Sicily is a good neighbour to have. The food is fantastic and art, culture and historical sites abound. And of course there is Etna!
In spring the hovercraft crossing is always a bit tricky so we decided to take the plane to Comiso, a small airport near Ragusa. The flight is so short, you arrive before you start worrying about the kid kicking your seat from the row behind you.
About an hour’s drive north of Comiso is Piazza Armerina. This curiously named town (the English translation would be Armerina Square) is famous for the nearby Unesco World Heritage Site, the Villa Romana del Casale.
Situated in beautiful surroundings, this Roman Villa from the 4th Century AD contains some of the most elaborate and astounding mosaics in the world. They are incredibly well preserved due to a landslide that buried the villa and its treasures beneath it. There are over 3000 square metres of mosaic flooring, wall mosaics and frescoes throughout the site of this former governatorial villa.
You might have come across an image of the most famous one, the ‘bikini girls’, a floor mosaic showing female athletes in bikini-style clothing which was worn during competitions. There are pictorial narratives of mythology, nature and hunting scenes, exotic animals as well as scenes from the aristocratic owners’ daily life. There are also purely geometrical patterns, precisely executed in harmonious colour palettes.
My photographs don’t do the mosaics justice. For obvious preservation purposes visitors can tour the site only on wooden walkways a few metres above ground. Although this gives a fantastic bird’s-eye view it does not allow for detailed photographs (unless you are equipped with a good zoom lens).
For really good close-ups of the mosaics and extensive information about the site, click here.
Our journey then lead us further North to the centre of Sicily, the hilltop town of Enna. From Enna you have the most amazing views of Etna, both from the belvedere in the city centre and the Norman castle at the Eastern end of town. There is also a beautiful cathedral with its wooden coffered ceiling and a quirky little archaeological museum that whets the appetite to explore the archaeological sites in the surrounding countryside.
In Enna everyone will ask you “Siete stati nel ‘Outlet?” (Did you go to the Sicilia Outlet Village?) which is just 20 minutes down the highway towards Catania. It seems that’s what all the Maltese that end up in Enna for lunch do. Well, shopping will have to wait until my next visit, as this trip was ‘culture only’. So after we left Enna, we crossed the highway and went up another hill, past the village of Calascibetta in search for a prehistoric necropolis called Realmese.
I had picked up a leaflet about it at the hotel and it is also quite well signposted so we were surprised to find we were the only visitors there on this sunny afternoon. The tombs are hewn into the rocky sides of the valley, accessible by a short walk and even shorter climb. The valley was green and slightly marshy from the winter rains, the atmosphere was eerily quiet, befitting for a necropolis.
Not far from there, in Canalotto, is a nature reserve that houses a Byzantine village, entirely carved out of another rocky hillside. It is one of the highest points in the area and the views across the valleys towards Lake Villarosa are breathtaking.
So if you are tired of the tourist crowds in Sicily’s Southeastern Baroque cities I suggest you move inland and back in time and go exploring off the beaten track. You won’t regret it, I am sure.
Here is some information about the museum in Enna and some more things to do in and around Enna.
Read about some mythology connected to Enna.
If you know Italian you can find more useful information here.
Again, I suggest that you click on the individual photos for a chance to zoom in and some more information in the captions.
