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Sicily

Some of the best-preserved Greek temples anywhere are here, not in Greece.

Western MediterraneanCapital: Palermo

Cultural HeritageFoodieBudget FriendlyFestivals

Sicily was Greek before it was Roman, and the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento is what survived. The Temple of Concordia, built around 440 BCE, is standing almost complete for a reason that has nothing to do with luck: it was turned into a Christian church in the sixth century and so was maintained instead of quarried.

Everything after that stacked on top rather than replacing what came before. Palermo's cathedral and the Cappella Palatina carry Arab, Norman and Byzantine work in one building, on the UNESCO list since 2015. Above the east coast sits Etna, the most active volcano in Europe at about 3,400 metres — a figure that gets re-measured after each summit eruption.

Quick facts

Currency

EUR

Euro

Language

Italian

+ English

Power

—

Driving

Right

US-style

Airport

CTA

PMO

Emergency

—

Police · Fire

When to go

Monthly breakdown

Storm risk: None

Jan

Rain

Feb

Rain

Mar

—

Apr

Best

May

Best

Jun

Best

Jul

Best

Aug

Best

Sep

Best

Oct

Best

Nov

Rain

Dec

Rain

Best monthsRainy season

Major events

Feb

Festa di Sant'Agata

Three days in Catania that draw close to a million people, with a silver reliquary bust pulled through the streets by devotees in white robes. One of the largest religious processions in the world.

Religious

May

Infiorata di Noto

Via Nicolaci is carpeted end to end with flower petals arranged into a single designed image, laid overnight and walked over on the final day.

Cultural

Sep

Cous Cous Fest

A week in San Vito Lo Capo built around a couscous cook-off between countries around the Mediterranean, reflecting how far back the dish goes in western Sicily.

Food

Hidden gems

Nature

Scala dei Turchi

A stepped cliff of white marl above Realmonte, named for the Saracen raiders said to have landed beneath it. Access is periodically closed to let the rock recover.

Village

Marzamemi

A tuna-fishing village round a piazza of stone cottages, the tonnara buildings now bars and the fishing long finished.

Historical

Pantalica

Five thousand rock-cut tombs in a limestone gorge, cut between the 13th and 7th centuries BCE and reached on foot from either end.

Local food

Arancini

Fried rice balls with ragu or ham and cheese inside. Catania makes them conical after Etna; Palermo keeps them round, and locals will tell you which is correct.

Pasta alla Norma

dietary_tags.vegetarian

Tomato, fried aubergine and salted ricotta, named after the Bellini opera by a Catanese playwright who compared the dish to it.

Cannolo

dietary_tags.vegetarian

A tube of fried dough filled with sheep-milk ricotta to order; a shell filled in advance has gone soft and is the mark of a bad bar.

Safety tips

Transport

Palermo, Catania and Taormina all run ZTL camera zones in their historic centres. There is no barrier and no warning, and fines reach car rental customers months later with an admin fee attached.

Nature

Etna access above the cable car station is set by the volcano's current alert level and closes without notice. Only go higher with an authorised guide, who will know that day's limit.

Health

Inland July and August temperatures routinely pass 40C and afternoon shade is scarce in the archaeological sites. Do Agrigento, Selinunte and Villa Romana early or an hour before closing.