Sicily

Sicily (Italian: Sicilia) is a rugged and attractive island (the largest one in the Mediterranean Sea) on the southern tip of Italy, and is one of the country's 20 regions. It is separated from the mainland region of Calabria by the 5 km Straits of Messina. It can get very hot during the summer, so it is better to visit during spring and autumn, while it is still quite pleasant during winter.

Capital Palermo
Currency euro (EUR)
Population 5 million (2015)
Electricity 230 volt / 50 hertz (Europlug, Schuko, Type L)
Country code +39
Time zone UTC+01:00, UTC+02:00
Emergencies 112, 113 (police), 115 (fire department), 118 (emergency medical services)
Driving side right
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Provinces

 Agrigento
The archaeological remains of Greek antiquity here are among the main tourist attractions of Italy.
 Caltanissetta
Tourism here is the least developed in Sicily, which provides opportunities for the more adventurous traveler.
 Catania
Mount Etna (the highest active volcano in Europe) is a highlight of a visit to Sicily.
 Enna
In the only province that is not adjacent to the sea, the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina is on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
 Messina
The gates to the island, also famous for Taormina and its Greek Theatre.
 Palermo
A popular tourist destination, in particular the city of Palermo with its monumental art and culture, and the beaches of Mondello and Cefalù.
 Ragusa
The baroque towns of Ragusa, Modica and Scicli.
 Syracuse
The beautiful city of Syracuse, Noto and Palazzolo Acreide, and the archaeological site Pantalica, all included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
 Trapani
The picturesque town of Erice and the impressive archeological park of Selinunte.

Cities
Cefalù
  • 🌍 Palermo – the throbbing capital city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy; it is over 2,700 years old
  • 🌍 Agrigento – to the south and particularly noted for the Valle dei Templi (Valley of Temples) (UNESCO World Heritage)
  • 🌍 Catania – busy university city and economic center, great for nightlife, the gate to Mount Etna (UNESCO World Heritage)
  • 🌍 Gela – one of the most important old Greek cities, archaeological centre and sea resort on the south coast
  • 🌍 Marsala – interesting museum, home of the famous wine
  • 🌍 Messina – busy city and link to the mainland
  • 🌍 Ragusa – impressive baroque architecture (UNESCO World Heritage)
  • 🌍 Syracuse (Siracusa) – attractive old town mostly based on the small (1km by 500m) island of Ortigia and Greek ruins (UNESCO World Heritage)
  • 🌍 Trapani – attractive city and gateway to Pantelleria and the Egadi islands

Other destinations
The Aeolian Islands

Understand

Sicily has a long history of foreign domination, from the Greeks to the Romans, Arabs, Normans, Catalans. The result is a mixed culture where every single domination left something to see, to taste, to hear.

Sicily is a huge island where every little city seems to have its own culture. You will find a great variety of local specialties in all cities over the island.

The Sicilians are a proud people. Though most are somewhat conservative, they are open-minded to visitors.

Talk

Natives of Sicily speak Italian and modern schools teach English to students. Some people are also proficient in Sicilian, an ancient Romance language that is a separate language from Italian.

Get in

By plane

Sicily's main airports are in Palermo and Catania.

By train

Sicily is linked to the main Italian train network at Messina. Long distance trains from Rome and Naples and Milano cross the Straits of Messina by railferry and continue on to Palermo and Catania.

From Naples, it usually takes 8 hours, 10 from Rome, the train stops at Villa San Giovanni train station for about 10-15 minutes. Then it's rolled down to the Villa S.G. ferry dock, where wait about 20 minutes before the train rolls onto one of the ferries. On the ferry, you should get on the deck and watch the sea. It's a wonderful view, but don't forget the number of your train.

