Tullia Maffei Lynch of La Dolce Italia organizes small group tours to Sicily each spring. What follows are a list, and a history lesson, of Tullia’s favorite sites in Sicily.
Sicily offers a cultural crossroads as nowhere else in Italy. Phoenician, Carthaginian, Roman, Arab, Norman and Byzantine influences abound in the places, food and people. The largest island in the Mediterranean has a large number of UNESCO World Heritage Sights – testaments to world culture that are not to be missed.
Dating from 600 BC, The Valley of the Temples by Agrigento in the south is the largest archeological site in the world. There you can walk a processional road along a ridge flanked by olive groves that feature the ruins of as many as 7 temples, considered to be among the best examples of Ancient Greek architecture anywhere.
The grand 4th century Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina in the interior of the island boasts the world’s best-preserved and most beautiful Roman mosaic floors. Thought to belong to a high imperial official, the visitor gets a concrete sense of the life of the times for the ultra wealthy, and to some degree times haven’t changed when you see representations of girls clad in what we now call bikinis with barbells in a gym-like setting!
On Sicily’s eastern shore there’s Siracusa. Founded by the Greeks in the 8th Century BC, Ortigia, the historic downtown, is the birthplace of Archimedes and where Saint Paul once preached. Its amphitheatre is where audiences would gather to see the latest plays of Euripedes and Aristophanes and, to be sure, Plato could certainly have been among the crowd.
The southeastern towns of Noto, Ragusa, Caltagirone and Modica are known for their beautiful and ornate baroque architecture. The terrible earthquake of 1693 decimated the entire area and led to a collective artistic and architectural rebuilding effort that is a feast for the eyes.
Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013, Mount Etna is Europe’s most active and highest volcano, whose name is said to come from the Pheonician word “attuna”, meaning “furnace” or “chimney.” According to Greek mythology, it is home to Vulcan, God of Fire, and the one-eyed Cyclops once roamed its grounds and threatened Odysseus and his seafaring men on their odyssey to home.
Palermo and the towns of Monreale and Cefalù in the north all are UNESCO showcases for the Arab-Norman art and architecture of the Middle Ages. The opulent golden glow of the mosaics that are used in the churches in these cities tell a tale of great tolerance as Arab artisans and Norman rulers worked together to create an amazing legacy of beauty and glory to God in Medieval times.
Of course, remember that all along your travels you can quench your thirst with good wine. Sicily’s Nero D’Avola and the wines cultivated on Mount Etna’s hillsides are growing in reputation. Sicily, being right in the middle of the Mediterranean, has the best fish to enjoy, some of the tastiest olive oil to appreciate and plenty of cafès to take breaks for espresso and cannolis. Ah! That’s the good life!
SICILY WITH TULLIA
Tullia Maffei Lynch of La Dolce Italia organizes small group tours to Sicily each spring. What follows are a list, and a history lesson, of Tullia’s favorite sites in Sicily.
Sicily offers a cultural crossroads as nowhere else in Italy. Phoenician, Carthaginian, Roman, Arab, Norman and Byzantine influences abound in the places, food and people. The largest island in the Mediterranean has a large number of UNESCO World Heritage Sights – testaments to world culture that are not to be missed.
Dating from 600 BC, The Valley of the Temples by Agrigento in the south is the largest archeological site in the world. There you can walk a processional road along a ridge flanked by olive groves that feature the ruins of as many as 7 temples, considered to be among the best examples of Ancient Greek architecture anywhere.
The grand 4th century Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina in the interior of the island boasts the world’s best-preserved and most beautiful Roman mosaic floors. Thought to belong to a high imperial official, the visitor gets a concrete sense of the life of the times for the ultra wealthy, and to some degree times haven’t changed when you see representations of girls clad in what we now call bikinis with barbells in a gym-like setting!
On Sicily’s eastern shore there’s Siracusa. Founded by the Greeks in the 8th Century BC, Ortigia, the historic downtown, is the birthplace of Archimedes and where Saint Paul once preached. Its amphitheatre is where audiences would gather to see the latest plays of Euripedes and Aristophanes and, to be sure, Plato could certainly have been among the crowd.
The southeastern towns of Noto, Ragusa, Caltagirone and Modica are known for their beautiful and ornate baroque architecture. The terrible earthquake of 1693 decimated the entire area and led to a collective artistic and architectural rebuilding effort that is a feast for the eyes.
Named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013, Mount Etna is Europe’s most active and highest volcano, whose name is said to come from the Pheonician word “attuna”, meaning “furnace” or “chimney.” According to Greek mythology, it is home to Vulcan, God of Fire, and the one-eyed Cyclops once roamed its grounds and threatened Odysseus and his seafaring men on their odyssey to home.
Palermo and the towns of Monreale and Cefalù in the north all are UNESCO showcases for the Arab-Norman art and architecture of the Middle Ages. The opulent golden glow of the mosaics that are used in the churches in these cities tell a tale of great tolerance as Arab artisans and Norman rulers worked together to create an amazing legacy of beauty and glory to God in Medieval times.
Of course, remember that all along your travels you can quench your thirst with good wine. Sicily’s Nero D’Avola and the wines cultivated on Mount Etna’s hillsides are growing in reputation. Sicily, being right in the middle of the Mediterranean, has the best fish to enjoy, some of the tastiest olive oil to appreciate and plenty of cafès to take breaks for espresso and cannolis. Ah! That’s the good life!