After the earthquake in 1693 that destroyed Noto Antica that raised on Monte Alveira. It was rebuilt on the valley on the left side of River Asinaro, 10 Km far from Jonio Sea. Noto is rich in art and architecture, charming, called "Stone's Garden" for his baroque buildings, especially churches in baroque style. Tourists can admire its treasures just strolling along the streets of the historic centre.
In May "Infiorata". A carpet made of flowers, paintings covers Nicolaci street.

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HISTORICAL CULTURAL TOUR: Syracuse and his archaeological park

The ancient capital of Magna Grecia, Syracuse is rich in architectural and historical treasures. In addition to ancient Greek theatre and roman amphitheatre, the Dioniso's Ear, it is possible to visit Ortigia's Island, the heart of the city. Going from Archimede Square through lanes you can reach the baroque Piazza Duomo, where raised the magnificent Cathedral, raised on Athena's Temple. At the end of the square a narrow alley brings to Fonte Aretusa with its papyri and to promenade. Syracuse was Greek, Siciliana, Roman, Byzantine, Arabian, Norman, Swabian, Aragonese, Catalan, Borbonica.

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3 - Palazzolo Acreide and Buscemi: between Baroque style and farm culture

Palazzolo, which derives from the ancient town of Akrai (founded in 664 BC), occupies a plateau dominating the gorges of the upper valley of the River Anapo, at the heart of the Iblean mountains.
Area lying southwest of the town
At the top of the hill, where the acropolis used to lie, all that is visible of the small Greek theatre built of white stone is the floor of the orchestra and this actually dates from Roman times.
Palazzolo was largely rebuilt in the 18th century and so has many Baroque buildings lining its main thoroughfaress. In via Machiavelli leads to the Casa-Museo dell'etologo Antonio Uccello.

Buscemi accommodates an interesting and unusual museum known as I Luoghi del Lavoro Contadino, whose rooms are scattered throughout the town centre. These eight rooms provide a picture of the life and work of the Iblean people. They include the blacksmith'shop, the oil-mill (where scenes of Lavia's La Lupa were filmed), a farmer's and a laborer's house, the shoemaker's and the carpenter's shops, the millstone (where the pressing of grape took place) and, next to this, a room accommodating a small film-library. There visitors can enjoy the projection of a short film on the activities of the past set into the different rooms of the museum. The eighth room, located at Palazzolo Acreide, consists of the water-mill (Mulino di S. Lucia). A small Museum of The Wheat Grinding has been set up inside.

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4 - Ragusa Ibla

Ragusa Ibla is the oldest part of Ragusa, but we could consider it a town on his own, situated on Iblei alto piano is rich in buildings and churches in baroque style and beautiful gardens. Ragusa Ibla (the lower side) and Ragusa (the upper side), separated by the so-called valle dei ponti (valley of the bridges), a deep valley that is crossed by four successive bridges, among which that known as dei cappuccini (of the Capuchins), dating from the 18th century, is especially renowned. Its diverse architectonic features are evidence for an intense seismic activity in past times. After the 1693’s earthquake the residents settled on the site known as Ibla, that, today, with its medieval layout and lovely baroque architecture, is a most attractive historical centre and a major goal of tourists. The new quarters developed on a more modern orthogonal grid, with large and versatile streets.

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5 - Modica

"Modica. Noble, opulent and populated city, seat of the ancient and vast County". Modica is called "one-hundred churches town". It is the birth-place of Salvatore Quasimodo, a 20th century writer and 1959's Nobel Prize. It is the town of the famous bridge, among the tallest in Europe (300m). It is the city of the Castle, whose remnants consist of a 18th century tower and a more recent clock, both symbolically representing it. It is the town of the Baroque and of the County, both testifying to its glorious past. Finally, it is a city of disasters: natural, as were earthquakes in 1613 and 1693 and floods in 1833 and 1902; and human, as appear certain ugly modern buildings in its beautiful historical centre - a feature that, alas, recurs in most of the historical Sicilian cities.
It grew up in the southern reach of the Iblean mountains and was originally divided into two areas: Modica Alta (Upper Modica), whose picturesque stone houses nestle on the slopes of a mount, and Modica Bassa (Lower Modica), lying down in the valley.

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6 - Donnafugata's Castle, Arabian style

The name which is Arabic in origin, is misleading. It does not, in fact, refer, as first appearances might suggest, to a woman fleeing some tyrannical husband or father, nor to one of the legends lingering in some popular memory, but is a free interpretation and transcription of Ayn as Jafat (meaning Fountain of Health) which in Sicilian dalect became Ronnafuata and so was corrupted to its modem form.
The origins of the building, furthermore, are more recent than the name. The oldest part (which includes the square tower) dates back to the mid-17C when the Donnafugata fiefdom was acquired by Vincenzo Arezzo La Rocca. The building was continuously altered until the early 20C, when Corrado Arezzo transformed the façade into what can be seen today.
What is striking about the exterior of the castle is the elegant Venetian Gothic loggia which dominates the central section of the main facade. The trefoil arches become a recurrent motif repeated in the two-light windows throughout the building.

