1- Take Corso Mazzini downwards towards Ibla. You’ll arrive to a small square. You’ll see the Church of the Madonna dell'Idria. Built in the 14th century, this church belonged to the legendary Knights of Malta (if you read Dan Brown and you’re drawn to templar-conspiracy theories, you’ll probably enjoy this detail). It’s name (from greek) stands for “She who shows the way”. The church was restored in the 18th century in the late baroque style that characterizes the entire Val di Noto.
2- Next to the church you’ll see Palazzo Cosentini with some interesting balconies featuring grotesque masks.
3- Keep going on Via del Mercato you’ll arrive to a square. On your right, you’ll see the Church of the Anime Sante del Purgatorio (Church of the Holy Souls of Purgatory) on top of a flight of stairs. The church's bell tower's has its foundations on one of Ibla's ancient Byzantine walls.
4- A few yards from the church you’ll see the 18th century Palazzo Sortino Trono, another example of local Baroque architecture.
5- Keep walking along Via Del Mercato and turn right on any of the narrow streets until you reach Via Capitan Occhipinti. You’ll find the main square Piazza Duomo ending in Ibla’s centrepiece, the Chiesa di San Giorgio (St. George’s Church). Built by siracusan architect Rosario Gagliardi. The church was built in the 18th century on the site where an older church stood before the 1693’s earthquake. The dome was a later addition of architect Carmelo Cultrari and was finished in the 19th century.
6- Turn your back to San Giorgio’s Church and keep walking towards Piazza Pola. On your right you’ll see another couple of interesting buildings: The Circolo di Conversazione (a sort of private gentleman’s club unfortunately not open to the public).
7- And the Palazzo Donnafugata.
8- On your left you’ll see another church (it seems you can never have enough churches in Italy) the Church of San Giuseppe
9- And the Palazzo Comunale (the City Hall).
10- Following Corso 25 Aprile and then Via Giardini, guess what you’ll see? Yup, yet another Church, the Church of Santo Tomasso on your left.
11- Keep going ‘till you find yourself in front of a gated park called Giardino Ibleo. The garden is very pleasant and it also contains… not one but THREE churches (I rest my case). The first one is the Church of San Domenico.
12- The second one is the Church of San Giacomo, originally built in the 14th century, the interior has a beautiful ceiling painted by Matteo Battaglia.
13- The third church inside the gardens is the Church of the Cappucini. All three churches had to be rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake.
14- Right outside the park, on your left, you’ll find Il Portale di San Giorgio (Saint George’s Doorway) built in Gothic style, it depicts St. George slaying the dragon. It’s all that remained of the ancient Church of Saint George, after the earthquake.
Enjoy!
6 comments:
You have a very nice blog, good post...keep up the good job
Thanks Sorina, these things cheer me up!
Hi Vivianuchi,
I've just been reading some of your blog and find it extremely interesting.
My wife and I are planning a trip to Sicily and are leaving March 31st. We are from the West Coast of North America, although we are a little further north of where you lived in LA. We live about 2 1/2 hrs North of Seattle, in Vancouver BC.
I am trying to work out an itinerary, etc... for our trip at this time. Any local tips I could get from a person such as yourself, or alternate contacts that might aid in making this a memorable trip for us would be very much appreciated!
Our type of travel is to make our flight arrangements, plan a rough itinerary with things to see and do, add in some down time for relaxation, then work on some of the finer details and concerns. On these types of trips we take a backpack each, try to rent a car for parts of our stay, and stay at smaller informal accommodations such as pensiones, small B&B's, family run hotels, etc... I tend to read up on several travel books first, & browse a lot of info on the internet to determine what we'd like to do, where to stay, how long, etc...
Our main interests when traveling are to take in different historical sights, such as landmarks, churches, castles, archaeological ruins, and even a couple museums. We enjoy wine touring a lot, locally or abroad, and try to visit wineries and wine regions. Of course, we also love trying many different types of food, so Italy/Sicily should be great! And, we're both reasonably fit, so we'll likely end up doing quite a bit of walking,and would enjoy taking some interesting walks or hikes. Additionally, although not particularly huge fans of big bustling cities, we do find them very interesting for several days.
We are going to be on holidays for four weeks. We arrive in Catania, and are going to fly out of Naples. My intention is to spend probably close to 3 weeks on Sicily, and several days in Puglia (the heel of the boot on the mainland) around Lecce, and end it off with a couple days in the Amalfi Coast area, Pompei, & Naples. However, given that Sicily isn't that big, I'm not sure if I'm allowing too much time, or not enough.
On Sicily, I want to see Mount Etna for sure. Catania will probably be a very brief stay or a day trip. But I do want to stay in around Siracusa perhaps (historic center - Ortygia), and Ragusa. Also to visit interesting nearby towns of Noto, Modica, Caltagirone, and perhaps Gela. This South-Eastern region is supposed to be very nice, so we will probably stay here for a good 5 days or maybe more, and day-trip to the various areas, and relax too.
The S. Coast sounds kind of desolate, so probably won't stay right around here, but definitely want to visit Agrigento, and maybe Sciacca and Selinunte.
