Things to do in Sicily

The ancient nucleus of Siracusa, Ortigia best conserves the city’s essential spirit, with the artistic vestiges of over 2500 years of history concentrated in a small stretch of land and all within an easy stroll through quiet streets and alleys. From the Tempio di Apollo, the first of the great Doric temples built in Sicily, to the impressive Piazza del Duomo, a glorious Baroque period palace, Oritigia is the heart and soul of the south and home to some of the island’s best cafes and restaurants to boot.

Transport yourself back in time with a visit to the dramatic Greek temple at Segesta. The site is best seen early or late in the day, when visitors are fewer and the light less blanching in its effect. The temple itself, started in 424 BC, crowns a low hill and you could be forgiven for thinking that it’s complete: the 36 regular stone columns, entablature and pediment are all intact, and all it lacks is a roof. However, get closer (and for once you’re allowed to roam right inside) and you see just how unfinished the building really is: stone studs, always removed on completion, still line the stylobate, the tall columns are unfluted, and the cella walls are missing.

Built on terraces in a sparsely inhabited neighbourhood, the Villa Romana del Casale dates from the early fourth century AD and remained in use right up until it was covered by a mudslide in the twelfth century. It was then hidden from view for seven hundred years until excavations began in 1950, revealing multicoloured mosaic floors that are unique in the entire Roman world for their quality and extent. A roof and walls were added to indicate the original size and shape of the villa, and the mosaics are now protected from the elements, with walkways leading through the various rooms and chambers. It’s an essential visit on any trip to Sicily.

The Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro was the first nature reserve to be established in Sicily – in 1980 – and it comprises a completely unspoiled stretch of coastline backed by steep mountains, and is home to some six hundred species of plant. Around forty different bird species nest and mate here, including the rare Bonelli’s Eagle. Apart from the wide variety of fauna and flora, there’s great archeological interest in an area that supported some of Sicily’s earliest prehistoric settlements.

Cefalù, just an hour east of Palermo, is one of Sicily’s busiest international beach resorts. Not only does it have a superb beach, an appealing historic centre, and a stupendous medieval cathedral with some of the best mosaic work on the whole island, but on its doorstep are the Monti Madonie, a high mountain range recently added to the UNESCO list of geoparks for a geological history that spans two hundred million years.

Carved out of the hillside, the theatre offers a complete panorama of the Sicilian coastline, the mountains of southern Calabria across the water and of Etna – a glorious natural backdrop for the audiences of classical times. Despite its name, and though founded by Greeks in the third century BC, the existing remains are almost entirely Roman, dating from the end of the first century AD, a period when Taormina enjoyed great prosperity under Imperial Roman rule.