Since Sicily is a little off the 'beaten track' as tourists go, I thought a brief summary of the particulars of a recent (February 1992) auto trip around the island, and some of the sightseeing high-points might be of use to other travellers.
We took the train from Naples, arriving in Palermo about 6 PM. We stayed at the Hotel Sausele, via Vicenzo Errante 12, (091) 61 61 098, for LIt 83000 per night for a double with breakfast. This hotel is about 4 blocks from the station; walking distance with moderate baggage. It is a comfortable, quiet hotel with elevator. There is a small tratoria just east of the hotel at Via T. Fazella 12 called Toti di Palumbo with very good food but limited menu for dinner. There also is a tavola calda north of the hotel of the Piazza Antonino for fast (but good) food. There is quite a good restaurant a few blocks from the station on Via Roma at about Via S. Cristoforo. Some of the many sightseeing points in Palermo (recommend a city bus tour) include the intersection of Via Maquedsa and the Corso V. Emanuele (called the Quatro Canti) at the Piazza Viglena, the church of San Giuseppi, the cathedral (Madonna Assunta), the Porto Nova section with its castle and government offices off the Piazza Victoria, San Cataldo and La Martorana, Monte Pelligrino, etc.
We had rented a car from Europcar, which was supposed to have an office at the station, but this was closed ╨ and had been for quite some time. The other office is on Via Cavor 77, quite a ways from the hotel, and we ended up having the car delivered to the hotel for LIt 20000 to save time.
We left Palermo on the Corso Catalfimi on the way to Monreale. The church of Santa Maria la Nuova and the monastery (from 1176) there are a must. The apses on the outside (back), the bronze doors by Pisano, and above all the guilded mosaics covering virtually the entire inside of the church are spectacular.
We next crossed the island to Agrigento, where we stayed at the del Viale Hotel on the Viale del Vittoria, about 2 blocks east of Piazza Marconi and the station. The cost was LIt 70000 (double with breakfast) for a large, comfortable modern room (the hotel has obviously been remodeled). There is a trattoria on the Via Cicerone, just to the right off the central (and very pleasant) Piazza V. Emanuele. There also is a tavola calda just north of the station which is not recommended. The old section of town, along the Via Empedocle and Via Atenea, is a very interesting area to stroll through, especially during the evening passeggiata.
The main attraction in Agrigento is the Viale dei Tempi below the town, where ruins of about a half dozen Greek and (later) Roman temples can be seen. The Temple of Concord (ca. 445 B.C.) is probably the best-preserved Doric temple in existence.
Enna, northeast of Agrigento, is said to be the highest point on the island, and that, on a clear day, one can see all three 'corners' of Sicily. Its origins are prehistoric, but Greek coins were struck in Enna in the 5th century B.C., so the town has a long and interesting history. It is full of castles, many of which are build on top of Greek and Roman ruins: there is not much land on top of the prominence on which Enna sits, so things get piled on top of each other. There are many watchtowers giving impressive views, as one would expect. The cathedral was build by Queen Eleanor of Aragon in 1307 and is very impressive, as is the treasury.
Past Enna, on the way to Piazza Armerina, we took a room in Pergusa at the Garden Hotel for LIt 70000 (double with breakfast). This hotel is a series perhaps 30 modern one-room stone cottages scattered over a picturesque wooded area near the quite unattractive Lake Pergusa on the edge of the town of the same name. The hotel has a restaurant where we had a very passable dinner.
After registering at the hotel, we drove on to Piazza Armerina and directly through town to the Casale area where the Villa Romana is located. This is the ruin of a roman summer house from about 300 A.D., said to have been built by the Emperor Maximian, co-ruler with Emperor Diocletian. Parts of the walls are still standing so that the outlines of the entire structure can be discerned: about 40 rooms with a total area of 38,000 square feet. The most remarkable, however are the floors, most of which are amazingly well preserved. They are all mosiac, with geometric, animal, human, and floral designs and represent a tremendous amount of labor and skillful design. The Villa Romana del Casale is well worth seeing.
After leaving the Enna area, we drove east towards Mount Etna, which soon became visible on the horizon. We drove around the mountain in a clockwise direction, starting from Paternÿ. This is a very interesting trip, since one can see a dramatic change in the landscape in going from the very fertile south to the almost completely lava-covered and barren north. On coming around the north slope of the mountain, we reached the seacoast at Fiumefreddo and proceeded north to Taormina.
Taormina is the most famous resort on the island, and is beautifully situated high on a bluff facing the sea, from which one see up and down the coast as well as southeasterly towards Mount Etna. The views from the ancient Greek theater at the end of the Via Teatro Greco, from the Giardino Pubblico, and from Piazza IX Aprile in front of the church of San Giuseppi are spectacular. We stayed at the Hotel Vittoria on the main pedestrian thoroughfare, the Corso Umberto, for LIt 75000 (double with breakfast). The hotel was pleasant and adequate, although the night we spent there marked the beginning of their annual Pre-Lenten Festival, which continued late into the night. That was a mixed blessing because our room had a balcony over the Corso Umberto, down which the Pre-Lenten parade was held, so we had a grandstand seat for that, which was a spectacular production. Our very adequate dinner that night was in a restaurant off the C. Umberto, the name of which escapes me. The next morning we strolled around the fairly quiet town, packed up the car and drove north to Messina where we caught an over-night boat train for Rome.
