403 Forbidden

I landed at Catania’s airport in the pouring rain on a Wednesday of late October. But when I was on the car on my way to Taormina, despite all that grey, the beauty of Sicily was already surfacing: cacti and prickly pear everywhere, immense sky, black lava rocks at the edge of the highway, a (sad) reminder of the lava eruption that destroyed Catania hundreds of years ago, but that have created a landscape that looks like another planet.

We arrived in Taormina and drove to the top of the hill still in the rain, dozens of tourists with their open umbrellas were waiting to explore the small town. Late in the afternoon I arrived at Belmond Grand Hotel Timeo, the beautiful hotel that hosted me during these three days. It is located right next to the ancient Greek Theatre (and it is also connected to it by a sort of secret passage that musicians and stars use to reach the stage directly from the hotel before a concert!). A nice welcome with typical Sicilian almond sweets was waiting for me in my room. And it’s a room that will continue to spoil me, from the flower placed beside that water bottle in the evening as to say goodnight, to the entire room waiting for me transformed when I come back after dinner, with the curtains drawn, the windows closed and the bed perfectly prepared for the night.

My Junior Suite at Belmond Timeo with a balcony and beautiful view on the bay.

Thursday morning we drove to Ortygia (Syracuse) and when we arrived luckily the sun was finally shining! The sunlight really makes a difference here by highlighting the blue sky in contrast to all the white stone houses, the main square, the white churches.

A visit to the Saint Lucy’s Church (photo below) is a must: a baroque facade outside and inside you’ll find the “Burial of Saint Lucy”, an original Caravaggio’s painting.

For lunch we moved to Capo Mulini (Acireale), a small town by the sea (with a very high density of restaurants, like 10 in 20 meters!) and we ate at Il Porticciolo. We had a mixed seafood dish (which could be easily the full meal) and I tried a particular shellfish with a beautiful silver shell interior for the first time. And then spaghetti with lobster. And yes, I could have that every day.

Later we moved to Syracuse to visit the Neapolis Archaeological Park, with its ancient Greek-Roman amphitheater and the famous Ear of Dionysius, an artificial cave more than 23 meters high that partly follows the course of an ancient aqueduct. In the cavity resulting from this immense excavation work a curious phenomenon of echoes was created which gave rise to the legend that it was built by tyrannus Dionysius in order to spy on his prisoners, who spoke with complete freedom not knowing that their whispers were audible, thanks to the play of echoes, on the opposite side of the cave.

An immense sky.

For dinner we were guests of the Belmond Villa Sant’Andrea, a sea-facing hotel with private beach and perfectly connected to its “brother” hotel with frequent shuttles. The hospitality was perfect as well here, the sea view absolutely breathtaking, like a postcard, the Sicilian dinner and the “cannoli” dessert were just delicious.

The morning of my last day I opened the window of my room and saw the morning sun for the first time! After a great breakfast on the restaurant terrace I decided to take a walk in the gardens of the Belmond Timeo. And then I went to Taormina centre (just 2 minutes away from the hotel by foot), since I hadn’t found time for a visit before. “Old” Taormina is actually very tiny, two main roads with shops that looks a bit too much for tourists (like it always happens). But the view of the bay is priceless. And it was immediately clear to me why it fascinates the thousands of people who come here from all over the world.

The morning before our departure leaves us time for a short but rich visit of Catania. It began with Palazzo Biscari, a historical palace. I highly recommend you to book a guided tour, because this building, built between the 17th and 18th century, has many stories to tell, even funny ones. Like the “ugliness” of the noble family that built it, and the fact that during Second World War its beautiful hall was used as an… indoor tennis court by English troops. Which makes you smile at first, while it reminds us how wars never care for preserving cultural and artistical beauty.
After Palazzo Biscari we headed to the famous fish market and stopped for lunch at Antica Marina, a restaurant which is right inside the market. Sitting at the table by the window next to me I could watch men washing shrimps and cutting fish at an impressive speed. Here I enjoyed a mixed raw fish dish (recommended!) and an excellent pasta with shrimps and almond pesto.

These three days in Sicily have been rich of discoveries, of good food (seemed like I was eating all the time!) and raised an intense Summer longing. Because everything there was shouting “Summer”, from a glass of wine by the sea, to that great sky that I still have to see cloudless, completely and infinitely blue.

all photos by me: blueisinfashionthisyear.com