Sicily Travel Photography by Eneka Stewart

Have you ever been to Sicily? Well, we did, back in July 2013 and it was one of the best holiday we’ve had. We visited some wonderful historic towns and temples but also ate the best Cannolis and pizzas we’ve ever had. Palermo, Cefalu, San Vito lo Capo, Mozia, Terrasini, Erice, Selinunte, Noto and Syracuse were the towns that we visited.

After a surprisingly bumpy landing with Ryanair in Palermo, we loaded our bags into a Cinquecento car – a typical Italian, known also as Fiat 500 – and we headed to Mondello beach just 4km from Palermo. Once on the beach, we were greeted with tasty cocktails by my lovely niece Chiara who lives and works in Palermo. From day 1 we managed to swim every afternoon and every time in a new exciting location. Each beach was stunningly beautiful, some busier than others.

We stayed in a quiet but pleasant hotel Ucciardhome which was in the centre of Palermo and within walking distance from some great restaurants. The hotel also offered a free car parking facility which turns out is very rare in Palermo.

The first two days we spent in Palermo and we were lucky to see the annual celebration of the patron saint Santa Rosalia. The tradition, which sees the relics of the Santuzza paraded through the town’s central thoroughfares, dates all the way back to 1624 and is a real treat for a foreigner. The night was hot, full of people with no space to move right or left but everyone was eager to see the statue of Santa Rosalia. As we were pushing our way closer to the centre, as you do, my niece Chiara met her friend who was filming the event for the local TV. He kindly invited us to join him on the balcony overlooking the crowd of people and I could have not been happier for being able to get some actual breathing space and also a better angle to photograph this unique event. Although it was nightime, it felt like we were in a sauna and it was a real challenge to stay cool.

In Palermo, we also managed to get a real close look of the famous Teatro Massimo. Again, we were so lucky as we happened to visit the theatre on the day when guided tours took people also behind the stage. On any other day that would not have been allowed or at least so we were told.

Selinunte was the first town that we visited after Palermo, an ancient Greek city on the southern coast of Sicily in Italy. The archaeological site contains five temples centered on an acropolis. Of the five temples, only the Temple of Hera, also known as “Temple E”, has been re-erected. For me, it was the first time to see an ancient Greek temple so close and I was amazed at how big they were. They were so big that somehow I managed to lose my husband between the ruins and ending up walking back hot and exhausted to the entrance on my own in a hope that I will meet him back there. Fortunately he was there with the same thought, waiting for me, ready to make a move to the beach we had noticed just down the hill from the archaeological site. Once we arrived to this almost empty beach, we did some bobbing in the sea with the most beautiful view to the Greek temple on top of the hill. That probably was the most breathtaking view we saw in Sicily.

During the following days we visited a beach resort in San Vito lo Capo, ancient Pheonican salt fields in Mozia and also Erice which is an exquisite, charmed, tiny medieval walled town with cobbled alleys – on top of a very high hill! It was a dramatic and seriously steep zig-zag drive up for our little Chinquecento and also probably the longest and the most exhausting 800m drive for me. And of course we had to choose the narrowest backroad not the main road a normal tourist would take! We ignored the signs of a need to fuel up the car before we started to make our climb with the 1st and 2nd gear and almost ran out of petrol by the time we got back down. Exciting, not! 🙂 However, all went well and they did some very tasty cannolis up in Erice!

We also visited Cefalu on the northern coast of Sicily and also Siracusa, in the southeast corner of the island. Siracusa is a 2,700-year old city, full of historic architecture and I also found out that it was the birthplace of mathematician and engineer Archimedes. A short drive from there, we also popped in to Noto which is best known for its fine buildings of the 18th century. A beautiful little town with extremely narrow and steep roads which required some skilled driving. We also drove past majestic looking Mount Etna but didn’t climb up as we were tight with time. It’s on our list for next time as are more seafood, pizzas and cannolis. I have been driving for 14 years on both UK & Europe roads but one week after Palermo streets – I consider myself a very skilled car driver. Being polite and giving way on roundabouts is for fools – you hit the road with courage and determination and that’s how you get to see the island!

So, I would highly recommend a trip to Sicily as it won’t disappoint you! Travel, food, accommodation and sightseeing – all delivered with it’s finest Sicilian way and I can’t wait to drive, fly or sail back to there!