Sicily in February

Wonderful site at Selinunte - once numerous Greek temples - now mainly rubble but one reconstruction.

Aliscafo to Lipari in the Aeolians.

Wonderful cathedral at Monreale.

Bus trip from Sciacca to mountain town of Caltabellotta.

Scenic Taormina.

In short so much - wow, wow and more wow.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

Train on the north coast but mainly bus. For the islands, the Aliscafo is faster; the Navi are cheaper and freer to move about.

I shared a twin room with an Australian here to save a bit of cash - I am beginning to feel like a bit of a miser after writing a few of these but I do actually find that cheaper places are often good and more interesting and I prefer to splash out a bit on transport and sight seeing.

We went off separately to see the Greek remains at Selinunte, Marinella being no more than the accommodation for this. I returned first and the owners were trying to clear up a flood in our room which left both of us with some wet clothing. Goodness knows how it got there. Otherwise it was good - en-suite, very tasty meals (breakfast included but I missed that by moving on early.) Very friendly but not much English. Selinunte will have its own section.

This is secure and well situated in a city where you might not want to be wandering about too much at night. The area of the main railway station is always busy. Most long-distance coach companies have a terminus close to the station and the local buses mostly go from here (Sometimes you need to get a bus from here to the start of another one; e.g. for Monreale or Monte Pellegrino). Most local busstops are in the huge square outside the station.

Sraight across the square one of the largest roads is the well lit Roma and the hotel is just on the square at the third left turning. It can be seen from the main road; not that the outside looks like anything, but you use an answerphone to get in and then go up in a lift to a very clean, tidy, and comfortable pensio.

Limited English is spoken so a smattering of Italian is useful. However, it is a very friendly and helpful place. There are less than a dozen rooms so it is worth while phoning ahead. Toilets are separate but there are at least two and I never had to wait long.

Breakfast is not provided but there is no problem in just walking to the station.

This takes a bit of reaching by public transport but is, I think, well worth the time - but first a warning. These are REAL skeletons and they could frighten children – only you can decide whether any children with you would be fascinated or scared stiff but if in doubt PLEASE give it a miss.

Getting there: from the main station start by getting a bus 109 to the Piazza del Independenza [near the Norman Palace.] Then get a 327 to Via Pindemonte and you will have a short walk. Entry was 2,500 lire in 2001.

The monastery had its own burial site in the catacombs under the church, then for some unimaginable reason the idea caught on and wealthy citizens would pay or make bequests to get themselves spaces. Apparently there are as many as 8000 skeletons in total, dressed up in garments they provided. They are arranged on either side of the corridors grinning down at you, segregated from each other by sex and profession.

In the 18th century [if not the 19th] it was common to visit dead friends or relatives - I imagine conversation was somewhat limited!

On the whole I was interested rather than shocked or horrified but the pinched little bodies of young children would soon have got to me. There is, however, one that I found particularly moving, signs leading you to a sealed cave where a two-year old was embalmed by a special secret process in 1920. The Rough Guide's claim that she looks as though she is asleep is a bit beyond what I would say - but only a bit. It really does not look as if she has been dead longer than many bodies awaiting final disposal in chapels of rest.

R.I.P. I am glad I went.

I was not at all certain of liking the mosaics - they sound a bit OTT - but their astonishing beauty and superlative colours were almost shockingly impressive. This probably applies most strongly of all to the cathedral at Monreale, a bus ride from the Piazza del Independenza which is itself reached by bus 109 from the station. I have absolutely no pretensions to be an art critic but the Rough Guide's claim that it represents the apex of Sicilian-Norman work simply has to be true. It is probable that the mosaics here were completed in about 10 years. The most outstanding must be the remarkable figure of Christ, the head and shoulders nearly 20 metres high, though I actually reveled in the Old Testament stories at the top of the cathedral and all around the nave. Superlatives are exhausted very rapidly here. Before returning to Palermo be sure to see the cloisters.

These are not the only mosaics to be sure of seeing. The Cappela Palatina at the Palazzo dei Normanni contains some outstanding work. To appreciate it fully, try to see it before the cathedral at Monreale, after which almost anything is an anticlimax. The others of this type in Palermo are to be found in the church of La Mortorana and they also are outstanding.

Before leaving mosaics I mention the cathedral at Cefalù which was being repaired when I was there. Apparently these Byzantine mosaics are nearly fifty years older than the ones at Monreale, about the same standard but fewer of them. Cefalù itself seems remarkably little damaged by having become a fairly major tourist resort - perhaps partly because it was February.

Back in Palermo there are yet more mosaics worth seeing though of a completely different age, Roman ones on the second floor of the Museo Archeologico Regionale. I was most taken with the 3rd century one showing Orpheus with his lyre, surrounded by animals.

I only say 'perhaps' in the title because there was a festival on while I was there; the 'Mandorlo in Fiore' [almond blossom] which must have contributed to its massive appeal. I did not know it was on and the fact that I found a ground floor en-suite room in the first place I tried in spite of the festa got me off to a fine start.

The town is obviously of considerable age and its main street is as appealing as any that I saw in Sicily, almost permanently full of window shoppers.

The town also serves as a gallery for looking down over the temples some mile and a half away nearer the sea. The sight of them floodlit is pretty glorious but with the enhancement of the festa's last night firework display, it was absolutely awesome. Local buses [route 2] to the temples leave from just outside the station and the station bar is a good place to have in mind for getting tickets for the buses which must be bought in advance.

