Sicily Points of Interest and Places to Visit

Mount Etna, on the island of Sicily, is Europe’s tallest active volcano. Not only that, it’s one of the world’s most active volcanoes and, as of 2013, is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a small wonder, then, that this mountain has shaped much of Sicily’s past and continues to impact life on the island today. The volcano sits near the eastern coast of Sicily, not far from the major port city of Catania. Eruptions from Mount Etna have been responsible for serious damage to cities and towns lying close to it, including one in 1669 that destroyed the villages that had been built on the mountainside. People continue to inhabit the mountain, however, partly because the rich volcanic soil makes an excellent base for crops. You’ll find not only fruits and vegetables growing on and around Mount Etna, but also grapes - there are many wines that owe their prominence to the volcano.

The Corso Umberto I is the main street in Taormina, running from one end of the historic center to the other. This pedestrian-only avenue is, as you might imagine, lined with shops, restaurants, and hotels, all beckoning the countless tourists who amble by each day during the high season. But it’s not just a tourist street - locals enjoy strolling along the Corso Umberto I, too. Taormina’s Medieval Quarter is one of the prettiest sections of the city, and Corso Umberto I cuts right through its middle. The clock tower that marks the start of the Medieval Quarter is actually in an arched tower that spans the Corso Umberto I. The particularly picturesque Piazza Aprile IX sits along the famous street, and it’s one of the most popular places to pause and do some people-watching. The view from the piazza over the water is lovely, and the piazza itself is a beautiful backdrop to whatever is going on.

Should you grow tired of sunbathing all day on Taormina’s gorgeous beaches, there are great day trip options you can take, either with your own rental car or by signing up for a tour. One excellent excursion takes you to Villa Romana del Casale, with some of the best examples of ancient Roman mosaics anywhere. Sicily’s Villa Romana del Casale is a little less than two miles from the town of Piazza Armerina, in the southern part of the island. It’s roughly 92 miles from Taormina. The villa was originally built in the 4th century A.D., but it wasn’t until the early 19th century that the remains were excavated - they had lived underground, under fields used for farming - and the mosaics discovered.A landslide in roughly the 12th century A.D. covered the villa, which was bad news for the inhabitants but good news for archaeologists - because it meant the mosaics survived in much better shape than they would have had they remained exposed.

A volcano can create some pretty interesting terrain, and Sicily’s Mt. Etna is no exception. Some of the geographic impacts of Mt. Etna aren’t even visible above ground, as is the case with some of the Alcantra Gorges. The Alcantra River runs from Mt. Nebrodi, roughly 32 miles inland from Taormina, and feeds into the Ionian Sea near Giardini-Naxos. Because the river runs through and around volcanic rock, it has carved some intricate paths along the way. Most of them are open and visible, while others snake underground.

You could be forgiven for getting a little bored of seeing one ancient Roman ruin after another in Italy - they’re everywhere, after all. But in Sicily’s Valley of the Temples near Agrigento, you get to see something particularly interesting - some of the best-preserved ancient Greek ruins anywhere. Like the ancient Romans, the ancient Greeks got around - and for some time this part of Sicily (along with other coastal areas of southern Italy) was part of Magna Graecia. The town that is now Agrigento was once the Greek city of Akragas, and the Greeks built several impressive temples on a ridge just outside of the city. The remains of seven of those temples are still impressive enough to draw visitors to the site thousands of years later.

Some Italian piazzas are picturesque squares where locals stroll in the evenings, or watch their children play, or gossip with the neighbors. And sometimes, as is the case with Palermo’s Quattro Canti, they’re busy intersections. Despite the fact that the Quattro Canti - also known as the Piazza Vigilena - is an intersection that’s often full of cars, it’s still one of the attractions visitors seek out in the city. This is largely because of the four buildings that sit at the four corners of the intersection - “quattro canti” means “four corners” - which are Baroque buildings dating from the early 17th century. The four buildings are almost identical, save for a few details. Each of the four buildings is slightly curved, giving the piazza a rounded footprint, and there are statues in niches that represent the four seasons, the four Spanish kings of Sicily, and the four patron saints of Palermo. Each building is connected to a different Palermo neighborhood.

Palermo’s beautiful opera house, the Teatro Massimo, is the largest opera house in the entire country. It’s an important landmark in the center of historic Palermo, and even if you don’t like opera you may be familiar with the theater’s imposing front staircase. The Teatro Massimo was built in the late 1800s, opening in 1897 with a production of “Falstaff” by Giuseppe Verdi. The original plan called for seating for 3,000 in the audience, but the theater seats 1,350 today. There are seven levels of theater boxes in a semi-circle around the seats on the floor, all pointed toward the stage - a design very typical of opera houses at the time. As mentioned, it’s the largest opera house in Italy - and it ranks third in size in Europe.

