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Sicily is an open-air museum.
Many peoples have passed through this land: there have been Phoenicians,
Byzantines, Bourbons, Normans, Arabs, Piedmontese, Romans, Greeks.
Their legacy is not only recorded in the history books, but also at the
island's seven UNESCO World Heritage sites, which are worth a visit.
In 'The Wandering Life,' Guy de Maupassant writes that the hill of the
Valley of the Temples in Agrigento evokes in the ghosts of the past and
the gods of Olympus. And it is indeed so: a visit entails immersing
oneself in a landscape suspended between legend and history. After
starting in Agrigento, a good itinerary with an archaeological theme
must then continue eastward to Siracusa and the nearby Necropolis of
Pantalica. A visit here is dominated by prehistoric mystery: there are
more than 5,000 cave tombs carved into the rock walls in the canyon
created by the Anapo and Calcinara rivers. Siracusa, on the other hand,
offers one of the most extraordinary historical stages of the
Mediterranean, showing the different ruling powers and the continuous
development of the city over the centuries.
In the same area, you can then discover the late Baroque cities of theVal di Noto - Ragusa, Modica, Scicli, Noto, Caltagirone, Palazzolo
Acreide, Militello Val di Catania and Catania. These eight towns and
cities are united by the fact that they were rebuilt after the 1693
earthquake and were declared World Heritage Sites for their
extraordinary stylistic unity and interpretation of European Baroque in
the Sicilian style. This does not mean that if you have visited one, you
have seen them all: each has a special nature, a charm to be discovered.
The same goes for Piazza Armerina, where one can find another piece of
Sicilian history - the mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casale, a
sumptuous late Roman mansion that holds more than 3,500 square meters of
perfectly preserved floor decorations, making it a figurative
encyclopedia of the life and power of the empire.
But some works of art in Sicily are also the stuff of legend. It seems
that to escape a storm while at sea, Roger II, king of Sicily vowed to
erect a church at the place where he landed. Arriving in Cefalù, he kept
his promise, creating a majestic cathedral, consecrated in 1267. It is a
monument that, with its twin towers, dominates the town, while the
Christ Pantocrator of the apsidal mosaic welcomes visitors from all over
the world in breathtaking fashion.
This can be the first stop of Sicily's Arab-Norman itinerary, recognized
by UNESCO in 2015. From Cefalù, the journey continues to Palermo, the
heart of it, going from the Palatine Chapel in the Norman Palace to the
Zisa, passing by the Cathedral of the Holy Virgin Mary of the
Assumption, the Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, those of the
Martorana and San Cataldo, as well as the Admiral's Bridge. A few
kilometers away, stands the last piece of the route: the Cathedral of
Monreale, commissioned by William II the Good in the 12th century. One
again there is a legend behind it: the king is said to have fallen
asleep under a carob tree while hunting, and Our Lady appeared to him in
a dream to tell him of the presence of a treasure. But perhaps the
triumph of the golden mosaics inside today's church are the real wealth
of Monreale.
But nature can become art too. Those who see Mount Etna, which, with its
spectacular, unpredictable eruptions, has shaped the landscape of the
area over the millennia, know this well. It, too, is among Sicily's
UNESCO heritage sites, as is the archipelago of the Aeolian Islands:
Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Stromboli, Panarea, Filicudi and Alicudi. They
are an open-air geological museum, where each island tells a different
story, from the craters of Stromboli and Vulcano to rich clumps of
capers.
Ms. Daniela Lo Cascio - Head of the Department of Tourism, Sport and Entertainment of the Region of Sicily
Phone number: +39 095 7470254
E-mail: daniela.locascio@regione.sicilia.it
Website: https://www.visitsicily.info/
Distributed by Pressat
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