Filicudi is the third smallest of the seven Aeolian Islands and the least visited after Alicudi. The permanent population hovers around 250 people. There is one bank, one pharmacy, one school with a single teacher, and a handful of restaurants that close for lunch. The island has no airport, no ferry from the mainland, and […]
Mount Etna is the largest active volcano in Europe and the most frequently erupting volcano on Earth. It has been erupting for at least 500,000 years. In 2021 alone it erupted more than 50 times. The locals call it Mungibeddu in Sicilian, and they have learned to live with a mountain that could, at any […]
Categories: Islands, Italy, Nature, Nature, Sicily, Volcanoes
Deep in the southeastern corner of Sicily, a hidden world of limestone cliffs and emerald pools awaits your discovery. Cava Grande del Cassibile is not just a canyon. It is a natural cathedral carved by water over millennia. The hiking trail winds down into the gorge, passing ancient rock shelters and wild olive trees. At […]
Jasmine-scented air drifts through the narrow streets of Gioiosa Marea, a Sicilian town perched on a promontory overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea. White houses cascade down the hillside toward a coastline of hidden coves and dark volcanic sand. The historic centre centres on Piazza Municipio, where locals gather in the evening for a passeggiata beneath the […]
Categories: Cities, Islands, Italy, Nature, Nature, Sicily, Sights, Sights
A small village in the hills of northern Sicily, Scillato is the kind of place travellers pass through without noticing. That is a mistake. From this quiet base the Madonie Mountains rise to the south, their slopes covered in oak and chestnut forests. The coastal resorts of Cefalù and Campofelice lie a short drive north. […]
Baroque facades in black volcanic stone line the streets of Acireale, a town perched on the eastern coast of Sicily where the lava flows of Mount Etna meet the Ionian Sea. The cathedral, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, displays intricate carvings and a campanile that rises high above the surrounding rooftops. But Acireale’s most […]
Categories: Islands, Italy, Nature, Sicily, Sights, Virtual Travel
Selinunte is one of the most spectacular ancient Greek archaeological sites in the Mediterranean, yet it remains far quieter than the crowded ruins of Athens or Pompeii. Located on the southwest coast of Sicily, this vast city was founded in the seventh century BC by Greek colonists and grew into a powerful trading centre before […]
The limestone ridge of Monte Cofano rises sharply from the turquoise sea, its cliffs streaked with ancient fossils and scattered with wild thyme. Below, hidden coves of white pebbles give way to water so clear that the shadows of fish flicker against the seabed. Kestrels circle overhead, riding the thermal currents that warm the Sicilian […]
Categories: Islands, Italy, Mountains, Nature, Nature, Nature Reserves, Sicily, Virtual Travel
The Nebrodi Mountains stretch across northeastern Sicily in a green wall that surprises most visitors. This region holds the largest forested area on the island, a fact that surprises those knowing Sicily only for sun-scorched coastlines. Ancient beech and oak forests cloak the slopes. Wild horses roam the high pastures. Black Nebrodi pigs root through […]
Categories: Islands, Italy, Mountains, Nature, Nature, Sicily
Gold covers nearly every surface inside Monreale Cathedral. Six thousand four hundred square metres of Byzantine mosaics tell stories from the Old and New Testaments. The figures stare down from the walls with enormous eyes, their robes shimmering in the dim light. King William II built this cathedral in the twelfth century to outshine the […]
Categories: Islands, Italy, Nature, Religious Monuments, Sicily, Sights, Sights, Virtual Travel