In 2023 we spent spring break in Sicily, and we were treated to all sorts of wonderful Easter preparations and sunny skies. A 10 day trip, we were able to cover a lot of ground, but still not everything. We flew into Palermo and did a loop from the northwest to the west to the east, a few days island-hopping, and back around to Palermo. Within our loop – hot springs, Greek ruins, mountains of salt, mountains in general, 2 volcanoes, sweets of every shape and color, and a tuna museum, to name a few of the highlights.
Palermo
Palermo was where we started and ended our trip. It was all decked out for Easter – lots of purple and shrouds everywhere, not to mention too many marzipan and candy lambs to count.
We were only in Palermo for a day and a half, but had perfect weather and saw a lot, from the cathedral to the morning markets.
As always, some street art spotting, though not as much for us this time around.
Easter preparations in the churches and on the street.
Northwest Coast: Scopello
Our home base at the start of our trip was a small village called Scopello. There’s not a lot happening in the town itself, but there are some restaurants and shops. We came for two reasons, to stay and eat at Pensione Tranchina and to hike and swim at Riserva Naturale Orientata dello Zingaro – a stunning nature reserve on the peninsula. I think fondly about this town and B&B all the time, and would eagerly return.
The only way to eat at Pensione Tranchina is to stay there, and we were so happy we did. the breakfast was so beautiful that we almost couldn’t eat it, and each night was a different, outstanding meal. On our last night we celebrated with some homemade limoncello.
Some of the Sicilian foods not to be missed – granita, cassata (green one, below), cannoli, Antica Ricetta Siciliana soda, pasta Norma.
We were recommended the Sorgente delle Terme Naturali Libere di Segesta (Hot Springs) from our B&B, and it did not disappoint. We waded through the river leading up to the springs, which was quite cold, but once we found the springs we were good to go.
Northwest Coast: Trapani & the Museo del Sale
Trapani was a fun spot – we went to one of the many (many, many) salt flats, Museo del Sale, but even just driving around the area you see a ton of salt.
There are some lovely sites in Trapani, the Porta Oscura – Torre dell’Orologio being truly beautiful in the setting sky. Also the Libreria Del Corso book shop is worth a look.
West Coast: Scala dei Turchi
A famous tourist spot that we went to see. But you can’t walk on it anymore, due to a need for better preservation, which of course makes sense but would have been nice to know beforehand. We had a great time instead finding hermit crabs in the tide pools.
West Coast: Valle dei Templi
We took a long drive to see some Greek ruins at the Valley of the Temples, you can wander through the remains of grand temples, such as the largest Doric temple of the ancient world.
Enna
Enna was our stopping point as we headed from Palermo towards Taormina. A less touristy part of Sicily, we had views of Mount Vesuvius pretty much the entire drive, and once in Enna even more views of the valleys and mountains.
The Easter preparations https://www.visitsicily.info/en/settimana-santa-di-enna/were also fascinating – we were slightly too soon to see the processions, but we did get to see examples of the hooded figures, the Incappuciati. The Incappuciati represent local confraternities and walk in a processions, and originate from the Spanish period between the 15th and 17th centuries.
Northern Coast: Cefalù
We only spent a few hours in Cefalù but loved each moment, from the gelato to the squid ink pasta.
East Coast: Taormina
Taormina, most recently famous because of The White Lotus, was so hyped we just had to see it. And the city is charming, in particular because the Easter preparations were ongoing throughout. We checked out the Teatro Antico di Taormina, a Greco-Roman theater that is still used today for performances, and also enjoyed just strolling around. But one of my favorite stops was at Pasticceria Minotauro, a candy shop with mountains of marzipan treats looking completely and utterly like real fruit.
Teatro Antico di Taormina
Another stop we made was the steep climb up to Castelmola, which I enjoyed even more than Taormina itself. But something went wrong with my camera and I lost all photos from that day, so I have very little to show of it. The city is built around the ruins of a Norman castle. In the center square is Bar Turrisi, and when you get there you are suddenly inundated phalluses everywhere. Like, décor entirely dedicated to the penis – a sign of abundance and good luck from Hellenic tradition.
Northeastern Coast: Milazzo
Milazzo is the departure point for the Aeolian Islands, and that’s why a lot of travelers end up there. It was the same for us, as we had planned to send 3 nights on Stromboli. But with a little bit of time, we took a closer look at Milazzo, and found a welcoming and comfortable city with lots to learn about. Here’s the list:
- The Marina Inn, where we stayed, has enchanting authentic painted ceilings, balconies with views over the water, and the host was not only welcoming, but arranged for our rental car parking while we were on our trip to Stromboli.
- Museo Della Tonnara – Milazzo (Tuna Museum) inside the Monastero delle Benedettine – I can honestly say I had never been in a museum dedicated to tuna until we went to Milazzo. This place was not only informative, but the overtly Wes Anderson-ness of it was delightful.
Lipari
Not on our original itinerary, our catamaran to Stromboli was forced to abandon the rest of the trip due to rough seas – I have never been so grateful to end up somewhere other than my destination, the boat trip up to that point had been harrowing. It felt like we were on a 2 hour long roller coaster.
Thus we would be staying in Lipari for a night, and this ended up being such a pleasure. We traipsed the historic small streets, bought local souvenirs, and ate at a simply fantastic restaurant – Caffè La Vela. We were also introduced to Malvasia, a local dessert wine. We ended up having so much fun, and then off to the hotel for a good night’s sleep, to brave the catamaran again the next morning. Onwards, to Stromboli!
Stromboli
When we finally arrived in Stromboli, following 2 rough catamaran rides and a lot of throwing up for one member of our party, we immediately proceeded to our beautiful local hotel to get cleaned up. Since we had one less night on the island, we wanted to make the most of our time, so we set about to exploring the black sand beaches and meeting the local cats and lizards.
In the late afternoon we began the volcano hike, a path you can take to view the volcano even better once the sun sets. Because Stromboli is one of the 3 active volcanos of Italy and continuously erupting; during the day you see the smoke but during the night you can see the lava.
Things to know about this hike – you can go pretty far on your own, but if you want to get even closer you need to join a group. We didn’t do this because a lot of the descriptions made it sound overly strenuous for kids, but the hike we did was really no big deal so it might’ve been fine. You’re also hiking down at night, in the dark, so you need a flashlight or a charged phone. Also, it gets quite cold, so you need to dress warm.
Seeing the volcano erupt was so exciting and a huge highlight of the trip for all of us. I’d even consider taking that boat ride again to see it, but not on a stormy day.
thecloudsarelowerhere 