The 2010 timetable offers these direct trains:

  • IC Roma - Napoli - Messina - Palermo / Siracusa 2x daily
  • ICN Roma - Palermo InterCity Notte: Nighttrain, Seats, Couchette and Sleeper
  • ICN Roma - Siracusa InterCity Notte: Nighttrain, Seats, Couchette and Sleeper
  • E Venezia - Bologna - Firenze - Palermo/Siracusa Espresso: Fast-Train with Sleeper and Couchette only
  • E Milano - Bologna - Firenze - Palermo/Siracusa Espresso: Fast-Train with Sleeper and Couchette only
  • E Turino - Genova - Palermo/Siracusa Espresso: Fast-Train with Sleeper and Couchette only
  • E (Milano - ) Roma - Catania - Agrigento Espresso: Fast-Train only seating accommodation; from Milano 3x per week; from Roma daily

But you don't have to take a direct train. You can also take a train from Rome to Villa San Giovanni, and walk onboard the rail ferries (or another BLUVIA ferry), and take a local train from Messina centrale to Palermo and Catania

Detailed information is available at:

Car-train There are running car-trains from Venezia and Rome to Catania and Palermo. This is great offer for those who don't want to ride a car all day. you park your car onto a train. And some hours later, you can get your car at the Catania train station or Palermo, depends on what city you bought a ticket to. The car trains also run along with the night trains, so this is a great option.

Be aware: some trains on the island are very slow, for example it takes more than 7 hours between Siracusa and Trapani and it's about 450 km. But the IC (InterCity) trains that travel between Sicily and other Italian cities, run at much greater speed.

By bus

Long-distance buses link Rome and Naples to Catania and Palermo.

By boat

Large, cruise-ferries link Palermo with Civitavecchia, Naples, Genoa, Livorno, Sardinia and other Mediterranean destinations (Be sure to order place for your car, or yourself, if your a pedestrian.) Because only the Messina-straight ferries are open without reservation. There are also car ferries between Milazzo, the Aeolian Islands and Naples, and between Trapani and Tunis. From Catania you can reach Naples and Malta. From Messina you can reach Salerno. See all current ferry connections at TraghettiWeb.it or Ferrylines.com .

Across the Straits of Messina, there are at least hourly ferries between Messina on Sicily and Villa San Giovanni (14 km north of Reggio di Calabria) on the mainland. There are at least twenty of them, so don't worry about timetables or waiting too long. If you only drive a car, you can also drive on-board the BLUVIA rail/train ferries. There are also several hydrofoils each day between Messina and Reggio di Calabria.

If you do worry about timetables, which is not necessary, check carontetourist.it:

  • This one takes you right into Messina city and connects you to the Palermo - Catania highway:
  • And this one takes you to Messina Sud (Tremestieri) And does also connect you to the highway. This route is more for the people driving towards Catania:

And there are also ferries running from Reggio di Calabria, to Messina-Sud (Tremestieri):

There are Catamarans and ferries running to/ from Malta from Pozzallo (90 min) and Catania (3h).

Get around

Be careful, although public transport is very good during the week, there are not many services on Sundays - check the timetable carefully and ask the locals.

By car

The main roads are good, with four motorways (Catania-Palermo, Palermo-Mazara and Catania-Noto which are toll-free and Messina-Palermo where you have to pay). Little roads, mainly in mountain zones, are slower but offer great views.

For some regions you need to have snow chains in your car. For instance around Mount Etna you need them on board from December 1 till March 31. These roads are marked "transito con catene". Fines start at €80.

Motorways

A18 Messina - Catania (toll)

A18 Catania - Siracusa

A18 Siracusa - Ragusa - Gela (under construction - open from Siracusa to Noto)

A19 Palermo - Catania (free)

A20 Messina - Palermo (toll)

A29 Palermo - Mazzara (free)

A29dir Alcamo - Trapani (free)

By train

The railway network in Sicily is quite good and cheap. Regular, quite fast trains run on the main lines between Messina and Palermo and Catania, with fewer trains on the other routes.

Trains on some routes can be infrequent and slow so it's worth checking times in advance and having a plan B. Sometimes a service listed on a station timetable is actually a bus service leaving from outside the station.

