When one visits Pompeii, there is a clear sense of what was once violent and threatening. When one visits Sicily’s east coast, there is a sense of what is now violent and threatening. Mount Etna is the highest active volcano in all of Europe. It is two and a half times higher than Mount Vesuvius and towers over all of eastern Sicily. When I say its active, it is active, having erupted thirteen times since 1949, most recently in 2020.
Well, here we go again! Etna eruptions are probably the only thing in Sicily that runs on schedule. The good news is, this latest episode poses no true danger to the surrounding villages. “We’ve seen worse”, is the word on the street.
With Etna in the news this week, Huong and I of course scrambled to view the images and play the videos of our own experience on the mountain when we visited Sicily in June of 2018. After sharing a few laughs, we found ourselves reminiscing about all the activities we enjoyed during that trip. Sicily was one of three stops, along with Matera (located in Italy’s boot heel) and Positano on the Amalfi Coast. Italy provides an abundance of options, both urban and rural, north and south. But there is something about Sicily that is quite romantic in a “land that time forgot” sort of way. While this reality obviously poses significant problems as it relates to government services and infrastructure, a tourist who might otherwise consider writing off Sicily should think again. Sicily is beautiful and untouched, the people warm and inviting, and the history interesting and complex.
The collective impact of multiple civilizations over the millennia have shaped Sicily into one of the most culturally-rich regions in all of Italy. Greek and Carthaginian influence is in abundance, as both former empires invested heavily in the island. Carthage on the western half with Palermo it’s Sicilian capital, and Greece on the eastern half with Syracuse its capital. Interestingly, during Roman rule Sicily was mostly ignored, thus ensuring Carthage and Greek architecture as the lasting aesthetic. As for Sicily’s agricultural heritage of lemons, oranges, and sugar, much of that is thanks to Arabic domination in the 800’s and 900’s. Throw in some Byzantine and Norman rule, and the island has quite the soup of contrasting empires and influences.
There are many ways to approach the planning of an itinerary for Sicily, but we chose a four day stay that focused on the island’s eastern seaboard. As for Palermo, Cefalù, and the western and southern coastlines, they will be saved for a future visit.
Our home base was the beautiful and picturesque village of Taormina, and our excursions included Mount Etna to the west, Vendicari Nature Reserve at the southern tip, and a small village to the north named Savoca, best known as Michael Corleone’s exile hideaway in “The Godfather”.
The evening of our arrival, we landed in Catania via Rome, picked up our rental car, drove to Taormina, checked in to our Airbnb, and were taken through the customary walkthrough of the property by our dapper host Salvatore. He then eagerly assisted me in completing the important task of wine acquisition. We hopped on his motorcycle and zoomed up the steep crooked roads of this ancient hillside town to visit his friend Tomasso’s wine bar. I scored a couple of great pinot noirs, returned to our new abode, and bid a fond “buonanotte” to my new friend. After uncorking una bottiglia di vino, I then sat with my beautiful bride on the back patio of our temporary home overlooking the Ionian Sea, with wine in hand, listening to the crashing waves while gazing at a Sicilian sky filled with stars. Life is filled with moments. This…..this was one of them.
Our first out-of-town excursion was Etna. We drove our rental car from nearby Taormina, which is at sea level, and wound our way up the side of the volcano. We stopped along the way for a great platform view of one of the main lava flow areas, a massive wasteland of ash cutting through a heavily forested area. The view is ominous and breathtaking.
We then continued up the winding roads and eventually parked in a giant lot next to the gondolas. We bought our tickets, caught a ride further up the mountain on what appeared to be an antique gondola (yikes!), and then walked to an even higher point which had an altitude marking of 9,000 feet (for perspective, Denver is 5,500 ft). This is the highest point a visitor can traverse without a special climbing guide. The surface was dark, ashy and moon-like. I’ve never seen anything like it.
The gondola ride is scary for anyone who has issues with questionable engineering and heights, Huong being one of those people. At the conclusion of that day’s experience, she disembarked from the gondola, regained her composure and then questioned, in adorably pouting fashion, “the ROI” of possible death vs seeing the top of a volcano. She said the only way someone should ever go to the summit is if there is a Chanel boutique up there selling handbags for 50% off.
No matter how upset she was, I guaranteed her she would eventually look back fondly at this harrowing ascent and descent. Well, we watched the video footage this past week and…..um…..I was wrong. She relived the horror. Maybe we need a few more years before my prognostication comes to fruition.
