Flight guide to Sicily

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, may be just a short hop from the Italian mainland, across the narrow strait of Messina, but it is a world apart in atmosphere and attitude. Everything Italian seems a little more appetizing here, not only the food but the history and culture as well.

For a long time Sicily was ignored as a holiday destination, largely because of the Mafia stranglehold and because of the poverty of the people. Today, however, the island is experiencing a tourism boom and a surge in development as the destructive influences of the Mafia wane. Visitors discover that the Sicilian people are gracious, noble and welcoming and that the island itself offers natural and historic attractions of great beauty and enormous interest.

The main cities of Palermo and Catania feature some of the most exquisite architecture in the world, a legacy of the many great civilizations that have vied for control of this strategically situated island over the centuries, from the Greeks and Romans, Arabs and Normans to more recently the French, Spanish and Italians. There are massive Romanesque cathedrals, the best-preserved Greek temples in the world, Roman amphitheaters and magnificent Baroque palaces. The continuous blue skies and temperate climate, lush vegetation and rich marine life all add to the island’s appeal. Nature has given Sicily Mount Etna, Europe’s tallest active volcano, a dramatic coastline and a fertile soil that gives forth much of the bounty on which the island’s unique and delicious cuisine is based.

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Sicily Insider Information

• Visit a living volcano. As long as there is no volcanic activity you can get to the crater at Mount Etna. There are tours from Catania and Taormina or you can go by car or bus. Buses leave from the railway station in Catania to the Rifugia Sapienza (6,100ft) and then you have a three-to-four hour walk to the crater along a rough road. Wear strong shoes and warm and waterproof clothing to make the most of the adventure.
• Take the train around the fertile lower slopes of Etna. Join the Circumetnea railway at Catania and finish at Giarre-Riposto. On the way you will see thick forests as well as the orange, lemon and olive groves. A feast for the eyes and a treat for train-lovers.
• See some of the best preserved Roman mosaics in Italy at Villa Casale, near Piazza Armerina in central Sicily. The Hunting Scene is nearly 200 feet long and shows all the exotic animals birds and animals being captured and caged to be sent to the circus in Rome. There are 50 rooms in total and the quality of the mosaics is breathtaking. Don’t miss the ten women athletes in Roman bikinis, either.

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Sicily Airports

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