Gael Arthur
dips her toe in the Med for a

SICILIAN HOLIDAY

As the island at the toe of the Italian boot,
Sicily is not among the top ten travel spots for
North Americans, even for those of Italian descent.
Yet it offers just about everything a discerning
traveler could wish for – from geologic and architectural wonders to outstanding food a
nd wine to great beaches.

Best of all, it’s hard to find better value.

 

For anyone who has marveled at the Acropolis or contemplated the volcanic origins of Santorini, Sicily goes one better.

The Hellenic ruins of Sicily are in a better state of repair and are less crowded than their Greek cousins, and Etna offers a volcano that continues to generate excitement as it periodically lets off steam and lava.

The volcano is managed as any other tourist attraction – buses travel to the best areas of the park for interpretive tours, getting close to the action without actual danger.

As the largest Mediterranean island, Sicily is strategically placed, with influences of all the great civilizations in evidence everywhere. In the last millennium alone, the Moors, the Normans and the Spanish have all enjoyed a few centuries as overlords. Each invading force expended a lot of energy building monuments as testimony to its prowess; the modern day tourist gets a history lesson at every turn.

For those who love Baroque excess, Sicily is like a jewel-studded Fabergé egg, astonishing on the outside, but even more intricate and intriguing if you spring its latch and look inside.

For this, a trip inland is in order. In 2002, Unesco placed eight Sicilian cities on the World Heritage List, citing the “exuberant genius of late Baroque art and architecture.”

One of the most beautiful is Caltagirone, the town ninth-century Arabs called Qal'at Ghàrun, "Hill of the Vases" or “Jar Fortress”.

The Arabs brought glazing techniques and expertise, helping Caltagirone become famous for its high quality ceramics.

Caltagirone is spread out along the top of one of the higher hills in the area. The surrounding countryside is comprised of huge estates, their olive and orange groves forming a buffer around the elegant country homes of the Sicilian nobility.

There are plenty of brightly coloured ashtrays and espresso sets for casual souvenirs, but it’s well worth seeking out the smaller workshops. The artists are passionate about their craft and are dedicated to bringing the history of their town to life in their ceramics, at once decorative and practical.

The town itself is like a living ceramics museum; the streets are lined with majolica walls studded with great urns and good luck pinecones.

At the center of town, a set of steps built in 1606 provides a focal point, with each of its 142 treads (a long way up!) adorned with polychrome mosaics representative of the centuries of Sicilian majolica.

On the feast of San Giacomo (St. James) July 24th and 25th, La Scala di Santa Maria del Monte is covered with terra cotta oil lamps set inside sand filled coloured paper bags – the colours of the bags create a design during the day.

 

At night, hundreds of locals simultaneously light the lamps.

As the evening progresses, the aroma of hundreds of litres of the best olive oil of the region burning into the night adds to the sensual extravaganza.

Back at the coastline, visitors can enjoy the classic beach vacation with the added bonus of outstanding food and wine. While there are plenty of inexpensive pizzerias, it is not much more expensive to choose a feast of antipasti followed by a fresh seafood pasta with wine from one of the top producers (Planeta and Regaleali both deserve the awards they consistently win). The coast is dotted with hotels and long-stay apartments that will meet most budgets.

And finally, the most famous Sicilian seaside town, also known as the playground of the rich, Taormina represents an engineering and archaeological tour de force.

Perched high atop a mountain at the edge of the eastern coast, this was a Greek outpost in the 3rd century BCE, with an acropolis, temples, and a beautiful amphitheatre; the latter takes advantage of the slope of the mountain and affords a spectacular view of Mount Etna.

The logistics of getting all those building materials up the steep face of the mountain stagger the imagination. Over the next two millennia, monasteries, castles, palaces, residences and exquisite churches grew out of the rocks.

Since many of these buildings have been converted to beautiful shops and restaurants, even buying an espresso or an ice cream in Taormina can be an architectural treat.

Now that Tuscany has been “discovered” and the people at the next table are more likely to be from Pittsburgh than Pisa or Padua, Sicily still offers an Italian experience that will dazzle the senses without devastating the budget.

Gael Arthur

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