Nuria outside the vineyards of the N'orma hotel with a 'total look' by Hermès
"History, ruins and the Mediterranean", that's how it is in three words Sicily. Nuria Val ( @frecklesnur ) and Coke Bartrina ( @cokebartrina ) They tell us about the week they spent touring "the kick of the most beautiful boot in the world".
DAY 1
Not a minute. We don't need more than sixty seconds to leave our bags at the hotel and go out to devour palermo . To comb from top to bottom Corso Vittorio Emanuele , which crosses its old town. To zigzag through its chaotic little streets, an authentic sample of buildings of different architectural styles and states of conservation, and noisy markets that have a lot of Arab legacy.
To share rhythm with some locals who play cards outside their shops. We arrive at Piazza San Domenico , in the Vucciri neighborhood a, with the beautiful church of San Domenico, and, once armed with a creamy Pistachio Ice Cream –that flavor that Italians adore and Sicilians even more– and stracciatella that we bought at the Lucchese ice cream parlor, we continued towards the Giardino Garibaldi. They are geometric gardens where the people of Palermo take out of their bags the latest novel that keeps them awake at dawn so that, with their eyes held up with chopsticks, they can read on one of its benches, embraced by the branches of the centuries-old trees.
Palermo, noisy, authentic, perfect
When the night Comes, Palermo is losing light, but never rhythm . Some corners of the city, such as the Piazza Caracciolo They even transform. During the day there is a traditional market which, in the afternoon, turns into a bustling street food stall. And not just any, but the most fashionable in the city.
As in a casting of scales and fins, they let you choose the fish that you most want, since they prepare it at the moment to eat it right there. decibels than the average. But Palermo is the capital of Sicily . And no one said that this island was precisely silent.
The decadent facades of Palermo
DAY 2
We leave Palermo in the direction of Tonnara di Scopello, a cove where years ago (not so many) tuna was fished with the trap technique . Now it is one of the busiest beaches in Sicily (especially in high season) , a private property where, as in many parts of Italy, you pay admission to take a dip.
From there to Erice there are only 35 kilometers; many of very tight curves that are giving away, now yes, now not, amazing views until you reach this medieval town, literally hanging from the mount Eryx, from which all the trapani bay.
Inside the Erice fortress there is now everything: restaurants, shops of frazzate (rugs made from pieces of cloth) and patisseries (like the mythical Maria Grammatico , whose cannoli make the whole of Sicily smack their lips), in addition to more than sixty churches (duomo included) and a Norman castle, the Castello Di Venere.
Nuria Val in the medieval village of Erice.
Its watchtower is the fish eye from where you can see the entire panorama of the area: the trapani salt pans, the town of San Vito Lo Capo and the Egates Islands. That night we slept in the Hotel Baglio Soria Trapani , surrounded by peace in the form of spectacular vineyards. It is the best place to spend the day with an infallible pairing: an aperitif and a sunset from the mountain. A great prelude to a dinner back to the classics, with fresh fish and house wine, which fits the place like a Florentine glove.
Scala dei Turchi beach
DAY 3
We got up early to go to Scala dei Turchi , whose exotic name, like the title of a children's story, tells us about Turkish and Arab pirates and corsairs who came here to take shelter on stormy days, and about infinite stairs leading to the beach.
But there are still about fifteen minutes to go. the place of the photo : those precious white stone formations like a huge mountain of talc, once a secret of the locals. 15 kilometers from them is the other image of Sicily, the one that was never a secret, the Art History manual; that of the temples of Agrigento , the best preserved Greek temples in the world, and especially that of the Concord (5th century BC) that, no matter how it is put, he cannot deny his pact with the devil.
From there we continue to Chiaramonte Gulfi , other 'hanging' village and protected by walls, less than 20 kilometers from Ragusa. Chiaramonte is famous for its gastronomy in a land where the table weighs more than religion (and that is regret) and, above all, for its olive oil, its almonds and pork products.
Nuria Val in a field of golden straw bales near Ragusa.
DAY 4
We woke up in the Hotel N'orma , on a farm on the outskirts of Chiaramonte Gulfi, that with just a couple of rooms and his own calligraphy rewrite contemporary luxury . Stretching out there is followed by u n breakfast prepared by Andreina , the owner of it: a bruschetta with a sliced bright red tomato, garlic, salt, pepper and a splash of green olive oil flavored with herbs planted in front of the kitchen.