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TUNA-FISHING GROUNDS TOUR: Vendicari's natural preserve, Marzamemi, Portopalo of Capo Passero

Vendicari is one of the most beautiful coast line of Sicily. It is landing-place for migratory birds, the environment is intact and various: cliffs, creeks, dune dominated from Aragonese tower, Ellenic tuna fishing ground, the fishermen’s houses and the little isle Vendicari. Here the sea is crystal clear waters.
Marzamemi is an ancient fishermen’s village raised around the tuna-fishing ground of Princes of Villadorata. Here the atmosphere is of old times, and the colour of boats and the smell of sea fascinate the visitor. Marzamemi was film set of "Sud" of G. Salvatores and "L'uomo delle stelle" of G. Tornatore.
Portopalo is one of the three capes that gave the name Trinacria to the ancient Sicily, and its extreme south point (it is 80 Km under Tunisi). The natural preserve for the dwarf palm-tree and turtles that lay eggs on this beaches. Capo Passero could be reached on swimming, and the wonderful sounding depth can be admired; from the height of Spanish fortress you can see the Hellenistic tuna-fishing ground and Tafuri castle. You can walk to the lighthouse, the Correnti's island or along the coast side to look the migratory birds.

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PREISTORIC TOUR: Anapo Valley, Pantalica, Noto Antica, Borgo del Castelluccio

Pantalica is formed from by funeral niches and caves inhabited by the earliest population of Sicily, the Sicani. They date back to XIII-VIII B.C. His geographical position the gerarchic form of this niches, the organization of the rocky landscape testimony the great political and social organization of the ancient populations. Anapo Valley is the canyon below, that includes flora and fauna typical of Sicily. It could be trekking journey. Noto Antica and Borgo del Castelluccio was the ancient Noto, before the earthquake of 1693 that destroyed it. It could be a good place for a picnic.

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9 - Lakes of Cava Grande del Cassibile

An excursion to Cava Grande provides the opportunity of exploring a small and forgotten corner of the Iblei Mountain landscape, that karst range dominating the southeast part of Sicily. This itinerary off the beaten track will be of particular interest to nature-lovers. Along the valley bottom winds the river which opens out intermittently to make a succession of tiny lakes, accessible by a path leading down into the gorge.
Descent - It takes half an hour to walk down to the river, or cava as it is known locally - allow twice that time to climb back to the top. The track, which at times becomes quite difficult to follow, cuts its way along the river through luxuriant vegetation. After a few hundred metres, the bush gives way to an open clearing around a series of natural rock pools created by the river, complete with flat rounded slabs of rock ideal for whiling away a moment or two in the sunshine. In summer, the cool water is very tempting. Furthermore the rock pools are surrounded on all sides by the most idyllic scenery far removed from anything found elsewhere in Sicily, and so providing an unusual and highly recommended alternative to a swim in the sea off the Syracuse coast.

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10 - The Roman Villas del Casale in Piazza Armerina

An huge structure is the biggest testimony of Roman presence in Sicily is Villa del Casale aristocratic Roman house, and its well-preserved mosaics dating from the 4th century B.C. that represent scenes of hunting and fishing, African and oriental suggestion, mythological figures and everyday life. There are the kitchen and the gymnasium with mosaics too (the most famous is the one with gymnasts with bikini), terms with frigidarium, tiepiddarum and calidarium. Outside there are space for otium and free time of the rich inhabitants, to restore in the shadow of eucalyptus on the river Gela.

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On tracks of Montalbano Commissary

Un itinerario sulle orme del commissario più amato d´Italia, per tuffarsi in prima persona nella Sicilia un po´ oleografica che in questi giorni entra in tutte le case con le vicende di Montalbano, celeberrimo personaggio di Andrea Camilleri. Si parte, ovviamente, da Ibla, il quartiere più antico di Ragusa, che nella finzione scenica è appunto Vigàta: la sua piazza principale, un rettangolo allungato che termina nella scenografica fuga di scalini che portano alla cattedrale di San Giorgio, è apparsa in un numerose scene, così come un´altra scalinata, quella lunghissima di Santa Maria delle Scale che lega le due parti della città. Dalla sua cima si gode un panorama stupefacente su Ibla, con le case affastellate una sull´altra in un tipico accrocchio medievale. Nel Settecento la nobiltà locale innestò la ricostruzione barocca su questo reticolo urbano in una suggestiva commistione di stili che è forse il tratto più affascinante di Ibla, che tra l´altro è stata inserita da sei mesi nell´elenco dei beni patrimonio dell´umanità dell´Unesco. Lasciata Ragusa, dopo pochi chilometri s´incontra il castello ottocentesco Donnafugata, un tempo la residenza più ricca dell´intera provincia. Restaurato, il castello è stato aperto al pubblico che vi riconoscerà la casa dell´anziano boss mafioso Balduccio Sinagra della fiction. Sempre alle porte di Ragusa si trova Villa Criscione, una bella masseria fortificata che di solito viene utilizzata per concerti e spettacoli estivi: nello sceneggiato è la casa dell´ingegnere Luparello, uno dei personaggi de "La forma dell´acqua". Un´altra splendida dimora ospita Alessia Merz, la vittima in cui il commissario Montalbano s´imbatte all´inizio dell´episodio "La voce del violino": si tratta dell´Eremo della Giubiliana, un convento-fortezza del Cinquecento, oggi raffinato albergo. Se si rientra a Ragusa in tempo per il pranzo si può fare un salto alla Rusticana, il ritrovo preferito del commissario, per un piatto di genuina cucina siciliana. Donnalucata è la marina di Vigàta, mentre lungo via Mormino Penna a Scicli, una delle strade più spettacolari della Sicilia, si trova Palazzo Iacono alias la questura di Montelusa. La "mannara", cioè il rudere della fabbrica di mattoni Pisciotto è in contrada Sampieri, frazione rivierasca di Scicli. La casa di Montalbano è a pochi chilometri da qui, a un´estremità dell´abitato di Punta Secca. Solo l´esterno, in verità, perché l´interno è stato ricreato altrove. Ma che importa: la terrazza da cui il commissario scende direttamente in mare è proprio questa.

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Vai alla cartina di Montalbano