Highlights of Sicily – recap of our trip in Sept 2024

(Photos from this trip are located here)

Our “official” group tour started on Sunday, September 1, with everyone’s arrival in Milazzo, Sicily.  However, I took the opportunity to arrive in Italy a few days early to do a little ancestral visit and research.

First stop was the charming little village of San Fele, nestled into the mountains in the Basilicata region.  It’s currently a village of no more than 3000 inhabitants but during the time my ancestors lived there, it was a bustling town.  Mass immigration in the 1880’s to early 1900’s left the town a bit deserted but still adorable.  If you have family from there and/or if you do ever have the opportunity to visit, I encourage it – they have a beautiful, serene waterfall park with lots of well-maintained trails.  Next time I visit, I plan to spend a whole day exploring that park.  The agenda for this visit, though, included a short walk through the waterfalls park, a guided walking tour of the town which was wonderful for helping me imagine the town as it was when my ancestors lived there, and a visit to the town hall to see the page written into the town archives recording my father’s birth and our family ancestry bloodline leading back to San Fele.  This page was recently added to the town records when we were recognized as Italian citizens through bloodline.

While at the town hall, I had the very fortunate timing to actually bump into the mayor of the town, Donato Sperduto.  He and his staff were incredibly welcoming.  He also introduced me to one of his staff who happens to be of the same family name (Faggella), so we decided we must be distant cousins!  

From San Fele, I made my way towards Sicily with a planned 2-night stop in the touristy beach resort town of Tropea.  My goal was to do a little research to see if I would want to consider this town for an extended stay at some point.  While the town itself is very cute, lively, has amazing views and wonderful food, I think the 5+ flights of stairs to get to/from the beach might discourage me from a longer visit.  I did take everyone’s advice to try the onions while there though!  This town is known for red onions and it’s nearly impossible to avoid them – they’re in every dish, snack, etc.  And they are really good!!

Onward to the actual group tour of Sicily….

Overall:  between the incredible views and the amazing food, I can’t decide which town was most liked.  We spent the week travelling around the perimeter of the island, so we had breathtaking coastlines everywhere!  It was very nice to be near water since the air was at sweltering temperatures while a heat wave came through.  Despite the fact that we were touring around in 98-degree heat, we had a group of really good sports who dealt with the heat like pros – umbrellas to hide from the sun and A LOT of water!  We also did not stop eating!  Each town has its own specialties and local ingredients, so of course we had to try it all!  Tasty cheeses, granita, cannoli (of course!), dishes with toasted breadcrumbs, arrancine (the Sicilian version), chocolate, not to mention the amazing wines…just to name a few of the tasting experiences!  Now that we’ve covered the food, let’s go through the itinerary.

We all met up in Milazzo for a welcome dinner and good sleep before hitting the seas for our tour of the Aeolian Islands the next day.  We boarded a private boat and spent the day visiting the islands (Panarea and Stromboli), snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters, and observing the Stromboli volcano lava flow from the water off the coast!  One of our snorkeling stops even included swimming in a more heavily sulfuric area, where you can see the bubbles coming up from the volcano activity.

From the seas to the vineyards!  The next stop on our itinerary was 2 nights in the now-famous town of Taormina.  On the way, we made stops at 2 wineries in the Mt Etna area where we had the opportunity to taste some award-winning wines and local specialties found only in this region.  Another little stop included visiting the hundred-horse chestnut tree – supposedly the oldest chestnut tree in the world (dated at about 3000 years old).  The group may have decided this was Europe’s “largest ball of twine” but it was actually also very interesting to see.

Taormina area:  If you’re familiar with this area, you know that it’s a beautiful town, filled with stairs and hills, and lots of tourists.  Our hotel was in a great location that was an easy walk from the center and had beautiful views and relaxing terraces.  Exploration of Taormina was interrupted for a short time as we drank our aperitifs while watching a hail storm that included golf ball sized pieces of ice!  Our stay in Taormina also included a guided walking food tour of Catania ending with granitas and the famous pastries: “Cassatella di Sant’Agata” (aka “boob cakes” due to the story of Saint Agatha).