Then we head to Ragusa via SP10 , the most picturesque route, which reaches this portent of Sicilian baroque. Built on a mountain, from afar, Ragusa is a bunch of pink and yellow houses , blue domes and orange roofs among the green of the treetops.
In the plan it is divided into two parts, separated by a valley: the elevated, Ragusa Superiore, and the old one, Ragusa Ibla. In the latter, we stroll among gray stone palaces and baroque facades, steep streets that well justify the dolci for dessert, unruly piazzas, chiesa and giardinos and entire Italian families strolling in the late afternoon.
Like any of them, we dine al fresco pistachio battered fish (again) with the notes of a street accordion in the background. We whisper and chatter. Why? Aren't there enough reasons?
DAY 5
We would never have wanted to do it, but we left the Hotel N'orma with the only consolation that we continue our route around the island; an island that seems to never end and that every day manages to keep surprising.
now we do it in direction to Marzamemi, a simple vacation spot with nothing special... that has absolutely everything to be special. Along the way we stop at some vineyards in front of a huge field of golden straw bales. Wine and wheat, wind and games, sun and Sicily: here it smells of autumn and pure Mediterranean.
Marzamemi is a fishing port bathed by the Ionian with colorful boats and a historic pedestrian center. We had seen endless photos of the Piazza Regina Margherita and, of course, fantasized about rolling some spaghetti to infinity in the terrace of La Cialoma , on that huge esplanade overlooking the sea; sitting at their sky blue tables and chairs, surrounded by fishermen's houses and a dilapidated church... Everything was just as we had imagined it; but now it was real.
After an espresso in one gulp, one of those that still leaves the foam in the cup when finished, we continue towards Taormina. Yes, Taormina, the most tourist destination on the island, that of the rich today, that of Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in the 50s and in which the Greeks, long before, built the theater that is best preserved and, of course, the place with the best views of Etna, the volcano of volcanoes (at least in Europe).
Looking at it from the front, in the highest part of Taormina is where our next destination was: the Hotel Villa Ducale , a furtive refuge where arriving by road can be an adventure in itself. Unless one is Sicilian and has the innate art of making everything behind the wheel look like bread **(or pistachio?)** eaten.
Chiaramonte is known for its olive oil (and its olive trees...)
DAY 6
The views of the hotel invite you to discover the landscape. That's why we went out to visit the fischetti winery, at Etna skirts , which produces wines from centuries-old vines, some of them called orange wines.
Those of Etna are very particular wines, very different from those of the rest of the island due to its orography, its hours of daylight and the differences in temperature, which give it its characteristic intensity. To get there we go through Castiglione di Sicilia , a town north of Etna with a single up and down street and a labyrinth of side streets.
Back in Taormina, we walk down the – aptly named – stairs of the Via Crucis and browse the elegant shop windows of the corso Umberto I, piazza IX de Aprile and piazza del Duomo, to get strolling to the Hotel Villa Carlota , where some cheeses and sausages were waiting for us along with the Cottanera wines, which they themselves include under the name la “volcano oenology”.
Nuria leaning out of the balcony of Monaci delle Terre Nere, on the slopes of Etna, wearing a Pinko dress
DAY 7
We had breakfast like a local, with the daily press and the typical calm of an autumn Sunday; a perfect rhythm to stroll through the botanical garden of Taormina and go to eat at tischi toschi , an essential restaurant in Sicily (with, among other delicacies, the best caponata we tasted on the whole trip) .
With the soft lights of sunset we do our homework and visit the Ancient Theater of Taormina, that keeps taking your breath away. But we want more, so we climb a staircase carved into the rock itself to the ruins of a Saracen castle, the Castello di Taormina, to see it from a bird's eye view. And here we feel it all at once: history, ruins and the Mediterranean, this is Sicily in three words, the kick of the most beautiful boot in the world.
*This report was published in **number 110 of Condé Nast Traveler Magazine (October)**. Subscribe to the printed edition (11 printed issues and a digital version for €24.75, by calling 902 53 55 57 or from our website) and enjoy free access to the digital version of Condé Nast Traveler for iPad. The October issue of Condé Nast Traveler is available in its digital version to enjoy on your preferred device.
Coke in the castle of Taormina.