Sicilian Delights
After 18 months of being Ireland bound, Carissa Casey flew off to sample the delights of Sicily and fell in love with this enchanting isle.
Marina Corta in Lipari Island
It’s half the physical size of Ireland, has a similar population and possibly looms as large in the popular imagination - sunshine, beaches, great food and wine, olive groves, quaint mountain top villages, ancient ruins, an active volcano…
And not just any old godfather but The Godfather calls it home, as does Inspector Montalbano of the books and television series fame.
Sicily has been on my bucket list for more than a decade. As the first port of call post pandemic, the only worry was that it might not live up to expectations. It did, and some.
We flew into Palermo and travelled by coach to the other side of the island for a stay at Giardini Naxos, a seaside village nestled between Mount Etna and the hilltop enclave of Taormina. The journey alone was an eye-opener.
The interior of Sicily is largely uninhabited and the motorway is built on stilts above undulating olive groves, surrounded by high volcano like peaks. There are plenty of abandoned old houses and few side roads. It’s not exactly where the Corleone homestead was supposed to be but similar enough terrain to get my imagination going.
After an hour or so Mount Etna comes into view, a towering giant as you’d expect of Europe’s largest active volcano. Because it is so active, there is, reassuringly, little chance of a major explosion. The constant shroud of steam around its peak is evidence of all the minor explosions that are taking place constantly in its innards.
Naxos, our destination, was the first Greek colony on Sicily, a reminder of just how often this tiny island has been invaded. It’s a lovely spot though, less touristy than nearby Taormina with lots of local bars and restaurants to sample.
I was travelling with the Travel Department (traveldepartment.com) and our hotel, the Unahotels Naxos Beach Sicilia, was a sprawling complex, with several small cafés and bars, an Olympic sized swimming pool (and a separate smaller pool) all set amid beautifully manicured, lushly planted gardens. Best of all, it had its own private beach and that’s exactly where we headed the following morning to wash away the trials and tribulations of negotiating airports in a time of masks, digital covid passports and passenger locator forms.
The sea was a crystal clear shimmering green, the temperature of a cool bath and so salty that minimal effort was required to float on its surface. With Mount Etna to one side and the stone buildings of Taormina visible on the other side, the world of lockdowns and 5k restrictions finally seemed a distant memory (or was it all a dream?).
By mid-September the average daily temperature in Sicily should hover around the mid 20s, comfortable enough to go sight-seeing. But we live in strange times and, after a sweltering summer when the mercury hit a scary 48.5 degrees at one point, the days (and nights) were far warmer than we expected. But it’s a shame to come to Sicily and spend the entire time floating in the sea gazing at the steam rising from Mount Etna. We headed for Syracuse, about an hour’s journey away to the south. Founded in 734 BC, it’s a wonderful mix of the ancient, medieval, baroque, renaissance and ultramodern.
Starting with the ancient, the ruins of the original Greek and then Roman settlement give some hint of what the Roman philosopher Cicero called “the greatest and most beautiful of all Grecian cities”. There’s an ancient Greek amphitheatre which is still used for performances in non-Covid times. The Ear of Dionysus is a vaulting V-shaped man-made (slave-made really) cave with extraordinary reverb.
On to Ortigia island, the centre of medieval and modern-day Syracuse. The painter Caravaggio pitched up here in the early 17th century, after he escaped prison in Malta where he was being held for murder. He was immediately commissioned to paint the death of St Lucia (patron saint of the city) for the cathedral dedicated to her, in the main square, Piazza del Duomo. The building tells something of Syracuse’s history. The stone pillars are the remnants of an ancient Greek temple dedicated to Athena, the façade is from the Baroque period while the marble floor is Renaissance. The square is the perfect spot to escape the sun and enjoy lunch gazing at what was designed by the Greeks to be a sacred place. Beside the cathedral, sits the Palazzo Senatorio beneath which lie the remains of the original Temple of Athena. Its marble and gold doors were visible from the sea and used by sailors as a navigation aid.
We have just enough time to peruse some of the uber-hip boutiques before we head back to Naxos for a welcome dip in the sea and a check in with what we now affectionately call Eithne.
Like most hotels in Sicily, the Unahotels Naxos offers half board. The food is superb, especially given that there are plenty of guests from various parts of Europe. Wine is provided free but perhaps best avoided.
Most evenings there is live music in a terrace bar, a real treat after nearly 18 months of being deprived of that pleasure. The music is good too, a nice mix of 80s hits by pretty decent musicians.
It’s good to venture further afield the odd night, especially since a passeggiata, or evening walk, is an Italian tradition. We headed down to the marina area of Naxos, and enjoyed a lovely local pasta dish gazing out at the twinkling lights of Taormina on the cliff opposite. Afterwards we stopped off in O’Neil (sic) Irish Bar, run by the very charming Antonio who speaks English with a cockney accent. A Sicilian Michael Caine, I suggest to him much to his delight. The waiters, on hearing we’re Irish, deliver a pretty passable go raibh mile maith agat.
Our next trip is northwards to the Aeolian islands, an archipelago with two active volcanoes. The boat takes the best part of an hour to arrive at the largest of the islands, Lipari. The main industry here used to be the quarrying of pumice stone but that was stopped after Unesco declared it a World Heritage Site. The marina area is quaint and pretty but the rest of the main town, also called Lipari, is a little strange with its mix of hardware shops for locals and tourist shops selling the usual fare.
And so to Volcano which, as the name suggests, is actually a giant volcano. I’m unfamiliar with active volcanoes so was a little unprepared for the sulphuric smell (think rotten eggs) that hit the moment I stepped onshore. Everywhere on this island, are little natural chimneys through which the steam from the volcano escapes bringing with it that distinctive smell.
Near to the marina is a beach with black sand. Those same little chimneys bubble up under the sea to create what are known as fumaroles, patches of hot water amid the cold sea. There is also a mud bath but that’s closed because of Covid. We take a dip and it is indeed a strange experience to feel spurts of heat amid the cool sea.
Anyone with an interest in vulcanology will have a field day (literally) on Vulcano but, personally, it was relief to escape that smell. The highlight of the day was the journey back to land when we sailed beside some extraordinary structures from sea stacks to caves.
At a week, the trip seemed far too short, but it has certainly given me a taste of all that Sicily has to offer and I’ll definitely be returning. Best of all though it was a break from our lovely isle, which great as it is always seems better when you’ve been away.
Flights to Palermo and seven nights half-board at the Unahotels Naxos Beach Sicilia, including day trips to Mount Etna and Taormina, Syracuse and the Aeolian Islands costs from €1300.
For more visit traveldepartment.com.
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