A view of Erice

Atop a mountain in a tiny walled town in Sicily, you can see the whole of Trapani, wonderful blue sea and a perfect landscape. It’s my favorite view in all of Europe, so a visit to Erice, a stunning and secluded medieval town, is one of my top Europe travel tips.

This hidden gem of Sicily is located at the top of Mount Erice, 750m above sea level. There are a couple of ways to get there from Trapani (flights from the UK run daily). Obviously, you can get a bus from the city, but the most exciting way is easily by cable car.

Follow buses to the East of Trapani, and you’ll find on that takes you in the general direction. The cable car is only a thirty minute walk from Trapani center (although not in the nicest area of the city so I wouldn’t suggest walking it alone in the evening). The cable car runs until 8pm every evening and it’s not only the quickest way to get to Erice, it’s also the most exciting. It’s about €8 for the trip, just make sure you don’t lose your ticket!

By Karen Bryan

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Palermo Privata

It sits on the north shore of Sicily on a fan-shaped stretch of land between two towering stone promontories, and it’s been there, in one form or another, for almost 3,000 years. Empire after empire has trodden upon the place: Greeks, Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans; then Vandals, Normans, Moors, Spaniards; then Italians, the United States Army; and since the end of World War II, Cosa Nostra, whose influence over the place is only recently waning. For millennia it’s been built up and knocked down, robbed and bombed, patched up and left to fend for itself. So it is a spectral city, a city of ghosts and ruins, amid which the living citizens slip quietly and for the most part without expression; an inward city, not unkind but very private — Italia insulare, as they call it. Palermo can be very beautiful, in a decaying, Hubert Robert way; on sunny days the sky overhead is Mediterranean enamel blue; the food is wondrous. But above all, Palermo is full of secrets and very strange.

Even notional comparisons are hard to come by and incomplete. Like Naples, Palermo is famous for its depredations, its crime and its unemployment; but Naples is far busier and more worldly. Like Havana, Palermo has the faint, heady air of isolation and rotting elegance. But Havana is wide open, a city seemingly without interiors, whereas Palermo is nothing but: for all its markets and sidewalk restaurants, it feels as if most of life takes place indoors, behind curtains.

Read more at NYTimes.com

The Cous Cous Festival in San Vito Lo Capo (Annual Event)

September 21, 2010 5:00 pm

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September 26, 2010 5:00 pm

The ancient fishing village of San Vito Lo Capo, located between the Gulf of Castellammare and the city of Trapani on the northern coast of Sicily, hosts an annual Cous Cous Festival each September. The festival is going to take place from  September 21 through 26.

Dedicated to exploring the culinary and cultural aspects of the tasty Mediterranean dish, the festival celebrates the cultural legacy of the Arabic peoples who ruled Sicily for more than 150 years. Cous cous originally arrived in Sicily with the Arabs from Morocco and other areas of Northern Africa who landed on the island in 827. By 903 they ruled all of Sicily and would continue to do so until the Normans began their conquest of the island in 1060. Despite the change in rulers the cultural and culinary stamp of Arabic culture would remain.

Cous Cous

Cous Cous is a food from Morocco of Berber origin. It consists of spherical granules which are made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating them with finely ground wheat flour. Traditional couscous requires considerable preparation time and is usually steamed (Wikipedia.org). Cous cous is a communal meal, that comes served from a large round platter. Another variety of cous cous, Israeli cous cous, or by its Arabic name, maftoul, is larger–almost pearl-size–nuttier-tasting than its familiar Moroccan counterpart.

The Festival

San Vito Lo Capo’s Cous Cous Festival’s principal event is a cous cous cook-off with the best cous cous Chefs from Israel, Morocco, Egypt, France, Algeria, Tunisia and Italy participating to determine who indeed is the cappo of cous cous (the best chef) in the Mediterranean.

The festival also includes four evenings of music, featuring free performances by Sicilian and African World Music artists Sudd MM-Anita Vitale, Roy Paci & Aretuska , Dam, Khaled, Agricantus, and Sasao Meravigliao in the Piazza Santuario in the heart of the ancient town.

Source: www.couscousfest.it

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Easter in Sicily

March 29, 2010 5:00 pm

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April 4, 2010 10:00 pm

Sicily is the richest Italian region in terms of festival, events and folk customs connected to the Holy Week. Among the most evocative and renowned religious manifestations of devotion are the mysteries of Trapani. Many other can be found between the Madonie and Nebrodi mountains, Palermo and Ragusa, making Easter time one of the most characteristic
periods of the year.

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The union between sacred and secular is one of the most meaningful characteristics of Sicilian culture and Easter is undoubtedly one of the religious celebration that most accentuates this dualism. All over the island, in large towns and tiny villages alike, processions weave their way through narrow streets and squares: saints’ statues carried on the shoulders by those devoted become the main attraction, surrounded by lights, stalls with meat, fruit and sweets, in a mix of mysticism and religiosity. The Spanish and Jesuit inheritance of religious festivals has a long tradition in the ancestral pagan traditions that used to mark the arrival of the Spring, now incorporated into the religious festivities.

