52 Reasons to Love Sicily #49. Swim Off A Boat Into Turquoise Seas. Give yourself the kiss of fresh air rushing through your hair and the sweetness of cobalt waters enveloping your body as you jump off a catamaran into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Lo Zingaro Nature Preserve in northwestern Sicily is just one of many…
Tag: sicily travel
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…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Historic Opulent Villas
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #43. Historic Opulent Villas. Sicily was home to many princes, princesses, and barons prior to the Republic of Italy’s founding in 1946. Palaces (palazzi) of noble families constructed during different eras exist all over the island, and many are open to the public. My favorite, which is about a half-hour’s…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Practice Your Italian with the Ragazzi
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #42. Practice Your Italian with the Ragazzi (Guys). If you want to practice your Italian language skills, there are usually a few new-friends-to-be-made around the piazza with whom to talk. Don’t be shy! They want to tell you about their nephew in San Francisco or the time they traveled to…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | European Grandeur and Stateliness
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #41. European Grandeur and Stateliness. Southeastern Sicily’s Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto impress with the sophistication that we Americans imagine when conceptualizing a trip to Europe. When strolling through the “stone garden” city of Noto, for example, you may feel as if you’ve been transported to an…
52 Reasons to Love Sicily | Life-changing Culinary Experiences
52 Reasons to Love Sicily #40. Life-changing Culinary Experiences Throughout Sicily, you can delight in an explosion of flavors and textures, whether from eating crunchy and gooey arancine (rice balls) in Palermo, spiced sausage made from chestnut-eating black boar of the Nebrodi Mountains, savory pistachio pesto from Bronte, crusty bread from a family-run bakery in…