Seven Days in Sicily
My partner T is a university professor and spends a good chunk of his summers presenting research at conferences. Lucky for him, these conferences are often in enviable places. Lucky for me, in 2018 our schedules finally aligned so I could join him—in Sicily!
I hadn’t been to Italy since my study abroad days in college. Of course, anyone will tell you that Sicily isn’t quite Italy and Italy isn’t quite Sicily. So I was even more thrilled to dust off my rusty Italian while visiting an island that I knew would be nothing like my earlier experiences. We had about a full week to explore before we headed to the mainland, and my head was spinning trying to figure out a travel plan. Sicily is about the size of Massachusetts, with seemingly endless routes: Greek and Roman ruins, mountain towns, beach hotspots, and countless granita parlors that I wanted to check out. For anyone in a similar predicament, here’s my itinerary for a solid seven days in Sicily. I think it gave me a pretty good taste of this cornucopia of an island.
Meet in the Madonie
T’s conference was in Petralia Sottana, snugly nestled at the foot of the Madonie mountains. We flew into Catania due to flight prices, though Palermo would have been a bit closer. Petralia Sottana is a tiny town that seemed to have more churches than people. It’s adorable, hardly touristed, and a good base for hiking and exploring other nearby towns like Gangi and Castelbuono. If you can survive the winding switchback roads you’ll be rewarded with dizzying views, truffles, and the local caciocavallo cheese, hanging like plump albino gourds in the windows of formaggerias. As a bonus, the mountain air of these towns chills down the scorching Sicilian summer nights. We spent four nights in Petralia Sottana but I think two would be enough; if I went back I’d try to fit in some time in Cefalù on the northern coast.
Ruined!
I read a book about Sicilian history before our trip but I’m sorry to say that if I took a test I’d probably fail. This little island was conquered by seemingly just about every major Western civilization and as a result, you can find some of the best-preserved Greek and Roman ruins in the world in Sicily. There are many to choose from but I settled on the Valley of the Temples near Agrigento. The ruins are pretty spectacular but the experience was surpassed by our stay at an agriturismo nearby: Ciuci’s Manor. I simply can’t say enough about this place and wish we’d been able to stay there longer than just one night. If you’d like a place where you can paddleboat, visit rescued donkeys, have a homemade dinner while listening to owner Ginevra spin stories about her fascinating family and farm, and cap off the night stargazing on the roof, then you’d better book it to Ciuci’s Manor. (And if you do, please bring me back some of Ginevra’s homemade pistachio cream and olive oil!)
From Sea to Shining Volcano
I recently realized that I’m a huge sucker for big rock formations in the ocean. From Capri to Martinique to Reynisfjara to Benijo, I gravitate to volcanic beaches with hulking monoliths in the surf. So the faraglioni of Aci Castello beckoned me for our last few days in Sicily. We loved walking along the beach here, trying one or two or ten flavors of granita, snacking on arancini stuffed with rice and fish, and soaking up the authentic beachy vibe. Plus, this area was a great jumping-off point for the highlight of our trip: a wine tour of mighty Mt. Etna in a vintage Fiat 500, my favorite car in the world! We booked through Cinquecento Vintage Tours. If you have the time and want to do a tour, I’d recommend staying in Aci Castello or neighboring Aci Trezza; the tours start from Taormina which is lovely but very touristy and pricey. We had two nights in Aci Castello, which was perfect.
Getting around
Sicily has some trains and buses and it’s not impossible to do it by public transport, but having a car gave us lots of flexibility. If you rent a manual car in the mountainous regions, I highly recommend getting one with a bit more horsepower than you might think you need. We struggled on some of the hills!
There’s way too much in Sicily to experience in just a week. I wish I’d seen the unspoiled Aeolian Islands, or the baroque extravagance of Noto, or had more time to eat granita (my favorite flavor? Mulberry!) But the triangular path we forged was a good introduction to an island I hope to visit again.
