Sicily

November 10, 2025 Lisa Comments 0 Comment

I used ExploreWorldWide for another guided tour, Classical Sicily.

I flew via Rome into the Catania airport. I arrived late and missed my transfer so had a very expensive taxi ride to Syracusa. I spent a very short night at the lovely Grand Hotel Villa Politi.

Sunday I met my tour guide, Augusto, and the others on the tour.

Recommendations:

Neapolis Archeological Park, Syracusa
Catacomba di San Giovanni, Syracusa
Temple of Apollo, Ortigia
Villa Romana del Casale, Piazza Armerina
Erice
Segesta
Royal Palace and Palatine Chapel, Palermo
Monreale Cathedral, Palermo
Cefalu
Mount Etna crater hike
Greek Theater, Taormina

Syracusa

Syracusa, or Siracusa, is a UNESCO world heritage site. Artifacts have been found in the area dating back 6000 years. Sunday morning we met our local guide at Neapolis Archaeological Park.

There is also a quarry here; it is estimated that they dug out 3 million tons of limestone blocks. We visited the huge Greek theater, the Roman theater, and the large artificial cave, Orecchio di Dionisio, the Ear of Dionysus, created for water storage. An earthquake destroyed part of the wall. It is called the ear both for its shape as well as the acoustics in the cave.

Our guide, Eva, showed us all over the huge park and covered about 2000 years of history. The excellent art from Igor Mitoraj perfectly placed throughout the site was amazing.

We also visited the Catacomba di San Giovanni. We started with VR headsets depicting the catacombs when in use, built between 315 and 360 CE. They showed a common burial and the ornate sarcophagus of Adelphia from 340, now displayed in the Archaeology Museum in Siricusa. We visited a small burial chamber under the ruins of the church, Catacomb of Santa Lucia. It has beautiful frescos. The large catacombs, Catacombs of S. Maria di Gesù and di Vigna Cassia, on the other end of the site, didn’t allow photographs. I did take a photograph of a photograph displayed outside on the wall, then cropped and edited. It didn’t have a lot of frescoes left but it was really beautiful with all the crypts and niches in the walls.

All the bones were removed to a mass “boneyard” in the early 20th c. It was used as an air raid shelter during WWII when the allies attacked during the Battle of Sicily/Operation Husky in July 1943.

We went over to Ortygia (Ortigia) Island. We walked across the bridge, stopping to see the Archimedes statue. The famous mathematician was from Syracusa. We saw the Temple of Apollo ruins. We were given several hours on our own to explore. I stopped for lunch and tried a Ragu Aranchi at Caffe Aretusa.

I visited the Giardino Aretusa and Fonte Aretusa (a spring, not really a fountain). I walked along the waterfront to visit Maniace Castle; just the outside, unfortunately, since it was closed until 1500.

I saw the Icarus Statue, also by Igor Mitoraj, on Piazza Federico di Svevia, the beautiful square in front of the castle. The cathedral, Cattedrale Metropolitana Della Nativita di Maria, on the huge Piazza del Duomo di Siracusa, was also closed. Walking back to our meeting point, I stopped to see the Fontana di Diana, the fountain in the center of Piazza Archimede. I also stopped to pick up my first Sicilian cannolo, at Pasticceria Artale, recommended by the guide.

Piazza Armerina

We visited the amazing Villa Romana del Casale, a UNESCO heritage site since 1997. We arrived very early, even a few minutes before the ticket office open but it was worth it to see the building without the crowds that arrived within the hour. Our local guide, Guisy, short for Josephine, was very knowledgable.

The 4th c private home was covered in a landslide protecting the mosaics for centuries. I have seen mosaics in other cities in Italy, and Greece, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, but these are amazing. Truly spectacular. So well preserved, every room is different, there are colorful, diverse images from sea battles to a women’s gym to the corridor of the hunt. Fantastic. There are huge baths, a courtyard, public and private rooms. There are catwalks above the rooms for perfect views of the floors.

Villa Romana, https://www.villaromanadelcasale.it/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/guida_042012_ENG.pdf

We had another guide, Liz, for our visit to the Valley of the Temples (on a ridge not a valley) in Agrigento. This is another UNESCO Heritage site, from around the 5th c BCE. There were 11 temples here originally but all were destroyed by early Christians.

There were enough ruins, blocks, pieces of the columns to reassemble three of the temples. We visited the Temple of Hera, the oldest temple on the complex, Temple of Concord and the ruins of the Temple of Hercules, with only 8 columns standing.

We saw the ruins from the Temple of Zeus, the largest Doric temple ever constructed. The newly reconstructed “telamon” is located by the Temple of Zeus. There are some great wild goats on site with huge curling horns. We also saw early irrigation channels.

