The Rough guide to Sicily (5th Edition) - Softcover

Andrews, Robert; Brown, Jules

3.42

26 ratings by Goodreads

9781858288741: The Rough guide to Sicily (5th Edition)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1858288746 ISBN 13: 9781858288741

Publisher: Rough Guides, 2002

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INTRODUCTION

At the centre of the Mediterranean, but on the periphery of Europe, the island of Sicily is a distinct entity from the rest of Italy. Although just 3km from the mainland across the Straits of Messina, it’s much further away in appearance, feel and culture. A hybrid Sicilian dialect is still widely spoken, and many place names are tinged with the Arabic that was once in wide use on the island. The food is noticeably different, too: spicier and with more emphasis on fish, fruit and vegetables in the daily diet than in the north. The flora also echoes the shift south – oranges, lemons, olives, almonds and palms are ubiquitous. Above all, though, it’s the nature of day-to-day living which separates Sicily from the rest of Italy – experienced outdoors in markets, piazzas and alleys with an operatic exuberance, and reflected in the unique festivals, ceremonies and processions that take place throughout the year.

There’s certainly a separate quality in the people, who see themselves as Sicilians first and Italians a very firm second. The island’s strategic importance meant it was held by some of the western world’s richest civilizations – notably the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards – which, while bequeathing many fine monuments, made Sicily the subject of countless foreign wars, and left it with little economic independence. Centuries of oppression have bred insularity and resentment, and the island was probably the most reluctantly unified Italian region, with Sicilians almost instinctively suspicious of the intentions of Rome. Even today, relations with the mainland are often strained. For many Sicilians, their place in the modern Italian state is illustrated every time they look at a map to see the island being kicked – the perpetual football.

And Sicilians do have a point. There’s much that hasn’t changed since Unification in the nineteenth century, and what modernization there is has brought associated ills. Pockets of the island have been disfigured by bleak construction projects and unsightly industry, and despite Sicily’s limited political autonomy, little has really been done to tackle the more deep-rooted problems: emigration (both to the mainland and abroad) is still high, poverty seemingly endemic, and there’s an almost feudal attitude to business and commerce. Both European and central government aid continues to pour in, but much has been siphoned off by organized crime, which, in the west of the island at least, is still widespread. For visitors, however, these matters rarely impinge upon their experience. Mafia activity, for example – almost a byword for Sicilian life when viewed from abroad – is usually an in-house affair, with little or no consequence for travellers.

First-time visitors and regular returnees alike all remark on the island’s astonishingly all-encompassing appeal. Its dramatic landscapes range from a mountainous interior and rugged coastlines to remote outlying islands and the volcanic foothills of Mount Etna. Sicily’s diverse history, meanwhile, has left it with a surprising abundance of archeological remains and architectural marvels. The island was an important power-base during the Hellenistic period, and the Greek relics, especially, are superb, standing comparison with any of the ruins in Greece itself. The Arab and Norman elements of Sicily’s history are vividly manifest on the west and north coasts, while Baroque architecture shows its face in the elegantly restrained cities of the southeast. And if the history leaves you cold, you could simply come – as many do – for the food, the sun, the sea and the beaches. The coastal settlements soak up most of the summer-holiday trade, either at fashionable resorts or simple! fishing villages fronted by long swaths of sand, though a number of offshore islands – some quite remote – offer a real chance to escape the crowds.

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About the Author:

Before turning to crime fiction, Robert Andrews published four thrillers that drew from his own experiences as a Green Beret, a CIA operative, and as an aide to senior U.S. senator John Glenn. He is the author of A Murder of Honor, which Publishers Weekly called "a gem of a thriller." Robert Andrews lives in Washington, D.C.

Jules Brown first visited the Lake District when he was nine. He returned regularly throughout his childhood and as an adult. He is the author of The Rough Guide to the Lake District, Pocket Rough Guide Barcelona, and a coauthor of The Best Places to Stay in Britain on a Budget.

