Sicily Villas

Sicily is geographically Italy but culturally something older and stranger and richer — a layering of Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman, Byzantine, Spanish, and Bourbon, each leaving its temples, its mosaics, its baroque, its dialect, its food.

The east, dominated by Etna, holds Taormina (the Greek theatre with Etna across the bay), Catania (baroque, raucous, fish-market raucous, with the best granita on the island), Syracuse (Ortigia island, Greek temple ruins, Caravaggios), and the baroque triangle of Noto, Modica, and Ragusa (UNESCO sites, all rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake in coordinated honey-stone).

The west is older Sicily — Palermo with its Norman cathedral, the Cappella Palatina mosaics, the Vucciria and Ballarò street markets, Monreale just above. The Valle dei Templi at Agrigento (the Greek temples). The medieval hilltown of Erice. The fishing port of Trapani and Marsala wine country.

The food is its own justification. Pasta alla Norma, arancini, cannoli, swordfish in caponata, pasta con le sarde, pesce stocco, granita with brioche for breakfast, marzipan, cassata, and Etna and Nero d'Avola wines that have only got better in the last twenty years. Restaurants worth a flight: Crocifisso in Noto, Accursio in Modica, Il Duomo in Ragusa Ibla, Gagini in Palermo, Cuvée du Jour at Verdura Resort, A Putia delle Cose Buone in Catania.

May, June, September, and October are our favourite months. Late April is beautiful in the southeast (wildflowers at the Valle dei Templi). July and August are hot (mid-80s°F) and busy, especially Taormina; book early. September and early October are still warm, the sea is warmest, and prices and crowds drop. Winter is mild and great for cultural travel.

Sicily has a hot Mediterranean climate — mild winters (mid-50s to low 60s°F), hot dry summers (mid-80s°F). The island is large; the eastern side near Etna can be cooler at altitude, the western coast warmer. Sea temperatures support swimming May through October.

It depends on the trip. The east (Taormina, Etna, Syracuse, the southeast baroque triangle) is the most-visited and the most varied — vulcanology, beaches, Greek archaeology, baroque, and Caravaggio in one base. The west (Palermo, Trapani, Erice, Marsala, the Aegadian Islands) is older, less touristy, more 'real' Sicily. Most of our first-time bookings choose the east; many of our return guests choose the west.

Pasta alla Norma, arancini, cannoli, granita with brioche for breakfast, swordfish involtini, pasta con le sarde, caponata, panelle, pane ca' meusa (a Palermo offal sandwich, for the brave). Restaurants we book: Crocifisso in Noto, Accursio in Modica (two stars), Il Duomo in Ragusa Ibla, Gagini in Palermo, A Putia in Catania.

Etna jeep tours and wine tastings on the volcano's slopes, boat days along the Taormina coast, the baroque triangle of Noto-Modica-Ragusa, Palermo's street-food markets with a guide, the Marsala wine country in the west, the Aeolian Islands in summer (Stromboli, Lipari, Salina).

From the east: Etna, Taormina, Syracuse, the baroque triangle, and possibly Palermo as an overnight. From the west: Palermo, Monreale, Erice, the Marsala wineries, the Aegadian Islands.

Yes. Sicily is large (around 25,000 km²) and the things worth seeing are spread out. A car is essential, though for the east we often recommend a small rental + private driver for the longer day trips (Palermo, Agrigento). For the west, your own car works well.