Travelling Around Sicily with a Pinch of Traditional Cuisine

Sicily is divided into nine regions or provinces (we visited the following ones: Messina, Catania, Enna and Syracuse). We used Catania as the starting point on our trip and based everything on that. But more about that later. It all began with the departure and gathering at one of the members of the group’s place in Solkan. We all got the case of the travel bug and buzzed with energy, so we couldn’t stay still and climbed Sabotin for starters – despite the rainy clouds gathering up in the sky. Just below the top, we saw the white curtain of rain hanging above Nova Gorica, which started moving towards us. It made us run down the slopes of Sabotin towards the centre of Solkan. We came back drenched, not because of the rain but because of all the sweat. We took a hot shower and then headed for Nova Gorica where a friend had a job interview. The first day was concluded with us celebrating his successful interview.

Arrival in Catania and the first street dinner

Early in the morning, we headed to the train station in Nova Gorica, from where we took the train to Udine, Italy. Despite the rain, we quickly toured the city and drank our first cappuccino. We were already at the Marco Polo Airport shortly after that. After landing in Sicily’s second-largest city, Catania, and adjusting to the hot climate, we walked towards our accommodation through diverse and mostly not-so-well-maintained streets.

We soon got to our rooms, unpacked our things and headed out for our first dinner. We wanted to try out the street food. Of course, we ordered the typical Sicily dishes and started with “pasta all norma” (pasta with aubergines) and “carne di cavallo” (horse meat). It was delicious, but there hadn’t been much to compliment yet at the time. This was followed by an evening stroll and enjoyment of excellent cocktails.

Europe’s most active volcano and the famous cannoli

We dedicated the third day to exploring Mount Etna (the largest and most active volcano in Europe, which is also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site). We planned on driving up the volcano by bus, which had already left early in the morning and there were no vacant seats left for us. We found alternate transportation with a local who took our group of five to an altitude of 1,900 metres and waited for us there until afternoon. We spent the time in between to take a look at all the craters nearby and made a few short ascents to viewpoints from where we could observe the black rocks below. We decided not to take the gondola ride to 2,500 metres above sea level, since we were busy taking in all the sights at our current altitude. The edges of the craters that form the Silvestri group were full of tourists who marvelled at the formations, which were formed by the 1892 eruption and are not active anymore. We tried our first cannoli there – it’s Sicily’s pastry consisting of tube-shaped shells of fried pastry dough filled with a sweet, creamy filling and ricotta. We were even more delighted than the previous evening. We ate it all, but not enough to be full, and then went back to Catania. It was another exciting drive which could be described as a combination of a rally and Formula 1, since the driver took us to the city and through its streets very quickly and skilfully. On our second dinner, we tried the “gnocchi alla sorrentina” (gnocchi in tomato sauce with mozzarella and basil) and the homemade “limoncello” (liqueur made of a spirit, sugar and lemon zest) as a digestif.

Grand Tour destination and arancini

We started the day by trying the famous arancini. We tried them with all kinds of fillings (ragú, pistachio, spinach and prosciutto) and then took the train to Taormina, which was an important point on the famous Grand Tour in the 19th century. Grand Tours were long journeys young noblemen and aristocrats, mostly from northern, central and western Europe, took as they went to southern Europe – to the Mediterranean (especially Italy) – their primary motive being education. After getting off at the beautiful historical station, we climbed a slope with the old town. We stopped at the Piazza IX Aprile, at the city cathedral and, of course, at the impressive ancient amphitheatre Teatro Antico di Taormina, from which you can see the panorama of Mount Etna if the weather is nice. We spent quite some time enjoying the incredible view, but soon headed towards our next attraction – the Villa Comunale di Taormina city park. In addition to lush trees and other plants, the sea view and steep slopes, there are many wonderfully decorated buildings with steps in the park that just call for photographing. The city and its surroundings offer much more, though, such as the village of Castelmola above Taormina, which can be visited on foot, or the Alcantare gorge where the riverbed was formed by lava flows cooling when mixing with the cold water of the river that winds through the gorge and flows into the sea. This nature reserve is located deeper inland and was only accessible by car during our visit.

Our last stop, though, was the beach just before the Bell Island (Isola Bella), which can be accessed on foot through the sea, since there’s a narrow stretch of shallow water leading to it. The large crowds of tourists bathing in the sea and lying on recliners didn’t stop us from enjoying the Ionian Sea at least once. Before heading back, each of us treated themselves to a pizza in Catania. Mine was the “Patatina” (topped with fried potatoes and wiener sausages).

Ancient Greek settlement in Sicily and the granita dessert

We dedicated the fifth day for a journey to the southern part of the island and the city of Syracuse. The once most powerful Greek city in the Mediterranean, whose ancient city centre is comprised of Ortigia Island, did not disappoint. We were awaited by picturesque streets and rich history at every step. We visited the remnants of the Temple of Apollo, the Temple of Athena, the cathedral, the Fountain of Diana (the Roman goddess of the moon, hunt and nature, the equivalent to the Greek goddess Artemis), and the fortified embankment. After treating ourselves to pasta with pieces of the swordfish and pistachio pesto, we also made a stop in the mainland part of the city where we marvelled at the Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime – a Roman Catholica church from the previous century which, due to its height and architecture (it’s reminiscent of an inverted ice cream cone) can be seen from quite a distance. We also stopped near the Greek theatre in Syracuse before jumping on the train. It has survived the test of time since the 5th century BC and it’s the largest ancient theatre in Sicily, also listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (the second-largest ancient theatre is located in Taormina). Since we didn’t have enough time and the park was too large for a quick visit, we decided to explore the area next time.

When we got back to Catania, we went to taste Sicily’s “granita” dessert before dinner. It’s a partly frozen dessert made of sugar, various aromas and water. We each ordered our own with a special flavour, one that can be more difficult to find elsewhere in Italy and is more common in Sicily, namely the pistachio, almond and lemon flavour. The only thing left waiting for us before bed were the delicious arancini and spending time in a good company.

“A climb up a mountain” and the last culinary speciality

We were lucky to not know what awaited us on the sixth day of our trip, though we’d still go regardless. We took the train towards the island’s interior in the morning to see Sicily’s typical town, Enna. We got off at the right train station but, because of our carelessness, we didn’t pay enough attention to its location, which led to us having to climb up to the town for over an hour (the town is located 931 metres above sea level and is the highest regional capital in Italy). Of course, it wasn’t too big of a challenge for us, since we were used to walking. And our effort paid off soon after: we enjoyed some good coffee at the square with almost no tourists around, and observed the locals who hurried around running errands. We walked to the Belvedere di Enna viewpoint, past the cathedral and to the Castello di Lombardia. The view encompassed all sides of Sicily’s hilly landscape and the nearby Calascibetta, which can be best seen from Belvedere di Enna. While making the descent and returning back down, we found out that we couldn’t get back to Catania by train. All the trains from Palermo to Catania had been cancelled. Why? An unexploded metal object had been found near the train tracks – a WWII bomb, or at least that’s what they said at the station. We had no choice but to go back to Enna. Luckily, a bus came and took us up the hill, which we had previously had to hike, and from there we drove back to Catania in a couple of hours. The drive was a long one and it was our last evening in Sicily, so we went out for dinner. I ordered the famous horsemeat balls with caramelised onion, Ragusano cheese and potatoes with vegetables. I can easily say it was the best dish I ate on the trip.

After our last breakfast on the island, which included arancini and cannoli, we returned to Venice where we all went our separate ways because I had to stay in the city for two extra days due to obligations.