Siracusa/Ortigia:  From Taormina, we then spent 3 nights in Ortigia, the older part of town which is an island off of Siracusa.  Our stay in this area included some really interesting and fun adventures!  On our way from Taormina, we stopped to visit the Archeological Park in Siracusa which includes the Ear of Dionysius.  Then, once in Ortigia, we had a fun afternoon of shopping for ingredients at the local market (including little tastings of local cheese and pistachios) and an arrancine-making class located at a restaurant with a breathtaking coastal view.

Day 2 in Ortigia took us to the towns of Scicli and Ragusa for some strolling and shopping.  We then continued to the town of Modica where we took a tour of Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, the oldest chocolate factory in Sicily.  The chocolate produced here is unique as it’s a more granular texture than traditional chocolate.  Of course, we had to do some sampling of the interesting flavors including – lemon, cinnamon, nutmeg, chili pepper, and most unique – the “Mpanatigghi”, spiced chocolate-meat cookies.  Yes, you read that correctly – there’s meat inside the cookie (being a vegetarian, I abstained from that one!).

Our final day of exploring from Ortigia included Noto, where we took a tour of the town on a little tourist train (highly recommended, especially if it’s a very hot day!).  And our last stop in this area was for lunch in the beautiful little seaside town of Marzamemi

Agrigento and then Trapani/Erice:  We left Ortigia heading ultimately to Trapani for the night but made a few important detours on the way.  First stop was at the Valli dei Templi just outside of Agrigento.  The Greek temples that we saw here were amazingly intact and it was so incredible to imagine how many of them had been built here. Our tour guide helped us understand the history and made sense of the ruins for us.  If you go to this park, I highly recommend hiring a guide to make it a more valuable visit.  We then had a photo op stop at the Turkish Steps, also on the outskirts of Agrigento, on the coast.  This is a breathtaking natural formation on the coast – it’s also possible to actually climb down onto the steps and go into the sea from there for a small fee.  Our fabulous driver pointed out another gorgeous temple to us during the drive – the Templo de Segesta.  It was just a stop for a photo op and to admire the view of the temple from a distance but well-worth the time.  One more little detour, in Alcamo, allowed one of our group participants to visit the town his grandparents came from – such an emotional experience!  We didn’t have much time in Trapani but made sure to make the trek up to Erice – accessible by road and also by cable car from Trapani.  The views from this town (the highest town in Sicily!) are beautiful – don’t miss it if you’re in this area (but if you go by car, know that you’re in for lots of hairpin turns climbing up to the top).

Palermo/Monreale to last stop, Cefalu:  Our last 2 days included a drive to Cefalu with a stop in Monreale to see the incredible mosaics in the church there and a food tour in Palmero.  The market in Palermo has a culture all its own – the vendors there are known for yelling (usually in dialect) to attract shoppers to their products.  It’s a very loud and chaotic experience but really a must for a visit to this city.  Final stop for our trip was the touristy beach resort town of Cefalu.  This is a charming town with narrow cobblestone alley-like streets.  Touristy, yes, but also so quaint!  We really enjoyed wandering around this town.  This town also seems to be a hot spot for weddings because we saw at least 3 bridal couples each evening walking around the town with their entourage and photographer – understandably because it’s a stunning location for photographs!  I spent my free time in Cefalu on a hike up to La Rocca – castle and ruins.  It’s a well-marked hike but very steep and rocky in certain areas.  I recommend doing this hike but make sure you’re wearing sneakers for the trek.

Overall, this was a great overview to the highlights of Sicily, but by no means did we visit everything.  I look forward to returning to this beautiful island to spend more time in the towns we already visited and to explore some of the towns we didn’t get to see.  

As always, if this all sounds like something you would enjoy, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.  I would be happy to repeat the route, either as is or with adjustments to suit your preferences.  Or, of course, if there’s a different route you’d like to try, anywhere in Italy, France and/or Switzerland (or beyond), I would be happy to come up with a custom itinerary!  Make sure to check out some of the images from this trip in the website photo gallery!