Thanks to Hollywood, Sicily is the land of mafia myths – but don’t be fooled. For the adventurous traveller, this is an island idyll waiting to be discovered
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Visiting Sicily for the first time can be a disorienting experience. Echoes of the past provide an intoxicating backdrop to an onslaught on the senses, as daily life is played out against ancient ruins, Norman churches, Moorish turrets and medieval markets.
The problem is that visitors to the island tend to get so wrapped up in its history that they miss out on what’s happening in the here and now. Sicily in general – and Palermo in particular – is currently enjoying something of a rebirth, with chic restaurants, swanky bars and cutting-edge art venues springing up everywhere. So, at the risk of sounding like a philistine, toss the history books to one side and instead soak everything up as one whole, giddy entity.
Style central
The north-western corner of the island is dominated by Palermo. Sicily’s capital has a real buzz about it, with a generation of younger Palermitani opting to stay put in their hometown rather than move away to Italy’s industrial north or overseas. Imbued with a new energy and sense of purpose, La Kalsa, previously a pocket of crime-ridden urban decay, is once again the city’s beating heart, typified by venues like the Spasimando (44–48 Via Spasimo), a converted gothic church with medieval arches and hidden garden, and Kursaal Kalhesa (21 Foro Umberto I, tel. 091 616 2111), a cocktail-bar-cum-bookshopcum-performance-space with an alfresco restaurant built into the old city walls. Its sister venue, Kursaal Tonnara – Vergine Maria (9 Via Bordonaro, tel. 091 637 2267), is in a converted tuna fishery further along the waterfront and enjoys a striking location and relaxed atmosphere.
Via Liberta, with its designer shops and side streets heading towards the port, is perfect for an early evening passeggiata. As ever in Sicily, from here you’re only a short walk from one of the island’s great religious relics – in this case Antonello da Messina’s ‘L’Annunziata’, on show at the Palazzo Abatellis Sicilian Regional Gallery (4 Via Alloro, tel. 091 623 0011, €6, open daily), hidden down a dusty side street in La Kalsa. Dating from the 15th century, it shows Mary interrupted at her reading by the Angel of the Annunciation.
After satisfying your cultural appetites, check out Antica Focacceria San Francesco (58 Via Paternostro, tel. 091 320264), a veritable Palermo institution and favoured pit-stop of Sicily’s long list of literary greats. Try the pani ca’ meusa – fried calf spleen served with grated cacciocavallo cheese in fresh bread. Then head next door to Mi Manda Piccone (59 Via A Paternostro), a fine flag-waver for the region’s wines, with well-drilled staff and well-heeled locals. Once the wine takes its toll, you’ll be ready to bed down at Harmony (48 Via Lungarini, tel. 091 617 7944), a popular haunt for performers at the nearby theatre and Spasimo concert hall.
A shore thing
Italian beaches are rarely for the faint-hearted or flabby-stomached, and Sicily is no exception. The peak summer months see locals heading in their droves to claim a few square feet of sand. However, pitch up a little earlier in the year and you can have the island’s coastline pretty much all to yourself. Mondello is the favourite spot for Palermitani to cool off and show off. Lying some 10km from the city centre, it’s easily accessible (by bus or train, with the former running until late at night, leaving from Piazza Sturzo; see palermotourism.com for details) and large enough to cope with an influx of crowds. From May onwards, the beach regularly hosts a variety of festivals, from windsurfing to jazz.
Once you’ve finished worshipping the sun, shake out the sand with a visit to the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia at nearby Monte Pellegrino. Here you can pay your respects to Palermo’s patron saint, who lived in a cave on the same spot in the 12th century. If you don’t feel like exerting yourself, have a leisurely lunch at Da Calogero (22 Via Torre Mondello, tel. 091 684 1333), a beachside charmer that serves up a mean swordfish.
Off the beaten track
Bagheria, 15km from Palermo on the way east towards Cefalù, isn’t the most striking of towns, but it does have a few pointers for the more culturally inclined. The Civica Galleria d’Arte Renato Guttuso (Villa Cattolica, 9 Via Consolare (SS 113), €4.50, closed Mondays) houses works by the island’s most celebrated painter, Renato Guttuso, while the Villa Palagonia (3 Piazza Garibaldi, tel. 091 932088, €4, open daily) is a must-see.
The best place to eat is the Trattoria Don Ciccio (87 Via del Cavaliere, tel. 091 932442), five minutes away from the Villa Palagonia. Pasta con le sarde, tuna al ragu, polpettone meatloaf – they’re all there, and at around €25 per head, there’s really no excuse not to give it a try.
Cefalù still gets billed as an ‘undiscovered gem’ but is now a regular dropping-off point for the tourist hordes. Wander a little off the beaten track, however, and plenty of treats await in its natural harbour and maze of narrow medieval streets. Away from the sea, its central focus is the twin-towered cathedral, which is the island’s most impressive example of perfectly preserved Byzantine architecture (Piazza Duomo, open daily until 7pm).
If you’re planning on staying in the area for a while and fancy finding a quieter setting to soak up some rays, the neighbouring town of Pollina may be just what you’re looking for. The trip is worth it just to check out Re Befè (Parco delle Madonie). Actually outside of the town itself and towards the Madonie hills and nature reserve, this new restaurant and wine bar is a real treat. You might like it so much that you choose to stay at the Alberi del Paradiso (18–20 Via dei Mulini, tel. 0921 423900), but for a cheaper option try Locanda Cangelosi (26 Via Umberto I, tel. 0921 421591).