WHERE TO GO

Set in a wide bay at the foot of a fertile valley, the capital, Palermo, is one of Italy’s most visually striking cities, boasting some of the island’s finest churches, markets, museums and restaurants. It gets hot and stuffy here in summer, though, which makes escapes out of the city all the more tempting: to the fashionable beach at Mondello, the sanctuary on Monte Pellegrino or the church mosaics at Monreale. East of Palermo, the Tyrrhenian Coast provides the first opportunity to climb into the hiking and skiing grounds of the Monti Madonie, and it’s along here that you’ll find one of Sicily’s premier resorts, Cefal�, handily situated just an hour from Palermo.

From Milazzo, ferries and hydrofoils depart to the Aeolian Islands, a chain of seven volcanic islands – including Vulcano and Str�mboli – that attract sun-worshippers and adventurous hikers alike. Assorted seasonal holiday towns stretching between Messina – crossing-point to mainland Italy – and the fashionable resort of Taormina, make up the island’s Northern Ionian coast, while Sicily’s second city, east-coast Catania, broods under the graceful cone of Mount Etna, the most memorable of Sicily’s natural attractions.

The finest concentration of historical and architectural sites is arguably in Siracusa, where Classical ruins and stunning Baroque buildings decorate Sicily’s most attractive city. In the southeast region beyond, beautiful towns like Noto and Ragusa were rebuilt along planned Baroque lines after a devastating earthquake in the seventeenth century, though the unique Neolithic cemeteries of Pant�lica survived to provide one of Sicily’s most atmospheric backwaters.

After the richness of the southeast towns, many find the simple, isolated grandeur of the interior a welcome change. This is the most sparsely populated region, hiding gems like the well-preserved mosaics at Piazza Armerina, which recall the lavish trappings of Sicily’s Roman governors, and the historic mountain stronghold of Enna. Away from the few interior towns, remote roads wind north, back towards Palermo, through little-visited destinations like Prizzi or Corleone whose names chime with the popular image of Sicily as a nest of Mafia intrigue.

Along the south coast, only the ancient temples of Agrigento and the Greek city and beach at Eraclea Minoa attract visitors in any numbers. Further around the coast, Tr�pani anchors the west of the island, a great base for anyone interested in delving into the very different character of this side of Sicily. The Arabic influence is stronger here than elsewhere, especially in Marsala and Mazara del Vallo, while Selinunte and Segesta hold the most romantic sets of ancient ruins on the island. It’s from ports on the south and west coasts, too, that Sicily’s most absorbing outlying islands are reached. On Lampedusa and Linosa, on the �gadi Islands and, above all, on distant Pantelleria, the sea is as clean as you’ll find anywhere in the Mediterranean, and you truly feel you’re on the edge of Europe.

WHEN TO GO

Any of these places can be extremely uncomfortable to visit at the height of a Sicilian summer, when the dusty sirocco winds blow in from North Africa; your choice of when to go should take this into consideration. In July and August, you’ll roast – and you’ll be in the company of tens of thousands of other tourists all jostling for space on the beaches, in the museums and at the archeological sites. Hotel availability is much reduced and prices will often be higher in response to demand. If you want the heat but not the crowds, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t go in May, June or September, while swimming is possible right into November. Spring is really the optimum time to come, and it arrives early: the almond blossom flowers in February, and there are fresh strawberries in April. Easter is a major celebration, a good time to see some of the more traditional festivals like the events at Tr�pani, �rice and Piana degli Albanesi, though again they’ll all be oversubscribed with visitors. Winter is mild by northern European standards and is a nice time to be here, at least on the coast, where the skies stay clear and life continues to be lived very much outdoors. On the other hand, the interior – especially around Enna – can get snowed under, providing skiing opportunities south of Cefal�, at Piano Batt�glia, or on Mount Etna, while anywhere else in the interior can be subject to (often considerable) blasts of wind and downpours of rain.

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