As in the rest of Italy, tickets must be validated in the yellow machines found at stations - conductors may be lenient to tourists who didn't know this, but not necessarily.

By bus

The bus network in Sicily is quite extensive and cheap. The main hubs are Palermo and Catania, but routes link most of the main towns frequently and most small towns at least once a day. From virtually any town you will be able to get a bus direct to Palermo. For the AST company, go to the website and click on 'Autolinee'. There is also Interbus .

By boat

There are regular ferries and hydrofoils from Sicily to its Islands, although services are somewhat reduced during Spring and Autumn and even more so during Winter. Individual companies: SIREMAR , Liberty Lines and NGI. The main routes are:

By plane

If you have less time and more money, there are flights to Pantelleria and Lampedusa.

From Enna Water Aerodrome (Nicoletti Lake) with amphibious aircraft you can reach the Aeolian Islands, Palermo and Siracusa.

See
Temple of Concord, Agrigento

See locations pages for respective list of attractions. Check with the region's web pages for updates.

Do

Trekking in Sicily is going to expand. The Parks and the Nature Reserve are not very well organized but for this reason you'll have the opportunity to enjoy and discover the Sicilian Mountains and Nature. There are some wonderful treks you can do to enjoy the beauty of the main Sicilian sites like Nebrodi mountains, Madonie mountains, Etna volcano, etc.

Eat
Fish market at Syracuse

Making the most of its island coasts, Sicily has one of the world's best cuisines to offer. Much of the island's food is made with creatures of the sea. Unlike in the northern parts of Italy, cream and butter are hardly used for typical dishes in Sicily. Instead, the natives usually substitute tomatoes, lard (rarely) or olive oil. The cuisine is very exotic and has many spices and unique flavors to offer. Sicilians cultivate a uniquely Sicilian type of olive tree, which they affectionately call the "saracena". The food is typically Mediterranean but there are strong hints of Arabic and Spanish flavor (Sicily was conquered by many peoples during its long history). Sicilians like spices and have particular affinity for almond, jasmine, rosemary, mint and basil.

Sicilians notoriously have a sweet tooth and are among the best dessert-makers in Italy. Try 'cannoli' (tubular pastries filled with sweet ricotta cheese), 'granita' (ices mixed with real crushed fruit and juices), and their most famous export, 'cassata' (Arabic-inspired cake). Make sure not to pass up the pine-nut and almond biscuits, as they are always a crowd pleaser.

'Arancini' (sometimes Arancine), fried rice balls with fillings, is a Sicilian fast food that is relatively cheap. They can be hard to find outside Sicily, so try them while you're there.

Drink

Sicilians are not big alcohol drinkers (Sicily has the lowest rate of alcoholism in all of Italy) despite the fact that the island is home to more vineyards than any other Italian region and has one of Italy's most progressive wine industries. Noted mainly in the past for strong bulk wines and often sweet Moscato and Marsala, the island has switched its emphasis toward lighter, fruitier white and red wines.

Sicily is divided into three main producing wine districts:

  • Trapani province in the west;
  • Etna in the east;
  • Noto and Ragusa on the South east tip.

Best known Sicilian wines: Marsala, Nero d'Avola, Bianco d'Alcamo, Malvasia, Passito di Pantelleria, Cerasuolo di Vittoria, Etna Rosso, Etna Bianco.

Some Sicilian wine producers: Planeta; Cusumano; Tasca d’Almerita; Tenuta di Donnafugata; Feudo Principi di Butera (Zonin); Morgante; Duca di Salaparuta; Benanti; Palari; Firriato; Marco De Batoli; Salvatore Murana; Icone ( ).

Sicilians enjoy a fruity lemon liqueur called Limoncello during the long, hot and dry summers.

Stay safe

As in most of Italy, you should be aware of pickpockets. The well-known mafia almost never attacks tourists. There is not too much violence, but some neighborhoods can be hazardous, especially some suburbs in big cities like Catania, Messina or Palermo.

In the train, especially during the night, keep your wits about you, and try to stay with other travellers.

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