Sicily | Syracusefan.com

Sicily

Oakland

2022 Iggy Winner: ACC Record
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Going to Sicily in early Nov. for a week. Top things for me are ancient ruins, food, and art. Any thoughts on those, airports? Driving a car?
 
Don't get involved with any of their women. Trust me.
 
I've been to Sicily several times, including this past summer. I've mainly done the east side and typically stay in Cefalu (great resort time).

What are some of your plans?

Agrigento is nice.

Be wary of the train on the north end. I was ok there this summer, but I hear they are doing major construction (adding a second track)
 
I was in Scotland a number of years ago. I liked the people there but was not impressed with the women. Came home and married a full blooded Scot within two years - wish I had minded my first impression but that is not a condemnation of Scottish women in general. I'll remember your advise.

Don't get involved with any of their women. Trust me.
 
My trip was delayed 2 years; I just got back this week from Sicily. Visited Siracusa, Agrigento, Enna, Mt Etna, Taormina, and Catania. Had trouble finding pizza that we liked (really!) but the food and wine was generally quite good and I love the outdoors dining. Cuttlefish ink pasta is a trip! The coasts (and swimming) are very nice and the inland valleys with the towns up on the hills are very charming.

But Sicily is a 2nd world country. Commercial and residential buildings are generally not modern, not well maintained, dirty, and in poor condition. There are no modern downtown centers. I think the tallest building I saw was probably less than 10 stories. The large amount of trash on the sides of the roads is very uncharming.

Siracusa is a nice place to visit. Ortygia is the island quarter of Siracusa and the focus of tourists. The water, the views, the narrow alley ways are just what one is there for. But considering that Syracuse was, off and on for 1,600 years, the premier city (largest and richest) in the Mediterranean world, it is sad that there is so little left of that world. The Roman takeover in 212 BC erased 500 years of Greek culture from the city and the Arab takeover in 878 AD erased 1,000 years of Roman culture and ended Syracuse's reign as a leading city, and an ancient city. By that time, the city had been repeatedly stripped of all its treasures, and the ancient temples and buildings had mostly been destroyed. A medieval town replaced the ancient city. The earthquake of 1693 destroyed much of that, so now the main buildings are ~300 years old and in the baroque style (not my favorite). To me, this is quite sad but mostly expected. I'm glad I got to see what is there.

In Caltanisette, we saw a sign stating that Rochester, NY, is its sister city. Drove thru the town of Paterno; like happy Valley, it is a sad place but for a different reason.
 

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