Then we want to explore the W. coast, around Marsala, Trapani, the Isole Egadi, Segesta, and Erice. I'm not sure where to stay around here, perhaps Erice?
In the Palermo region, we will definitely stay in Palermo for several days at least. I know the W. coast is reachable from here as day trips, so that may be an option?... We'd also like to visit Monreale, Cefalu, and maybe go to Corleone in the mountains.
Along the N. coast, We likely will also want to stay on the Aeolian Islands (probably Lipari) for 2 or 3 days, then finish with a quick trip to Taormina before heading to the mainland.
Once on the mainland, We will probably take a train to Lecce or somewhere in that region, and base ourselves at 1 location for however many days we are going to be there. We can day-trip to Brindisi, Bari, Taranto and the like, before heading to the coast and Naples to depart.
Is this itinerary too much do you think? I haven't planned out the days that we'll really spend in each area, so I don't know yet if I'll have too few or too many. I've heard that Sicily really requires 10-12 days to see it well, but we want to relax also and try to really experience some of the local culture and local people. That is why I'm figuring on close to 3 weeks there. Of the places and time-lines I've described, what do you recommend or not recommend? What would you do differently? Are there other places you'd go to also, or some you wouldn't bother?
Do you have recommendations about specific accommodations/places to stay at, along with web sites, contact names, email, phone numbers etc...? I am also very interested in the Agriturismos, and we would like to try these out as I've heard they are really authentic and a great experience. Can you recommend any specific ones in these areas in Sicily or Puglia? I want to try to keep my average nightly cost down to about 60 - 80 Euros for the both of us. I know some places can be found for cheaper, and some for higher. Again, if you have any recommendations that fit this bill, that would be great!
Regarding car rentals, I know I definitely do not want to drive in hectic Palermo, nor probably Catania. Elsewhere, I'm not sure. The less populated areas are fine, but the busy, large cities are recommended best to avoid in the guidebooks because drivers are very 'aggressive' there. What are your suggestions, and do you have any good advice or recommendations for places to rent at?
Regarding the areas we want to visit on the mainland, do you have any suggestions here? We really want to experience the local flavor on our trip - both the people and the fabulous sights to see.
Can you recommend any contacts in Sicily who might also be able to help with suggestions, especially on accommodation?
Thanks you in advance for any advice and help you can provide.
Many Thanks for your help!
Rob Jensen
See here
Hi Rob,
You sound pretty well informed about the sights around Sicily. Your itinerary certainly includes a lot of interesting places, but I’m not sure if you can thoroughly visit all of them in 3 weeks. Maybe if you do 2 or 3 cities in a day? All the places you mention are very nice, Ortygia and Siracusa, Noto, Ragusa (specially the old town of Ibla), Scicli, Modica and Caltagirone. I wouldn’t bother with Gela though, it's an industrial city with a big petrochemical plant, but I honestly find it pretty ugly.
First of all, here’s a link to all the rent-a-car companies you’ll find at the Catania airport:
http://www.aeroporto.catania.it/page.php?cPath=0_12_20&id_page=37
Driving in Palermo or Catania can probably be added to the extreme sport’s list, so unless you can handle high adrenaline levels, it would probably be better to stay at some centrally located hotel and walk around.
The spirit of my blog is to give insider’s tips about travelling in Sicily, but only on things or places I’ve experienced my self. Since I live here, I can’t give you much first-hand advise on accommodation, because I usually stay at friend’s houses or do day-trips here and there. However here’s a link to a website that provides a list of B&Bs, hotels and agriturismos:
http://www.lovesicily.com/
As far as landmarks and ruins, Sicily is full of sites and for hiking, the Etna park offers a good variety of trekking paths. If you come in March you could probably still do some skiing there too. Another nice natural park is called “Riserva dello Zingaro” located East of Trapani.
I love the Amalfi coast (try the pizza and lemoncello –lemon liquor). And Pompei is definitely a must, but I haven’t been to Puglia yet.
I would stay in Palermo for no less than 3-4 days. Don’t miss the breathtaking Monreale church, Cefalu and if you have some extra time, the Nebrodi park and some of the cute little towns in the mountains.
While in Ragusa, visit the Donnafugata castle - Tel: +39 0932-619333.
A good place to eat typical food is a restaurant in Ragusa Ibla called U’Saracinu, close to the main square.
Probably 5 days are enough for the South–East but Siracusa will take at least one full day.
Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples is a must, I would also visit the beautiful “Scala dei Turchi” (Turk’s Staircase), a bay traced with white chalky natural terraced cliffs close to Sciacca and Porto Empedocle. If you stay in Sciacca the water front Gran Hotel delle Terme is pretty nice.
I find Taormina very turisty but also very charming, Erice has beautiful castles and can be pretty romantic I would stay there, but if you’re looking for some more of a night life (and lower prices) you could stay in Trapani. Out of the two cities you could live without ever seeing Trapani, but Erice is definitely worth a visit. I also love Piazza Armerina (near Enna) and it’s Roman Villa del Casale (III - IV century) with some amazing mosaics that depict life in the roman period.
I hope my advise can be of help. Have a nice trip!
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