Trapani

We stayed overnight in Trapani. I had time to walk around town the next morning, seeing the cathedral and visiting the city walls, the Walls of Tramontana, along the waterfront, before we met for our daily tour.

Erice

We had the excellent Regina, originally from Germany, for our visits to Erice and the Greek ruins of Segesta. Erice is from the 5th c BCE. Elymians, a Sicilian tribe, founded Eryx. The surviving city walls are from the Punic Wars. Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, and Normans all made Erice home.

We started at the main gate, Porta Trapani. We saw Chiesa Matrice, not far inside the walls. It has a great tower and is the main church of the city. The Castle Venus was built under the Romans. We visited the Garden of Balio. I could have easily spent an entire day here, exploring more of the walls and gates, visiting the castle, climbing the church tower. Erice is 750 meters above Trapani and has incredible views of the city and over the coast. I picked up a piece of cake at Maria Grammatico, considered one of the best bakeries in all of Sicily.

In Erice, we heard the legend or myth of the Moors head. A Moor fell in love with a beautiful girl and they were “overwhelmed by desire”. Then she found out he was leaving to go back to his wife and family so killed him and cut off his head. She used it as a vase and planted basil. She “watered the plant with her tears and, as time went by, the basil grew luxuriantly”. Neighbors were jealous of her plant so they copied the Moor’s head.

Another legend says the young girl was from a noble Sicilian family and they objected to the love affair. Her family beheaded them both. They turned them into vases and hung them on their balcony as a warning. That is why the ceramic heads are always made in pairs.

Segesta

After our free time in Erice, we went to Segesta. Like Erice, Segesta was also home to the Elymians; they are believed to be descended from the Trojans.

We went up to the Greek amphitheater first. They have buses that make the round trip to Mount Barbaro. On the walk to the theater from the bus stop, we saw other ruins, including a mosque, a church, and a castle from 1442. We saw the old agora when returning down the mountain, then visited the huge, unfinished Doric temple. We heard how they moved the large stones with a pulley system.

Palermo

We spent the night in Palermo, most of us having dinner at the excellent Locale.

The next morning we walked over to the Royal Palace for a visit to the amazing Palatine Chapel. This is the royal chapel of the Norman kings. It was started in 1130, the year of Roger II’s coronation. He was the first king of Sicily. The design is a fusion of Sicilian, Byzantine, and Islamic styles, with incredible mosaics and a wooden Arab style ceiling. The chapel is under restoration, with cleaning of the mosaics, but there is still much to see. Beautiful, if crowded. The cloister and Royal Gardens are open but much of the palace is now government offices.

We walked through the Porta Nuovo, a city gate, built in 1570 to Mercato del Capo, the city market. We had lunch here, trying the chickpea fritters, called panelle, and more.

In the afternoon, we drove to Monreale, on the hills outside Palermo. Founded in 1174 by William II, or William the Good, the Monreale Cathedral and Cloister, like the Palatine Chapel, has amazing mosaics.

We visited the cloister, accessed by a separate door on the side, then had some free time in the city. There are great views over Palermo.

We returned to Palermo and had a city tour, seeing the Teatro Massimo Opera House and visited the huge Palermo Cathedral. The current church dates back to the 12th c, built over a 4th c church that had been destroyed, then an early basilica from the 10th c and an Islamic Mosque. The interior seems plain after seeing the Palatine Chapel and Monreale Cathedral but is beautiful. I didn’t have time to visit the crypts or catacombs because it was a very busy and full day.

Cefalu

We had a long drive from Palermo to Taormina. We stopped for about 4 1/2 hours at the lovely village of Cefalu. I started with a short visit to Osterio Magno, the residency of King Roger. Only part of it is open to the public and is now a small museum. It had a special exhibit, “Ecce Lignum Crucis”, Art for God, Art for the Community.

They display some beautiful “stauroteca”. From the Ancient Greek, stauros, meaning cross, and theke, meaning case. The design is from the 4th c, when legend states that Saint Helena found the site of the crucifixion and, through a miracle, the cross of Jesus. These stauroteca were created to preserve fragments of the cross.

I visited the Cefalu Cathedral. The church is from 1131, with additions and changes in the 13th and 15th c. Visiting the cathedral is free but I bought the combination ticket when at Osterio Magno to see the towers, mosaics, the sacristy, treasury, Bishop’s Chapel, then the cloister. All beautiful.

The tower visit is especially great, you start in one tower, walk between them to the second tower, then out the roof along the side of the church; there are great views all the way of the church interior and the town. There are great items in the treasury. The cloister is the oldest church cloister in Sicily, with beautiful columns and unique capitals. According to the sign inside, “A triumph of art and beauty. An image of heaven on earth.” When leaving the cloister you exit back to the main square, Piazza del Duomo.

