Our first few minutes in Sicily were spent navigating the streets of Messina, after having arrived on a ferry from the Italian mainland. Honking cars, crazy motorbikes and messy urban lawlessness, it was an immediate taste of the chaos which would accompany our 91 days in Palermo; an antipasto to the capital’s main course of noisy pandemonium. By the time we had gotten through Messina and onto the highway, my nerves were frayed and patience spent, but the wonder and excitement of finally being in Sicily remained intact.

This mixture of positivity and negativity was a sensation I would soon become accustomed to. Over the course of our months here, Palermo revealed itself to be equal parts fascinating and obnoxious. Gratifying and infuriating. Gorgeous and revolting. It’s destabilizing; for months, my mood has been on a pendulum swinging between outrage and joy, happiness and frustration. Without much effort, this could be one of Europe’s great cities. But instead of addressing its problems, Palermo seems to have accepted them as an immutable part of its fabric. The Mafia? That’s our thing. Rubbish on the streets? Shrug. Ridiculous gridlock? That’s life.

Palermo’s problems are real, and there’s no denying the damage they cause to the experience of visiting, and to the everyday lives of its citizens. But Palermo has so much to offer that you can look past the negatives, even if you can’t wholly forgive them. There’s so much history here, and so much culture. The food is so incredible, the markets so lively, the people so welcoming. There are so many incredible churches and palaces. So much art. Great shopping. Fun bars and cozy trattorias. No, to concentrate on the negative aspects of this city would be to completely miss the picture.

We had a blast in Palermo. From the day we arrived until now, we’ve hardly rested. It’s not easy for a city to entertain a newcomer for three full months, but Palermo never ran out of ideas. The first month was spent running from church to church, museum to museum, like tourists on crack. During the next, we settled down into the rhythm in the city, and discovered the richness and diversity of the Palermitano lifestyle. And in these final weeks, we’ve been exploring both the regions around Palermo, and those further afield. For an island about the size of Vermont, there is an astonishing amount to see in Sicily. Overwhelming.

So, as we shut the door on another chapter of our lives, it’s not surprising that I find myself with mixed emotions. I’m excited to be rid of the insane traffic, for example, but I don’t know how I’ll be able to say “farewell” to the arancini. That might break me. In any case… Palermo, our experiences in Sicily, the new friends we’ve made here, the vespas we’ve dodged, the amazing food we’ve eaten and the things we’ve seen… I don’t think we’ll be forgetting any of it, any time soon.

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Food, fire, trash, art and architecture — you get a little of everything on a random walk through Palermo. This city is a lot of things, but boring is not one of them!

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The Albergheria is the oldest neighborhood in Palermo. This is where the Phoenicians founded the city, and it hosts the royal palace which all the city’s rulers have called home. Despite this rich history, today’s Albergheria is one of the most run-down sections of Palermo. Nowhere else is the juxtaposition of dilapidated housing and exquisite historic buildings quite so jarring.

The Albergheria occupies the southwest quadrant delineated by the Quattro Canti, and has more than its share of artistic treasures. The Palazzo Normanni, the Casa Professa, the churches of San Giovanni degli Eremiti and San Giuseppe dei Teatini, and the Palazzo Sclafani are just some of the architectural highlights. In the past, it was home to Palermo’s Jewish population, before they were kicked off the island in 1492.

The neighborhood was heavily damaged during Allied air raids in World War II, and has never fully recovered. Cheap housing went up around the tiny alleys and a large immigrant population moved in to take advantage of the low rents. Today, a visit to the Albergheria almost feels like a trip to another continent. Sri Lankans and Africans dominate sections of the neighborhood, and have set up shops and restaurants which are decidedly non-Italian in flavor.

One place in the Albergheria that definitely has Italian credentials is the Ballaró Market, which competes with Il Capo’s as the best in town. Stretched out between the churches of San Nicolò and Carmine, this market has everything you could possibly need for the kitchen. And on the corner of Via Nunzio Nasi is a guy selling the best street food we’ve had in Palermo — panelle, rascature and crocchè, packed into paninis.

The Albergheria is one of those rare neighborhoods which changes its face every time you turn a corner. Will you find a gorgeous church, an African hair salon selling weaves, a market stand hawking six-foot zucchini, or a Bollywood movie store? Despite the urban decay, and in some ways because of it, the Albergheria is an exciting place to spend some time.

