants serve a 6 - 7 course set lunch (around 20 euros). No menu as such, just what's been caught fresh that morning. Bottle of wine or two included. I've never seen anyone who's not Italian eating there and its time to share this wonderful place. Ryanair's summer schedule means you can have a decadent day out and have lunch in the Med (if you don't mind the early start). Delfina is the one I'd recommend. It's busy between 1-3pm when the locals descend for their feed but I've never had to wait too long for a table.
www.sferracavallo.com
Central Palermo by cab is around 20 euros and takes around 20 minutes, traffic permitting. Local trains stop close by en route to/from the airport.
We took the train from Rome to Palermo and it was an amazing journey through the south of Italy and across the north coast of Sicily. Highlights included crossing the Messina Straits at 6am after being shunted whilst still on the train onto a ferry and passing by whole neighbourhoods of backyards in the villages of northern Sicily, getting a snapshot of semi-rural life.
On a train from anywhere in mainland Italy!
Beautiful old town that's perfect for mooching around and seeing the sights. Grab a limoncello or three at one of a strip of waterside bars as the sun sets and go for a stroll amongst the locals. Clear your head the next day by exploring the ancient ampitheatre at the edge of town (catch a bus from the central station).
South-east Sicily. Rent a car for max flexibility when touring the island.
Sicily has many stunning beaches, but the 7km string of coves that run along the coastline of this nature reserve are particularly special. Grab a map at the information hut in the car park, and make your way along a winding cliff-edge path for 20 minutes and you will come across the first white pebbled beach 20 metres below.
If you can resist the lure of the dazzling crystalline waters a little longer, it is well-worth trudging on another 3km to the next series of bays, which will be less crowded.
A word of warning: it can get painfully hot in July & August, & the path enjoys little shade, so the walk can be torturous without sufficient clothing or litres of water.
There are entrances to the Nature Reserve to the South near Scopello, and in the North at San Vito Lo Capo.
Hidden in a piazza away from Palermo's traffic clogged streets, Pizzeria Bellini offers a slice of pure Sicilian drama (apt as it sits behind the theatre with which it shares it name). Rock up around 8pm to join the long queue of chattering punters eager for an outdoor table with romantic views of the old Roman wall and San Cataldo's red domes. Sip on deliciously cheap, local, house vino rosso whilst you wait (& it does take a while) for a huge pizza to arrive hot from the wood-fired oven. Look out for regional toppings with sardine, fennel and pinenuts. And, if your stomach can take the strain, indulge in every good godfather's vice - homemade cannoli.
Piazza Bellini, just off Corso Vittorio Emanuelle, Palermo
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