Along with the churches in Palermo and Monreale, it is part of the UNESCO Heritage Site, the “Arab-Norman Cathedral Churches.”

I really liked walking around town and along the waterfront. I visited Bastione di Capo Marchiafava, and Piazza Francesco Crispi, continuing the walk along the waterfront until back to the beach, seeing the old walls. I stopped to see the Lavatoio Medievale, an old laundry house dating to 1514.

Giardini Naxos/Taormina

We spent two nights in Giardini Naxos on the coast. It is the oldest Greek settlement in Sicily, dating back to 735 BCE.

Several of us went to dinner together at Materie Prime on the waterfront, great selection of pizzas.

That evening and the next morning, the weather did not look good for our visit to Mount Etna. With high winds, the cable car would not run. The night before was calling for 100% rain. The next morning at 0700, it was cloudy and rain forecasted throughout the day. But as we drove up the mountain, the clouds cleared and we had beautiful blue skies. Eight of us, of the twelve on the tour, paid for the cable car, bus, and hike on the crater with Funivia dell’Etna.

We were very lucky with the weather and I really enjoyed the morning. Our tour van took us to “base camp” at 1900 meters, the steep cable car then took us to 2500 meters. They rent boots and heavy coats here, I paid €5 for each. Worth the money if you didn’t pack for a mountain hike. Then we took the four-wheel drive bus to 2900 meters and started our 2 kilometer hike around the craters formed during the 2002-2003 eruptions. This is the closest anyone is allowed to the summit.

Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in Europe.

We met up with the rest of our group, had a quick snack at the base camp then headed to Taormina. We met our local guide, Dina, for a visit to the Greek Theater in town. We walked through and around the theater. In addition to the amazing views over town and the coast, the theater is well preserved and still hosts events.

We visited the Roman Odean, another small theater found behind a church during renovations. We visited the main street, Corso Umberto, from Porta Messina to Piazza IX Aprile. Dina stopped way too often here, talking about specific stores and things to buy so I just enjoyed the facades and did look at the window displays.

We enjoyed the beautiful views from Belvedere di Taormina. We saw Isola Bella below. You can walk there during low tide, and the sandbar was visible, but there is also a funicular which we saw on the drive up.

Also on the plaza is Chiesa di San Guiseppe. I visited after the group was given free time. Then I walked through the Torre dell’Orologio e Porta di Mezzo and continued down the Corso Umberto for a while.

On the way out to meet the group at Porta Messina, I visited the Roman bath ruins and Chiesa di Santa Caterina d’Alessandria. Like many other stops on the tour, I would have loved more time here.

We had a group farewell dinner at Garden da Nino. As in Spain, most of the restaurants don’t open until late. They were open at 7 but by the time everyone ordered, then they served the first and second courses to several couples, I didn’t get my pasta until after nine. For me, this is just too late to eat a heavy meal.

The next day, I had a mid-afternoon flight back to Portugal so had all morning to explore before my airport transfer. I took a walk around parts of the town I hadn’t seen yet, walking down to the port. I saw the small “Olympic temple” built for the passage of the Olympic flame on the way to Rome in 1960. I saw the Statue of Nike and walked down to Pirata Beach. I walked back down the waterfront, visiting Chiesa di San Pancrazio and enjoying views of Taormina.

It was a very busy week in Sicily. I saw some amazing sites and the main cities. More time in each of them would have been good, to enjoy museums and other sites, but it was a wonderful visit.

Restaurants

Caffè Aretusa, Ortigia – aranchia, rice and fillings rolled in bread crumbs and fried. Sicilian street food.
Pasticceria Artale, Ortigia – an excellent cannolo. Very rich.
La Panetteria Rosticceria, Agrigento – a miglonata, stuffed bread. A good selection of Sicilian street food.
Ristorante Da Nino, Piazza Armerina – cavati with pistachio pesto
Antica Pasticceria da Michele, Erice – excellent panini with mortadella and pistachio pesto.
La Pasticceria Maria Grammatico, Erice – recommended as the most famous cake shop in Sicily, I stopped in for a piece of chocolate/ricotta tart to go after lunch. Delicious!
Ostaria del Duomo, Cefalu – risotto. Excellent, good location right on piazza in front of the cathedral.
Duomo Gelatieri dal 1952, Cefalu – ricotta tart. Huge selection of sweet items makes it very hard to choose!
Mercato del Capo – the group shared panelle, chickpea fritters, and cazzilli, potato fritters, at a cafe in the market. Then we ordered from their display case. There are many great choices here.
Locale, Palermo – pasta. Their entire menu looks great, friendly service.
Materie Prime, Giardini-Naxos – pizza
Garden da Nino, Giardini-Naxos – pasta