Location on our Palermo Map
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Hailed as one of Italy’s most beautiful villages, the tiny hamlet of Sávoca has a spectacular mountain setting just four kilometers inland from Sicily’s eastern coast. Among the legions of people it’s charmed is Francis Ford Coppola, who filmed the Sicilian scenes of The Godfather here.

We took a detour into Sávoca while returning home to Palermo from Taormina. Up in the mountains, the weather had taken a turn for the worse — we got soaked with freezing sleet, but it made for more dramatic views over the surrounding landscape. Totally worth it.

Most people who live in Savoca work in nearby Taormina, so it felt like a ghost town during our visit. We had wanted to stop in for a drink at Bar Vitelli, which is where the wedding party of Michael Corleone and Appollonia was held. Apparently, the bar has become a sort of shrine to all things related to The Godfather. But it was closed.

We stayed just long enough to get a few pictures of this gorgeous town. It’s easy enough to reach, and definitely worth the effort to see one of the island’s most picturesque towns.

Location on our Sicily Map
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Hotels in Taormina

On the last day of our final road-trip through Sicily, we drove a few kilometers up the coast from Catania to Taormina, the island’s most popular beach resort. Word of its charm had reached our ears from just about everyone we’d come in contact with — friends, strangers in bars, neighbors, Twitter acquaintances. Even my grandmother called to say that we absolutely couldn’t miss Taormina. She’s never even been to Sicily and she’s been dead for ten years! Phone calls from beyond the grave are pretty persuasive: we had to go.

Taormina has a history which stretches back to pre-Greek times, but truly came of age during the Roman occupation. Almost immediately after entering the town, we encountered a Roman Odeon: a small theater dating from 21 AD. It’s partially covered by the church of Santa Caterina, while across the street is the magnificent Palazzo Corvaja, home to the tourist office. In the first 30 seconds of exploring, we were provided with a good idea of what to expect from Taormina. History piled on top of history, on top of history.

The street leading away from the Palazzo Corvaja was named “Via Teatro Greco”, which I supposed might lead to an Arabic Bathhouse. Nope — it was a Teatro Greco. A marvelously preserved theater in the most spectacular setting imaginable, with a view over the bay and Mount Etna rising grandly in the background. This is one of Sicily’s most celebrated sights, and for good reason. Though it was probably built by the Greeks in the 7th century BC, the Romans almost completely reworked it. Since then, it’s been left untouched. Entrance to the theater was a bit steep at €8 per head, especially considering that they didn’t provide any information, but still well worth it.

We now turned into the lovely Parco Duca di Cesarò, a public garden which was commissioned by the Lady Florence Trevelyan during her self-imposed exile from England (she had indulged in an ill-advised affair with the future King Edward VII). The garden has a wooden pavilion, views over the bay, and memorials to Sicily’s fallen war heroes.

Rejoining the city on its main street, Corso Umberto I, we came in touch with Taormina’s modern edge. This is a fabulously wealthy resort town, with the mission of catering to fabulously wealthy people. Shop after shop of designer apparel, jewelry and yachting gear. I saw a nice sweater in a storefront window, with a big 50% OFF! sign next to it. Now reduced to €280. Oooh, daddy likes a bargain! Prices in the bars at Taormina’s main plaza, the Piazza IX Aprile, were likewise ludicrous. Though the views in this lovely plaza almost convinced us to sit down, €10 for a beer is really too much.

We could easily have spent a weekend in Taormina; it must be especially nice in the spring, when there are more people and swimming is possible. A privileged, beautiful town with one of the island’s most privileged, beautiful locations. Grandma was right, Toarmina is a must-see.

Location on our Sicily Map

Hotels Near Etna

Our planned ascent to the craters of Mt. Etna had been foiled due to high winds. So finding ourselves with a beautiful, sunny day and nothing else to do, we hopped back in the car and took a long drive around the volcano.

We decided to move around Etna in a clockwise fashion, and started our journey at 6 o’clock on the dial. Nicolosi is the main town on the southern face of Etna, ten miles due south from the peak. The road to the Refugio Sapienza leads from here, so it’s the best base for planning excursions to Mt. Etna. Nicolosi is home to a tourism-based population of 7000, and in 1669 was completely destroyed by one of the volcano’s most violent explosions.