The Sicilian town of Taormina has long been known as a popular beach resort destination, but it’s more than sparkling water and long stretches of sand that draw visitors. Taormina is also home to a spectacular ancient ruin - the Greek Theatre. Despite its name, the Greek Theatre - or Teatro Greco in Italian - is actually an ancient Roman structure. The design is more akin to how the ancient Greeks designed their theaters, so it is believed the Roman theater was built over an existing Greek theater. The ruins you see today date primarily from the 2nd century A.D., although the theater was started in the 7th century B.C.E. Taormina’s Greek Theatre sits high above the town’s famous beaches, so visitors who climb uphill to see the ruin are rewarded with more than just an up close look at an ancient monument - the views can be fantastic. From the theater, you can see the town of Taormina, the beaches far below, and the Mt. Etna volcano. It’s one of the best views in Sicily.

A visit to Erice (pronounced EH-ri-chay) starts with the journey itself – either by riding the summer cable car or driving the dramatic winding road to the top of the Erice Mountain. Towering 750m over the port of Trapani, Erice is undeniably photogenic, affording spectacular views along the Sicilian coast and the nearby Egadi Islands. It’s also a striking example of a medieval fortified town and has a history dating back to ancient times, when it was an important center of the cult of Venus. The best way to discover Erice is on foot, climbing the steep rough-paved lanes and stopping to browse the many small shops and bakeries, where artisans sell local specialties like almond biscuits and ceramics. The obvious highlight of Erice is the hilltop Castello di Venere (Castle of Venus) and Torre di Pepoli (Tower of Pepoli), and following the impressively preserved medieval town walls is a popular pastime.

Palermo’s most famous piazza, the Piazza Pretoria, is just a few steps from the busy Quattro Canti - but a world away in terms of the kind of piazza experience it delivers. The centerpiece of the Piazza Pretoria is the fountain, known as the Fontana Pretoria. It’s huge, designed in the 1550s by a sculptor from Florence named Camilliani. The fountain was originally commissioned for a private villa in Tuscany, but was gifted to the city of Palermo in 1574. City officials had razed several homes to make way for a grand fountain, meant to show off Palermo’s impressive city plumbing, but locals weren’t quite prepared for the fountain’s decorations when it was unveiled. There are 16 figures on the Fontana Pretoria, all of which are entirely or partially nude, that circle the fountain. There is no side from which you can simply enjoy the water itself without seeing a nude statue - which many Palermitans in the late 16th century found scandalous.

The Sicilian town of Taormina, like the rest of Sicily, has changed hands many times over the centuries, the evidence of which can be seen in much of the island’s architecture. In Taormina, one building that captures the town’s history is the Palazzo Corvaja on the Piazza Badia. The first part of the Palazzo Corvaja was the tower, built in the 10th century by the Arabs who ruled the area at the time. The tower was then part of the city’s fortifications, and the cube-shape was typical of Arab towers built in that era. In the 13th century when the Normans were in charge, they added to the palace, making the tower bigger and building a new wing. Later, in the early 15th century, the Spanish ruled Sicily - and they added yet another wing to the existing construction at the Palazzo Corvaja. This time, the structure was designed to hold the Sicilian Parliament, formed in 1411.

Italy’s public squares come in all shapes and sizes, and some are decidedly more beautiful than others. Taormina’s main square, Piazza IX Aprile, is both popular and gorgeous - which is why it features so prominently in many Taormina photographs. One of the first things you’ll notice about the Piazza IX Aprile is the paving - rather than a simple gray stone surface, the piazza looks a bit like a giant chessboard with its oversized alternating black and white marble squares. The impact is striking, especially on a sunny day. The ornate Church of St. Joseph, built in the 17th century, overlooks the square, and its bright pink and white facade gleams against the black and white squares. Another building on the piazza is the 15th century St. Augustine, a former church that now serves as Taormina’s library. The passageway in the 12th century clock tower on one side of the piazza leads to the Borgo Medievale, one of Taormina’s oldest districts.

One of the most famous sights in Palermo - albeit an incredibly macabre one - is the extensive network of Catacombs under the Capuchin Monastery. These crypts hold thousands of mummified remains, some of which are spookily well-preserved. The Capuchins began burying their own friars in the crypts underneath the monastery in the 16th century, and they soon discovered that the unique conditions in the catacombs - combined with their own burial traditions - preserved the bodies extremely well. It wasn’t long before Sicilians decided that being buried in the Capuchin Catacombs - and therefore being preserved after death - was a status symbol. In total, there are more than 8,000 bodies interred in Palermo’s Capuchin Catacombs, in varying states of preservation and from all walks of life. There are chambers dedicated to priests, monks, women, men, and children. Some are still encased in coffins, some are perched in standing positions on the walls.

The city of Syracuse on the eastern coast of Sicily is partly located on an island called Ortygia, where much of the city’s history can be found. The island figures into Greek mythology as the place where the Greek goddess Leto gave birth to Artemis, and its name comes from the ancient Greek word for quail; Leto's sister is said to have turned into a quail and become the island when she fell into the sea. There are two islands that connect the island with mainland Sicily, and most of the city of Syracuse is on the mainland. Among the sights in the historic city on Ortygia are its seventh-century cathedral and the Fountain of Arethuse.

