“Angelo, arriverò presto!” Italy is now open to vaccinated travelers from the United States, with no need to quarantine when you take COVID-tested flights with Alitalia, Delta, American, and United airlines from New York and Atlanta. Importantly, the mask mandate for outdoors will be dropped on June 28. With about 30 percent of Italians over…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #51. Imaginative Ceramics
Throughout Sicily there are various ceramic centers that developed over the centuries around natural sources of clay. Of course, the raw material is one thing, but more significant, however, are the artists and painters that produce and imagine the remarkable designs and/or playful scenes found on plates, bowls, pinecones, heads of men and women, vases,…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #50. Inspired, Creative Accommodations
Over the last ten years, Sicily’s tourism industry has matured and grown, and the amount and diversity of accommodations available to tourists is abundant. In a city like Ragusa, for example, right here in the old town of Ragusa Ibla, there exists everything from Locanda Don Serafino, an historic hotel with luxurious rooms furnished inside…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | #49. Swim Off A Boat In Turquoise Seas
(Location: Scopello)
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Myths and Legends
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #48. Myths and Legends. Sicily is the land of myth. Indeed, you’ll find points of interest recalling ancient myths throughout the island. For example, this Giulio Moschetti fountain created in 1906, the Fontana di Diana, is an obvious one. It illustrates the story of the water nymph Aretusa and her…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Storybook Mountain Towns
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #47. Storybook Mountain Towns. Throughout Sicily exist charming mountain-top villages like this one pictured, Licodia Eubea. Often sporting timeless architectural elements and supporting populations of less than 3000 people, such places take on a special ambience, one where it seems everybody knows your name. As you stroll down the main…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | There’s Always Something Begging to be Discovered
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #46. There’s Always Something Begging to be Discovered. Considered by many to be the “Sistine Chaple of Sicily,” the Chiesa di San Domenico in Castelvetrano in western Sicily is an unspoiled spectacle. Originally built in the 1470s, artist Antonio Ferraro da Giuliana and his sons spent three years from 1577-1580…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Eating Seasonally
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #45. You Always Know What’s In Season. In Sicily, just look around and you’ll know what crops are being harvested and what you should order for dinner, because on many street corners, you’ll see the farmer selling his current bounty. Here, it’s garlic and onions, so it’s late spring. In…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Explore It on Foot or by Bicycle
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #44. Explore It on Foot or by Bicycle. There is simple joy in exploring new territory on foot or bicycle. Sicily has many walking and hiking opportunities: Everything from walking along rolling country roads between villages in the Madonie Mountains to coastal hikes in Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve with dips…