Throughout the day, Juergen and I would debate the motives of the towns perched so confidently in the shadow of Europe’s most active volcano. If you don’t have to, why spend time and money building a town in a location that will almost certainly be one day destroyed? As with most questionable/dangerous decisions, the main reason that these towns have sprouted up on Etna is probably economic. The volcanic soil is richly fertile, allowing a wide range of agriculture. Vineyards abound around Mount Etna, as do orchards full of lemon and orange trees, and fields of fennel, almond trees and artichokes.

Still. It’s not like city-flattening flows of lava happen all the time, but they do happen! One of these days, Nicolosi is going down. We’ll try not to say “we told you so”.

Back on the road, we came upon the town of Adrano at about 7:30 on Etna’s clock-face. We arrived at lunch time on a Sunday, and were astounded to find this large city of 35,000 souls almost completely deserted. We lingered for a bit in the town center, where there is a pretty cool Norman castle, but didn’t spend too much time. We were starving, and there wasn’t a single restaurant in Adrano open for business.

We had better luck in Randazzo, on the mountain’s northern side, just shy of midnight on the dial. This historic little town is absolutely gorgeous, and despite being the town nearest to Etna, has somehow managed to continually escape its wrath. With a number of beautiful churches, archways and palaces to see, our walk through Randazzo was surprisingly rewarding, and we even found a place to grab a snack. This was the most lively of the towns we had driven through, and we could have happily spent more time here.

The remainder of our drive, along the eastern side of the mountain, went by quickly — much of it was on the highway connecting Catania to Messina. Though our drive wasn’t as exciting as a trip to the top of the volcano would have been, seeing Mt. Etna from all its sides was a pretty cool consolation. And fifty years from now, when we hear on the news that Adrano, Randazzo or Nicolosi was buried under lava, we can say “Been there!”

Locations on our Sicily Map
Nicolosi
Adrano
Randazzo
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The eastern coast of Sicily is defined by the looming presence of Mount Etna, the largest and most active volcano in Europe. Though it had just erupted spectacularly a few days prior, we couldn’t resist checking it out during our final road trip on the island.

According to guidebooks and acquaintances, an ascent of Mt. Etna is one of the most exciting things you can do in Sicily. After having stayed the night in nearby Viagrande, we woke up early and drove up the southern face of the mountain. The wintry Sunday morning was crisp and clear, and we were the only people on the road. Midway through the 40-minute drive to Refugio Sapienza, which is the base for excursions, we stopped to admire the view over Catania and the Ionian Sea. “I can’t believe our luck”, I said to Juergen, while stretching and taking a deep breath of freezing mountain air. “This day couldn’t be any more perfect”.

Of course, such luck couldn’t last. As we were about to get back on the road, we saw a car winding up towards us. And then fourteen more immediately behind it. When we finally rejoined the road, we had become a tiny piece of a massive caravan on its way to the refuge. The change from peaceful solitude to crowded chaos had come so suddenly, that I almost suspected an island-wide conspiracy against us. “Lure them into a sense of tranquility… and then spring our trap!”

By the time we reached the Refugio Sapienza, thousands of other people had already arrived. We hardly found a place to park. And, looking up at the immobile cable cars, we realized that our day on Etna was about to suffer a sad, truncated end. The skies were clear, but the wind extreme, and cable car service had been suspended, meaning that the upper craters (and everything of interest) were inaccessible.

Nobody else seemed to care. They had not come to climb Etna, but to make snowmen, sled and have snowball fights. We were, apparently, the only ones not having any fun. The only suckers. We walked around the small crater that borders the refuge, went to the bathroom, and then called it a day.

Location on our Sicily Map
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Hotels in Caltagirone

About forty-five minutes southeast of Villa Romana del Casale is Caltagirone — one of the island’s oldest cities, renowned for its ceramics and pottery. It was the second stop on our final road trip through Sicily.

Still a healthy city of about 40,000 people, Caltagirone has been home to human activity since prehistoric days. The name comes from the Arabic “qal’at-al-ghiran”, or “Hill of Vases”, which serves as an indication of how tightly connected to pottery the town has always been. Caltagirone was completely destroyed in the 1693 earthquake that leveled much of eatern Sicily. But like Noto, it was rebuilt in grand style, with a heavy emphasis on Baroque architecture.

The most famous sight in Caltagirone is La Scala: a long, wide staircase of 142 steps found smack in the middle of town. Each step is decorated with a different set of ceramic tiles, from pastoral scenes to complicated patterns. We hiked up to the top of the stairs for an incredible view over the town and the plains below.

