RooMXMatez TM: ISLANDISH: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

ISLANDISH: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY

By Unknown Wednesday, September 30, 2015 Travel

Since summer is officially over and even Fashion Weeks will soon turn to an end for this season, rethinking about holiday time sure might make you a bit melancholic, but it surely will make your brain spin faster, in order to already plan next summer’s vacations. We all know that nowadays many people look for a good experience for their holiday where they can maybe conjugate sun with sea and maybe adventure and hiking. If your dreams fit exactly this dimension, Sicily is definitely what you were looking for. When people think about Sicily, most of them think of a wonderful, Caribbean-look-alike seashore-d island that everyone dreams of. For sure Sicily is also that, but definitely not just that. A not-so-common five to six days journey throughout one of the of the absolute must-go-to places in the world, is what I’m going to use to prove you wrong.

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Beginning plans were to stop at Punta Secca and at Marina di Modica right after it, both provinces of Ragusa, where Inspector Montalbano tales take place. His wonderful house by the sea is definitely a good tourists attraction there, but due to timing and schedules I just opted for Modica’s downtown, a real baroque pearl. Situated inside the Sicilian hinterland, right into the mountain’s ribs, over a narrow valley, the city is clung onto one side of the mountain itself. To be honest, the whole city is absolutely wonderful, but its peculiarity, along with Ragusa Ibla, is its old town centre, whose beauty in its whole integrity is just mesmerizing. The main goal is to be able to discover it getting lost in its outlook while wandering through its inner city and not going there because a guidebook told you to. Why? Well, because while wandering you obviously discover things that capture your eyes by yourself, and that is definitely something that gives a place a plus. And while wandering you will surely soon find out the so called “Acchianata” rise where after an endless baroque staircase, there stands the church of Madre di San Giorgio. Let me suggest you one thing: since the staircase that leads to the church is fully surrounded by jasmine and bougainvillea plants, if you wait till the evening to climb towards the church, you will see all the flowers blossoming who will make the climbing less heavy with its intoxicating perfume. Furthermore, you might want to know that Modica is worldwide famous for chocolate. Modica’s most famous chocolatier is the Antica Cioccolateria Bonajuto. But if you want to eat something really traditional and local you definitely must go to the Osteria dei Sapori Perduti, to eat ravioli filled with ricotta cheese and pork meat sauce; the “lolli” with broad beans, a typical Modican handmade thick pasta made with “maccu di fave”; the “coniglio a’stimparata”, oven-cooked rabbit with vegetables; and to end the “gelo di mandorle” for dessert, a sort of custard/gelatin made with almonds.

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If you want to head to the shore for a dip in the sea, from Modica you can drive towards the tip of the Sicilian island and stop by Marzamemi, a sailors borough famous for the tunas fishing. Very much suggested is to go to Adelfio, a sort of small eating place where you have to try its tuna, and tunas’ fresh eggs, the eggs sack is preserved with salt and dried with this process, so that you can eat it raw as a pasta condiment or on breads slices with lemon peel grated over it: simply amazing. The town’s old fishers houses have been adapted and renovated to get little flats where to stay. The town centre is very tiny and cute with tons of night-life places: not pubs and discos but music and DJ’s who play through the street and make you can dance: folklore to the maximum levels! From Marzamemi you can go to some sea places during the day and make it back for the evening, like Portopalo di Capo passero where, along the way, you can buy figs, marmalades, tomatoes and marinated eggplants from local farmers; and Isola delle Correnti, whose sand and shores are absolutely incredible. Heading towards north you find the S. Lorenzo beach with many beachfront resorts where you can also gain at to dance at night, and where water is literally like the Caribbean’s. If you’re looking for a place where to eat completely surrounded by nature, the natural reserve of Vendicari, is your solution. And right after it, don’t forget to go to the Calamosche beach, a very suggestive natural cove entirely not furnished and in the middle of nature. Further places to visit are Noto, other baroque perals, Ragusa Ibla, situated on a hill, UNESCO environment heritage, and Ispica, a city located on a hill. The main economical activity consists of farming and organic products, especially carrot, zucchini, tomatoes, olives, vineyards.

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Driving towards Messina through Avola, you get to the natural cove “Riserva Naturale Orientata Cavagrande del Cassibile”, where you can make an extraordinary swim in the ice cold sweet waters of the Lake reserve. Wearing trekking shoes due to the difficulty of road’s ground, it takes one hour to climb down the hill and a little longer to climb up back to the top. Hard work pays: amazing environment, completely with no human influence, surrounded by nature, the cleanest of waters: absolute peace of mind! There are some rocks that head out of the water and crosses the lake. I suggest to stay there till sunset and avoid bringing children with you, since it is difficult to reach.

When arrived in Syracuse, you head to the town center, situated on an island called Isola di Ortigia, amazing place to wander and explore. Stop by the Castello Maniace castle, a cultural yet socialite place for parties, constructed between 1232 and 1240 by the Emperor Frederick II. Then go to visit the duomo of Syracuse, particular for being incorporated in the old Doric temple dedicated to Minerva, the most important place of the Syracuse Polis, and this is obviously particular because usually ruins of temples of old religions get destroyed with the town renewals. And right after it stop at the Fonte Aretusa, famous for the myth of Arethusa and Alpheius. Alpheius was a passionate hunter and fell in love with the nymph Arethusa, but she fled from him to the island of Ortega near Syracuse, and metamorphosed herself into a well, after which Alpheius became a river, which flowing from the Peloponnese under the sea to Ortigia, there united its waters with those of the well Arethusa. Inform yourself on the timing when you’re in Sicily: a must-see-thing are the Greek Tragedies plays of Syracuse from May to June, where you can take part to the classic ages demonstration surrounded by a Greek theater. Even better are those late afternoon scheduled plays, cause they close and end right at the sunset. It’s time to eat, so go downtown to a restaurant run by mother and daughter who are actually from Bergamo, but will cook you amazing local traditions fish dishes. In Syracuse you can also go for a bath, and even though it’s a big city and everyone thinks water is not clean, it is indeed one of the cleanest waters Sicily’s. Aperitif is a must: why not in a beautiful historic court?

On the Etna coast you can go skiing, hike, and find some wineries where to sleep and go for a taste of local wines and dishes as black pork, ricotta cheese and gratin tomatoes.

Around that area there are the so called Gole dell’Alcantara with their organic biological park. The difference between these and the lakes of Cavagrande is that this place is more of a touristic attraction: equipped for all kinds of visitors, it offers you hiking excursions, any sort of services, swim places, and rafting and kayaking excursions. No matter this non-being-completely-alone-in- nature kind of feeling, it is still an amazing place, even more for those who think of Sicily as of a sea-place only. The Gole have been dig in the lava rocks by the river flowing into them and by the earthquakes movements, which created rocks walls high up to twenty-five meters. It is a lava rock bed, with extremely cold water, even more than the one of the small lakes mentioned before.

Before leaving, don’t forget to stop at Taormina, where suggestive is the walk on the main road of the town, with big luxurious hotels, and where many fashion shows and film festival events take place. Very very chic! Morgana is the name of one of the most famous discos around here, a place filled with majolica porcelain decorations. Just to announce it, it is the same porcelains used by designers Dolce & Gabbana for their earrings and necklaces: fact is, many D&G shootings took place in Taormina. A scandalous thing would be leaving without visiting the antique Greek theater where many concerts and plays are located in. Before coming, inform yourself on the theater plays schedules: seeing an already emotional representation in such an amazing place is just wonderful.