The next morning when I was making a local call in Taormina, I got an error message from my T-Mobile service indicating I dialed a wrong number. The voice on the other end was my dad’s. That unmistakable baritone that he rode to a long and distinguished career as a tv newsman. After retiring as a journalist, he did quite a bit of commercial work, both on camera and voice over. As a kid, I would come home from school and see his commercials running on local tv channels in between cartoons. Seeing him on tv and hearing him on radio at random times during my life was common. But he had passed away only months before this trip, so hearing his voice while dialing a local number in eastern Sicily of all places was a bit of a blind side. I called the wrong number two more times just to listen to it. Funny thing is, he was always relentlessly correcting my grammar during my childhood, and here he was posthumously informing me my call could not be completed as dialed. The teaching never stops I guess.
Huong and I are beach people. And, as with our NYC food tour experience which focuses on hidden treasures, we always seek out-of-the-way beaches during our travels. Don’t get me wrong. The coastline in and around Taormina is beautiful, but it is more touristy, with umbrellas, lounge chairs, and crowds. So we decided to get in the car and check out a less traversed beach situated at the very southeastern corner of Sicily in the protected Nature Reserve of Vendicari.
Half the fun of Vendicari is the drive and hike. This is not an easy beach to reach. After an hour’s drive south from Taormina, we made the first left into the Reserve, followed the sign for Marianelli Beach, drove along gravel roads sandwiched between what looked to be rather old stone walls, passed through some fields, and finally reached the parking lot.
There is an option to park for free in an unattended lot or pay five euro to park in the tended lot. Based on what we have read, it is a very bad idea to park in the unattended lot because your car will probably get broken into. So…..five euros will be well spent. After that, an enjoyable ten minute nature walk gets you to the beach.
As for the payoff at the end, it is so worth it.
Along the shoreline of the Nature Reserve is a collection of Greek ruins from 5th century BC and more “modern” decayed fisheries built by Sicilians in the 18th century. Along that same shoreline is what feels like untouched beach. The crowds are sparse, the water shallow, gentle and crystal clear.
On another day during our stay we planned on hiking in the Cava Grande Nature Reserve. But Huong was feeling slightly under the weather and the physical requirements of that hike are significant. While we cannot confirm the value of this particular excursion, our research lends us to believe it is well worth the time and physical toll. The hike consists of an hour long descent to a beautiful lagoon where you can swim and relax. Keep this in mind if planning your own trip.
When not hopping in the car and exploring the countryside, we enjoyed walking Taormina. Originally founded by the Carthaginians circa 400 BC, it was overtaken within a decade by the Greeks. The Greeks invested in infrastructure and the town grew rapidly. One of the lasting relics of the Greek era is the Teatro Antica amphitheater, which has remained well preserved and possesses a breathtaking view of the sea. Taormina is both upscale and lazy, offering higher end services (and prices) while also preserving itself in a manner which makes it feel as though it is stuck in a foregone era. Because of that, one finds themselves moving slowly and in carefree fashion. It is downright delightful.
One evening in Taormina we stepped out for a late bite to eat. Unbeknownst to us, we just so happened to choose a quiet block dominated by one territorial Sicilian kitty. Being that we were traveling and thousands of miles away from our own kitties, we missed them a great deal and therefore felt an immediate connection to her…..Huong especially…..and we became a table of three. Huong ordered seafood. As it turns out, this kitty had kittens of her own and would make the rounds, visiting the tables of diners, hoping to first feed herself and then feed her kittens. She made multiple visits to our table, each time trotting away with a bounty from Huong’s dish. We all ate well that evening.
On our final day in Sicily, we packed, checked out, and made our way north to the industrial town of Messina. On the way, we made a brief detour up the hillside to the tiny picturesque village of Savoca. Some of you may be familiar with Savoca as Michael Corleone’s hideaway in “The Godfather”. For anyone staying in Taormina, Savoca is a nearby place to, if nothing else, take a stroll and enjoy an aperitivo while catching the late afternoon sun on the front patio of Bar Vitelli. Then, later, when you re-watch “The Godfather”, you can point vigorously at the tv screen and exclaim, “I was there! I was there!”, most assuredly annoying anyone in your presence.
Left: a scene from “The Godfather”.
Right: the same bar today
When we arrived in Messina for our ferry transport, we spent a comical and calamitous hour driving around trying to figure out where exactly we were supposed to buy our ticket (fun fact: it was NOT at the ferry location itself). Once we finally had ticket in hand, we drove onto the car ferry, parked, and made our way across the channel to the Italian mainland. Something we never realized before this trip is that there are no bridges connecting Sicily to the rest of Italy. The region is prone to earthquakes and the fear by engineers is that a bridge would not stand up to significant tectonic movement.
After enjoying some sea air during our thirty minute crossing of the channel, we disembarked and began our two hour trek to the region of Basilicata and the incredible hilltop town of Matera. Alas, Matera and its ancient caves will be a story for another day.