Built atop three hills, Caltagirone is one of the more picturesque cities we’ve seen in Sicily. Just the entrance, over the ancient, ceramic-decorated Bridge of San Francisco, was breathtaking. A number of gorgeous churches and palaces adorn the historic center, among which the Church of the Gesù and the Palazzo Senatorio are highlights.

Though we only had a few hours in town, it was enough time to appreciate Caltagirone’s sense of living history. And a few hours of hiking up and down the inclines and stairs of this hilly town were more than enough of a workout for me. But it’s a beautiful place, and definitely worth a stop-over if you’re in the region.

Location on our Sicily Map
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With one week remaining in Sicily, we realized there were still a lot of sights on the island that we couldn’t possibly skip. So, we rented a car and set out on a final road trip. First stop: Villa Romana del Casale.

The world’s most comprehensive and exquisite set of Roman mosaics is found in the middle of Sicily, at the archaeological site known as Villa Romana del Casale. The specifics of the villa’s history are largely lost to history, but experts have dated its origin from around the 4th century AD. It’s believed to have been the hunting lodge for Roman aristocrats, possibly owned by an Emperor such as Maximianus Herculius. But there aren’t enough clues to say for certain.

The tiled floors are amazing; bright, colorful and largely complete. The mosaics look as though they were laid down one century ago, not seventeen; a miracle for which we have to thank nature. Mother Earth recognized the historic and cultural value of the lodge better than medieval humanity ever could have, and buried the villa underneath a mudslide sometime in the 12th century. The site was forgotten under the soft earth for 700 years, until its excavation in 1929.

Visitors are able to see a number of rooms laid out with the incredible mosaic floors. The Corridor of the Great Hunt is probably the most impressive. Here, soldiers battle with tigers, then lead them onto ships bound for Rome, where they’re to fight against gladiators in Roman Colosseums. Other scenes depict a group of soldiers tries to pull a hippopotamus out of the water, and a wounded lion jumping onto a soldier.

The most famous mosaics are the so-called Bikini Girls. In a smallish, square room, ten wonderfully preserved and scantily clad Roman beauties are engaging in various athletics, such as discus-throwing, running, and playing with a ball. One girl, apparently the winner, has been presented with a golden crown.

We were lucky enough to visit Villa Romana during the low season, when the number of other tourists is manageable. This is one of the most popular sites in Sicily, and a destination for almost every tour bus. If the size of the car park and the overwhelming number of stands selling cheesy trinkets are any indication, the place must be unbearable in the summer. But regardless, for those with any interest in ancient art or history, Villa Romana del Casale is unmissable.

Location on our Sicily Map
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A sense of faded grandeur permeates Palermo. The stately old palaces which occupy nearly every corner are usually shuttered up, damaged beyond repair, or have been converted for use as art galleries. The Palermitano aristocracy must surely have resided in splendor, but they’ve long since left the scene, removing all trace of their easy wealth. Today, in this chaotic and messy city, it’s almost impossible to imagine how the upper crust must have once lived.

We had no idea what to expect when we toured the Palazzo Mirto, near the Garibaldi Gardens in the Kalsa neighborhood. And actually, we only visited Mirto as a consolation, after finding the nearby Palazzo Steri closed for renovation. But luck was on our side. Here, finally, was a real Palermo palace, fully outfitted with all the furniture, wallpaper, paintings, and ornaments one would expect. We were all alone — there were no other tourists nor even a guard — and were able to roam at leisure through the giant three-floor palace.

The Palazzo Mirto was home to the Filangeri: one of Sicily’s most important families, whose presence on the island dates from the arrival of the Normans in the 12th century. In 1982, the last surviving member of the clan, resigned to a modernity in which aristocrats no longer live in palaces nor receive kisses on their hands from fawning peasants, donated the palace to the city so that future generations might remember how his ancestors had lived. From the looks of things, they didn’t live bad.

Lavish ballrooms, sitting rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms. Handsome wooden furniture and intricately detailed chiffoniers. Little make-up rooms for young princesses and grand libraries for studious princes. Three floors of unimaginable wealth, preserved almost as though the family had suddenly disappeared.

We loved our visit to Palazzo Mirto, especially since we had just watched Visconti’s The Leopard, starring Burt Lancaster and Alain Delon. If you haven’t watched the film, about the final years of the aristocratic regime in Sicily, try and do so before visiting the Palazzo Mirto. It’s not the same palace as portrayed in the movie, but the spirit is the same, and you’ll have a better appreciation for what life for the privileged few must have been like.

Location on our Palermo Map
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