The mysteries in Trapani on Good Friday is undoubtedly one of the most ancient and evocative celebrations of the week preceding Easter. This feast, in which the townsmen carry statues through the streets, has Spanish origins and has been taking place for over 400 years. Each statue is made out of wood by the best Trapani’s artisans. One by one the statues represent the stations of the cross, and thousands of Sicilians line the streets awaiting the arrival of the Virgin Mary in search of her son. The mysteries tradition is not only celebrated in Trapani, but also in the close medieval village of Erice and in Marsala, where instead of the wooden statues there is a wonderful representation of the stations of the cross. These processions have kept intact the theatrical aspect of the performance as it was in Medieval time. There are many interesting events not to miss if you’re visiting Sicily during  Easter time and want to taste the atmosphere of age-old traditions.

For more information to visit Sicily during Easter or other times, please visit www.dicasainsicilia.com

DiCasaInSicilia is the perfect partner for those who want to experience an unforgettable holiday in Sicily, with a wide selection of charming accommodations in or in the direct vicinity of the old town centers where some of the most beautiful Holy Week processions of the island take place.

Almond Blossom Festival in Agrigento, Sicily

February 14, 2010 9:00 am

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February 21, 2010 10:00 pm

Agrigento will host the 65th edition of its Almond Blossom Festival this coming February 14-21, 2010. The event showcases folklorist groups and musical bands from diverse parts of the world: Armenia, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Cipro, Georgia, Guatemala, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Senegal, Serbia, Spain, Turkey and Ukraine (see last year video of a Korean group below). Tourists can admire the almond blossoms in the beautiful setting of the Valley of the Temples.

The Almond Blossom Festival originated from an idea of Count Alfonso Gaetani in 1934. The purpose was to celebrate the mild climate in Agrigento and promote typical Sicilian products.

Video of Agrigento

Enjoy this video of Agrigento in Sicily!

Agrigento – Sicily from Web TV Italy on Vimeo.

Palermo is among the top 10 undiscovered culinary capitals

According to www.askmen.com Palermo is among the top 10 undiscovered culinary capitals

For foodies looking for somewhere new to explore and give their taste buds a work-out, men’s Web portal AskMen.com has come up with a list of the world’s top 10 undiscovered culinary gems.

The list was compiled by editors at www.askmen.com and is not endorsed by Reuters:

5. Palermo, Italy

Sicilian culture is the product of many influences and its cuisine reflects this. In Palermo, enjoy greens and vegetables, and fish and grain, seasoned with the best influences of the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Try restaurants like Il Mulinazzo and Osteria Altri Tempi for classic Sicilian favourites.

Read more at Canada.com

Ryanair is expanding its Sicily operations

Ryanair is expanding its Sicily operations. The carrier will open 13 new routes from Trapani next spring.

Two new Ryanair planes will be based at Trapani from next March. The move is good news for those renting their Sicily villas to holidaymakers.

Services will start between Trapani and Billund (Denmark), Bratislava, Cagliari, Eindhoven, Genoa, Gothenburg, Ibiza, Karlsruhe, Krakow, Maastricht, Memmingen, Trieste and Valencia.

Ryanair will also increase the frequency of its existing routes between Trapani and Brussels, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. As a result of its expansion, Ryanair hopes to carry two million passengers through Trapani per year.

The carrier will also expand its operations at Bologna in the spring. An extra plane will be based at the airport from March.

The Bologna expansion will see a new route to Malaga added. The frequency of its Bologna services between Stansted and Ibiza will also increase.

Source holidaylettings.co.uk.

The Skinny on Taormina, Sicily by Matthew Bamman

The first time I visited Taormina was somewhat by accident. If you enter Sicily by ferry from Reggio di Calabria, the final city on the toe of the boot, and decide to go south on Sicily’s eastern shore—toward cities like Catania or Syracuse—Taormina is one of the first towns you’ll encounter. Strapped for time, I wasn’t sure where I wanted to go in Sicily. But when I saw the striking Isola Bella, a tiny island straight out of Treasure Island, as I passed on the train, the striking natural beauty of Taormina drew me in.

Read more at EuropeUpClose.com

Galleria Regionale di Sicilia – Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo reopens

Galleria Regionale di Sicilia – Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo reopens to the public. The building was designed by Carnalivari at the end of the 15th century as the residence of Francesco Abatellis, harbormaster of the Kingdom of the two Sicilies. The palace is one of the most significant Gothic-Catalan architectonic samples in Western Sicily. Its gallery features sculptures and paintings from the 12th to the 18th century.

Highlights: the Triumph of Death fresco; the Annunciation by Antonello da Messina; The Malvagna Triptych by Mabuse; fine collection of statues by Antonello Gagini and Francesco Laurana.

Address: Via Alloro 4, Palermo
Tel.: (091) 616 43 17
Fax: (091) 617 21 87
Web site: www.regione.sicilia.it

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