You don’t have to understand much Italian to guess that the Isola Bella attraction near Taormina in Sicily is a “pretty island” - but what you can’t guess from the name is that it’s not actually an island at all. Isola Bella is a tiny, rocky outcropping just off the popular Lido Mazzarò beach in a small bay near Taormina. It looks like an island, but is connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of sand. It’s sometimes covered by the sea, so there are times when it looks like an island. This islet was given to the town of Taormina as a gift in 1806 by the then-king of the region, and later purchased by Lady Florence Trevelyan - a Scottish woman who lived in Taormina in the late 1800s. Lady Trevelyan built a house atop Isola Bella, which still stands today. Ownership of the islet changed hands several times over the years, until 1990 when Isola Bella went up for auction. It is now owned by Sicily and serves as a nature reserve.

You may have heard about the various cultures that have ruled Sicily over the centuries, right? When you look at the Palermo Cathedral, you can see the evidence of each one of them in the crazy assortment of architectural styles on the building. The Palermo Cathedral (officially called Santa Maria Assunta, and sometimes known simply as the Duomo) dates from the late 12th century, built on the site of a temple dating from Ancient Rome. As later conquerors took over from the original Norman builders, they imprinted their own styles on the still-growing building. The exterior includes examples of Norman, Byzantine, Renaissance, and Baroque architectural elements, and they seem to be slapped on top of one another rather than incorporated as parts of a whole. In other words, the cathedral has a somewhat strange patchwork appearance that makes it look like the designers couldn’t make up their minds.

The contrast between impressive mountains and slate-coloured sea is the first thing that strikes visitors to this coastal town in Northern Sicily. But there’s more to this great city than spectacular views. Whether it’s a tour of Palermo’s historic centre, sampling world-famous cuisine and regional wine, or wandering shops selling hand-painted ceramics, docking in Palermo will likely be a highlight on any Mediterranean cruise. Cruise liners berth at the Stazione Marittima, which was built in 1950. Taxis and horse drawn carriages are usually waiting at the exit of the port to take travellers around the city. The small winding streets of Palermo make it ideal for exploring on foot, but many cruise companies also offer shuttle buses to the centre of town.

You might be familiar with the name “Marsala” because of the famous fortified wine that originates in the city - and in fact, one of Marsala’s nicknames is the “Città del Vino,” or city of wine. It would be a shame to get to this city on the western coast of Sicily and not try its namesake wine, but that’s surely not the only reason to visit. Marsala is a historic port city, the furthest point west on the island of Sicily, and is known for its history, beaches, and, of course, wine. The ancient Roman city that once occupied this spot was one of the most important on the island, thanks to its position as a busy commercial port. Today, while Marsala is still a port city, it’s more of a tourist area than a commercial center. Things to do and see in Marsala include an archaeological museum, a former Benedictine monastery (which houses a Garibaldi exhibit), the lagoon (popular with windsurfing and kite surfing), and the nearby island of Motya.

There are a few outdoor markets in Palermo that are worth exploring - for the atmosphere as much as any actual shopping you want to do - but the most famous is the Vucciria Market in the city’s historic center. The Vucciria Market is located in the historic center in the streets around the Piazza San Domenico, and the stalls that line the streets are predominantly selling fish, meat, and produce. While these kinds of outdoor markets used to be where all the locals did their shopping, the rise of all-in-one grocery stores has meant that some of these markets no longer draw the crowds they used to. The Vucciria Market is as much a tourist attraction as it is working market these days, so it can be busy in the high season - although many of those people are tourists, not shoppers.

The town that we know today as Taormina is in an area in which there has been a settlement of some kind since the 8th century B.C.E. - but in the town itself one of the oldest neighborhoods is the Borgo Medievale, or medieval quarter. Taormina’s historic core centers on the Borgo Medievale, with its picturesque cobblestone streets. The buildings themselves have been beautifully preserved, giving the whole quarter a postcard look. The main street in Taormina, Corso Umberto I, runs through the center of the medieval quarter from the Piazza IX Aprile to the Piazza del Duomo. You can begin your tour of the medieval quarter from the Piazza IX Aprile and going through the arch in the 12th century clock tower. The tower was actually almost completely destroyed in the 17th century, and when it was rebuilt the clock was added. The tower serves as something of a gateway to the Borgo Medievale, most of which dates from the 15th century.

As is the case with most small Italian towns, Taormina’s main street will lead you to the town’s main church. In Taormina, that means when you walk along the Corso Umberto, you will eventually arrive in the Piazza del Duomo and at the Duomo itself. Taormina’s Duomo, dedicated to San Nicolò di Bari, was built in the 13th century and its design is typical of many churches of its era - the exterior more closely resembles a fortified castle than a house of worship. For this reason, it has the nickname of the “fortress cathedral,” or “cattedrale fortezza.” The Duomo was built over the ruins of a small existing church, and some of the signature Taormina pink marble used in the construction of the columns appears to have been taken from the ruins of the Teatro Greco that sits above the town. The main door was rebuilt in the 1630s in the Renaissance style, and a rose window added in that same wall.