Small pleasures
Swinging back west of Palermo, San Vito lo Capo is a fishing town perched on the north-western tip of the island and the perfect microcosm of Sicily’s North African roots. Strolling along Via Savoia, with its Arabic architecture, you quickly get a sense of being on the edge of Europe. In keeping with its Moorish heritage, the town’s big culinary speciality is couscous, and an annual couscous festival spills out onto the beach every September.
The hilltop town of Erice is best reached by cable car for views overlooking Trapani and out to Castellammare del Golfo. While Trapani took the brunt of Allied bombing during World War II, Erice, at 2,500 feet, escaped unscathed, leaving its medieval patchwork of streets, Pepoli castle (open daily), Chiesa Matrice church (Via Vito Carvini, open daily) and temple ruins intact. Despite its popularity with tourists, there’s definitely something of the night about this place – Halloween is the town’s big annual party. The Antica Pasticceria del Convento (1 Via Guarnotti) and Pasticceria Maria Grammatico (14 Via Vittorio Emanule, tel. 0923 869390) are your best bets for local mustazzola dessert biscuits, but for something more substantial, try Monte San Giuliano (7 Vicolo San Rocco, tel. 0923 869595). Tucked away down a narrow alleyway, this walled-garden rustic restaurant is big on fish freshly delivered from Trapani.
Un parfum de Sicile
La Sicile connaît à l’heure actuelle une renaissance, avec l’émergence sur toute l’île de restaurants chics et d’événements artistiques de premier ordre.
Palerme est une ville ardente, et La Kalsa, son quartier central, se caractérise par ‘le’ Spasimo, une église gothique récemment restaurée, et le Kursaal Kalhesa, dans l’enceinte de la vieille ville, un espace multifonction comprenant un bar, une librairie, un lieu de spectacle et un restaurant avec terrasse extérieure.
Avant la grosse affluence des mois d’été, faites un saut sur la côte, à Mondello, pour humer l’air. A seulement dix kilomètres de Palerme, on y accède facilement par bus ou par train, et à partir de mai, la plage accueille régulièrement une série de festivals, du windsurfing au jazz. Arrêtez-vous le temps d’un lunch savoureux à Da Calogero, un coin charmant à front de mer qui sert de l’effroyable espadon.
A 15 kilomètres de Palerme, Bagheria possède quelques fleurons pour appâter les férus de culture. La Villa Palagonia est un must, avec ses 62 monstres qui peuplent les jardins dans des postures ornementales. On citera aussi la Galerie des miroirs avec ses fresques en trompe l’œil et autres excès. A cinq minutes de là, le meilleur endroit où se restaurer est la Trattoria Don Ciccio.
Cefalù n’est sans doute plus un trésor méconnu, mais il reste encore des endroits à découvrir comme Pietro Serio, pour les douceurs et les pâtisseries, ou La Galleria Bar pour quelque chose d’un peu plus corsé.
La ville voisine de Pollina vaut le détour juste pour goûter la table du Re Befè, un nouveau restaurant et bar à vin qui s’adresse aux vrais gourmets. Logez à l’Alberi del Paradiso.
San Vito lo Capo, à l’ouest de Palerme, témoigne des racines nord-africaines de la Sicile. La spécialité culinaire locale est le couscous, et le meilleur endroit pour les amateurs est La Gna Sara.
Enfin, ne manquez pas Erice et ses vues surprenantes surplombant Trapani et Castellammare del Golfo.
Een vleugje Sicilië
Sicilië beleeft momenteel een heropleving, met modieuze restaurants en trendy kunsthappenings.
In Palermo valt altijd wat te beleven, zeker in het kloppende hart La Kalsa. Zo zijn er Lo Spasimo, een omgebouwde Gotische kerk, en het Kursaal Kalhesa, een performanceruimte annex cocktailbar, boekenwinkel én tuinrestaurant dat in de oude stadsmuren werd geïntegreerd.
Bezoek nog voor de drukke zomermaanden Mondello voor wat verkoeling aan de kust. Op amper 10 kilometer van Palermo is het vlot bereikbaar per bus of trein. Vanaf mei is er altijd wel een strandgebeuren, van windsurfen tot jazz. Probeer de heerlijke zwaardvis bij Da Calogero, een charmant restaurant aan het strand.
Bagheria, op 15 kilometer van Palermo, zal de cultuurliefhebber verrassen. Zo is er de Villa Palagonia, met in de siertuinen 62 monsters in vreemde poses, en binnen een spiegelpaleis en ander fraais. De beste plaats voor een lunch is Trattoria Don Ciccio, op vijf minuten wandelen.
Iedereen heeft ondertussen Cefalù ontdekt, maar probeer toch Pietro Serio voor zoetigheid en gebak, terwijl La Galleria Bar dé plek is voor iets sterkers.
De Re Befè is de trip naar het naburige Pollina zeker waard. Dit nieuwe restaurant annex wijnbar is pure verwennerij. Overnacht er in het Alberi del Paradiso.
Ontdek in San Vito lo Capo, ten westen van Palermo, de NoordAfrikaanse roots van Sicilië. Couscous is de plaatselijke specialiteit, en smaakt het lekkerst in La Gna Sara.
En vergeet ook Erice niet, voor een adembenemend zicht over Trapani en Castellammare del Golfo.
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