Sicily's Best Asset: The Sicilians Themselves

The sun is shining, all is well. We leave Villa Farli tomorrow.

Sicily's greatest asset is its people. Sicilians are a delight. They are direct and assertive in their communication style, and at the same time they are pleasant and go to great lengths to be helpful. None of us have encountered any rough edges in our interaction.

Service personnel seem happy with life and their jobs, which contrasts sharply with the sullen attititude encountered in many places, which certainly includes the United States.

'Where can I find an ATM, please?' The waiter tells the owner he is leaving for a moment and takes one of our group in his own car to an ATM and brings him back.

'Where is X restaurant?' The person will most likely lead you there in their car.

A restaurant bill is incorrect. It is discussed assertively, in detail, but without any sign of defensiveness or irritation.

The people's attitude: Italy is nice, but Sicily is BELLO. 'I had the good fortune to be born here, live here and I hope to die here.'

There is, of course, high unemployment and economic hardship. Many smaller towns are closed up with houses and business locales abandoned--drab and sad, falling into ruin. Young people leave for better opportunity. Nonetheless, with all of the archeological sites, fine art and history here, our group of ten friends agree that the Sicilian people themselves have been our best and most enjoyable discovery.

18 May 2008 - P.S. Ubiquitous Sicilian charm does not seem to radiate into Palermo and vicinity. This may be a general characteristic of populous urban areas.

Southern Sicily

Yesterday we visited the Greek ruins at Agrigento; today we are in the golden city of Noto. It is very windy--and chilly. All is well.

Villa Farli, Sicily

Villa Farli is an 18th Century farmhouse just a few minutes’ drive from the beautiful Baroque town of Scicli and a stone’s throw away from a series of sandy beaches. We have rented the Villa and are spending the week of May 10-17 here with our amigos from Austin.

Di Vendicari Nature Reserve

Just south of Siracusa on the east coast of Sicily, Di Vendicari is an excellent place to observe wading birds, shorebirds, songbirds and hawks, especially during this time of Spring migration of birds from Africa to Europe and Asia. Over 250 species of birds have been observed at Di Vendicari, which includes a wetland area. The photo is of a secluded cove by the sea.

Siracusa, Sicily

We are visiting Siracusa today. Tomorrow we will go for a few hours to Di Vendicari nature reserve nearby to see waterbirds. Saturday we meet our amigos from Austin here in Siracusa.

Located near the southeastern corner of Sicily on the Ionian coast, Siracusa (Syracuse) is built on an ancient Greek settlement founded by Corinthians in 734 BC. More than any other modern city in Sicily, Syracuse manifests a visible continuity from its ancient Greek past. It was the most important city in Magna Graecia, with a population of around 300,000, and for a time rivaled Athens as the most important city of the Greek world.

Mt. Etna

Mount Etna is located on the east coast of Sicily, close to Messina and Catania. It is the largest active volcano in Europe, currently standing about 3,326 m (10,910 ft) high. Mount Etna is one of the most active volcanoes in the world and is in an almost constant state of eruption. The fertile volcanic soils support extensive agriculture, with vineyards and orchards spread across the lower slopes of the mountain and the broad Plain of Catania to the south. Today we drove around the volcano through forests and up to the bare, black lava fields. Last night it snowed on the summit.

Raptor Migration - Strait of Messina

We are very excited to see the Spring migration from Africa. We will observe from the northern mountains on the west side of the Strait.

Strait of Messina channel: c.20 mi (32 km) long and from 2 to 10 mi (3.2-16 km) wide, separating the Italian peninsula from Sicily and connecting the Ionian and Tyrrhenian seas. Reggio di Calabria, in SW Italy, and Messina, in NE Sicily, are the main ports. A ferry crosses the dangerous waters of the strait from Messina to Villa San Giovanni. The currents, whirlpools, and winds of the strait, which still hamper navigation, gave rise in ancient times to many legends about its dangers to navigators.

According to one legend Circe, jealous of the sea god Glaucus' love for Scylla, changed her from a beautiful nymph into a horrible doglike creature with six heads and twelve feet; according to another, Amphitrite, jealous of Poseidon's love for her, transformed her into the ugly monster. Scylla lived on the rocks on the Italian side of the Strait of Messina, where she seized sailors from passing ships and devoured them. On the other side of the strait was the whirlpool Charybdis. Odysseus in his wanderings passed between them, as did Jason and the Argonauts.

Birding above the Strait of Messina

Today we join a Sicilian birding and conservation group at the Messina Raptor Camp, with whom we spend spend four days and three nights observing and assisting with the migration census. The red hawk shapes on the above map show our principal observation points, and the house is where we stay.

Taormina, Sicily

Today we are visiting Taormina. From Monte Tauro, Taormina looks out over two large bays and to the South at Mount Etna, Europe's highest active volcano. Taormina has been a favored destination for millenia. The Sicels, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Saracens, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards chose Taormina for their residences because of its mild climate and beauty.

Mangiare in Sicilia!

Eating in Sicily

Blood oranges: I love them. Octopus
Spaghetti a la siciliana

Sicily

Today we fly to Catania, the second largest city in Sicily. Catania is located on Sicily's east coast and faces the Ionian Sea.

Floating off the toe of the Italian mainland, the island of Sicily is noticeably distinct from the rest of Italy. Here Europe takes on the flavors of Greece and North Africa. The unique history of Sicily, much invaded and an ancient centre of 'Magna Graecia' has given it a unique, hybrid culture. Sicily also has its own language, Sicilianu, a close cousin of Italian, painted with tones of Greek, Arabic and other languages. It's the first language of the island, although standard Italian (and indeed English) is spoken in shops and hotels.

The Trinacria, symbol of Sicily, is reminiscent of the island's shape.

The flag of Sicily.

Throughout much of its history, Sicily has been considered a strategic location due in large part to its importance for Mediterranean trade routes. The area was highly regarded as part of Magna Graecia, with Cicero describing Siracusa as the greatest and most beautiful city of all Ancient Greece. The city of Siracusa guarded the Strait of Messina. The Greeks arrived around 750BC to displace the ancient inhabitants: the Sicani, the Elymians and the Ligures. The Greeks were in turn overthrown by the rise of Rome in the late pre-Christian era. Christianity arrived around 200 AD, and then began of a procession of invaders including Vandals, Goths, Byzantines, Lombards, Normans, Spaniards, Persians, Aragonese and others. As late as the 19th century, raiders crossed from North Africa to capture men as slaves for their galleys and women for their brothels.

Sicily is an autonomous region of Italy and currently has five million inhabitants. It is also the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, though several much smaller islands surrounding it are also considered part of Sicily.

Southern Sicily is much closer to Tunisia than to the rest of Italy and Europe.

The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. An offshoot emerged on the East Coast of the United States and in Australia during the late 19th century. According to historian Paolo Pezzino: "The Mafia is a kind of organized crime being active not only in several illegal fields, but also tending to exercise sovereignty functions – normally belonging to public authorities – over a specific territory…" The Mafia is purported to be alive and well in Sicily today.

Think Sicily: Online Travel Guide to Sicily

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mafia
http://www.knowital.com/sicily/