About half way down to the temples is the purpose built Museo Nazionale Archeológico. This is outstanding, particularly the rooms relating to local remains. Opposite to the museum are the ruins of the Greek/Roman residential area. I might have found this worth seeing but the Valley of the Temples was exerting a magnetic influence by this time and I turned straight down for it. It is this area which has made Agrigento deservedly famous.

There are temple remains on both sides of the road and drinks, postcards, etc. are sold on the carpark. The Eastern side is more spectacular as the remains are less ruined. Just by the road there is a path up to the relatively small but particularly beautiful temple of Ercole [Heracles.] The main track continues by the ancient town walls and the necropolis to the Tempio della Concordia, dating from several centuries BC and remarkably well preserved. Apparently it spent part of its life as a Christian church but this is not at all apparent. Lastly the path comes to the temple of Hera.

The Western side is less immediately appealing though there is considerable interest in the enormous pile of 'rubble' which formed the massive Temple of Zeus, the largest anywhere in the Doric style though it may never have been completed! Everywhere the almomds were showing that the festival was perfectly timed.

Since the mosaics and the skeletons of Palermo have their own pages, the only things the places on this page have in common is that they are in Palermo but come in neither category.

The church of San Catoldo is right next to the Martorana [see mosaics page] and contrasts with the sumptuous splendour of that church by its own complete internal simplicity. Actually this somehow manages to be immensely striking! The exterior is noticeable by its bright red domes.

Another church - or rather ex-church - worth visiting is San Giovanni degli Eremeti, near to the Norman Palace. This is obviously of Arab origin and contains a number of domes. Oddly it is possibly the garden which has run wild, among the graceful cloisters, which gives this its particular appeal.

The Museo Archeologico Regionale contains the sorts of collections of Greek and Roman work that you would expect in Palermo and the Selinunte room is a knockout. This is not purpose built, having been a convent originally and suffered mightily from bomb damage - but the illustrations of its history certainly add to its appeal.

La Zisa, reached by the 124 bus, seemed to me grotesquely overated; it is OK as an old Arabic remain but to compare it with the Alhambra is farcical - it is just not in that league and the claim that it is detracts from its appeal which is a pity as it does have some.

Monte Pellegrino is reached by bus 812 from fairly near the tourist information centre. It has a rather odd timetable and you are best finding out in advance if possible. The virtue of the fairly short ridee would be hard to overstate, twisting through fine woodland with glorious views of the coast. I am sure the walk up to the top and the view would be quite magnificent but sadly my health was not up to that. To my mind the Sanctuario de Santa Rosalia, at the bus terminal, is absolutely dreadful and the gorup of tat- selling stalls which it has attracted does nothing for the place either. However , even if you cannot get to the top of the mountain the virtue of the ride easily compensates for the dreadfulness of the sanctuary. I did not go in!

Perhaps I was lucky to have excellent views into the port area from the bus on my way in as parts of it are said to be a bit on the undesirable side.

This is one of Sicily's many hill towns, with a castle as its name would suggest. The photograph is taken from the castle tower. The town has a station which is nowhere near either itself or - as far as I could tell - anywhere else. I used it because I had just been too late for the bus from Cefalù which goes straight to the center. Fortunately I was offered a lift!

Some buses continue into the interior and, I believe, lead to some excellent walking areas, but I was getting near the end of my holiday and could not spare the time. The town itself is quite small and very friendly indeed. I cannot remember the name of the place where I had a most tasty and enjoyable meal, but all you have to do is walk up through the unmissable arch shown in the photo and it is to your right - not much more than a cafe to look at but there were Italians eating there whenever I looked. The castle is quite small and there is a limited amount to see but it is attractive and very cheap and the views are fine.

For the night the Hotel Ariston is very cheap. Frankly it needs to be because you are given a key to get back in and then left to yourself - literally. There really was nobody else sleeping in the place. It was reasonably comfortable but it would not be easy to get much more basic - but as I said the price is not a problem.

The grading is based on the sheer enjoyment I felt at this town.

This is a huge site which contained a remarkable number of temples. One has been restored to something like its ancient beauty and at the other extreme some are no more than piles of masonry blocks. Selinunte made the mistake of getting involved in the Pelloponesian war on the side of one of Sparta's allies and was sacked.

I was there for several hours in wonderful sun - February remember - and I doubt I saw twenty people in total. There was already a real profusion of wild flowers. There are three areas. One is the necropolis, some way from the entrance and the main car park, though there is another one at the site of the acropolis, which contains not only temple ruins but the ruins of houses and civic buildings - not much more than foundations now but fertile ground for the imagination.

It is the area near the main carpark where the restored temple is situated and there are quite substantial ruins of two of the other three temples which were originally situated here.

Caltabelllotta is reached by local bus (or car) from Sciacca, which is on the South coast of Sicily west of Agrigento. Sciacca itself can easily be reached by bus from Agrigento in a morning (goes on to West of Sicily). It's a splendid bus trip up the mountain with impressive outcrops of rock, though the Rough Guide reference to 'sparkling fresh streams' seemed to be poetic license. The town itself does not seem particularly picturesque, except for its terrific setting, until the bus gets up near the top. Then it is really interesting and scenic.

Two warnings though; first, be prepared for the temperature to drop about 15 degrees as you walk over the ridge onto the other side of the mountain. I am sure it does not but it surely feels like it! It still has to be done for the very different and extensive view. Second, none of the many bars are open during the earlier afternoon and it can be thirsty work trooping up and down. Even so back on the 'home' side it is worth getting close to the top in as many bits as possible. Not only are the views outstanding but the actual juxtaposition of building and rock is worth a good look.

Someone who read one of my entries was kind enough to draw my attention to this website. This is well worth a look.