Smaller text Larger text

Destination: Italy

Posted on

Scintillating Sicilian Sightseeing

Planning a trip to Sicily? If you like Naples, you’ll love Palermo. Here are a few highlights from my visit.

Palermo Sicily

Palermo reminds visitors of the once-upon-a-time importance of Sicily. A thousand years ago, with a population of 100,000, it was second only to Córdoba in Europe.

Church ceiling

The cathedral at Monreale (just outside of Palermo) is slathered in gold leaf — two tons of it, they claim…another powerful testimony to the affluence and importance of Sicilian culture in the 12th century.

Rick Steves tour group

I visited Palermo on a Best of Sicily tour. Our guide, Alfio Di Mauro, provided a constant parade of experiences…like meeting a charming contessa (countess) and touring her elegant world inside the Palazzo Conte Federico.

Capuchin crypt

A local guide, Jackie, took us on a side-trip into the spooky yet thought-provoking Capuchin Crypt. Until the 19th century, the Capuchin monks provided a remarkably public final resting place for Palermo’s leading citizens. Today, tourists are welcome to explore the vast underground collection of still-clothed skeletons and encouraged to ponder their own mortality.

 

_

This is Day 12 of my “100 Days in Europe” series. As I travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences in Italy, Portugal, France, Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and more. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.

 

Posted on

Video: A “Food Truck” Fest in Sicily…Indimenticabile!

While we toured the Carthaginian ruins of the historic island of Mozia, our hosts set up a “food truck” lunch that was absolutely indimenticabile. (That’s my new favorite Italian word — necessary for this Best of Sicily Tour — meaning “unforgettable.”) In this clip, our guide, Alfio, stokes our appetite with a quick review of our lunch. Being here — with a great local guide, fine weather (May is perfect here), and this “zero kilometer” (everything perfectly local) lunch — we all felt very fortunate. We’re only a third of the way through our Sicily tour…and each day is even better than the last.

(This is Day 11 of my “100 Days in Europe” series. As I travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences in Italy, Portugal, France, Ireland, England, Scotland, Germany, Switzerland, and more. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.)

Posted on

Video: Cruising to a Carthaginian Stronghold in Sicily

Our Best of Sicily Tour group sails through salt flats and across a lagoon. Our destination: the fabled island of Mozia, 2,500 years ago a Carthaginian stronghold. Before this visit, I knew nothing about the impact of Carthage in Europe (in part because losers don’t get to write history). Mozia — a name I had never heard of — is a fine example of how many surprising charms and treasures Europe hides…even for a guy who’s supposed to know this continent.

This is Day 10 of my A Hundred Days in Europe series. As I travel with Rick Steves’ Europe Tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences in Sicily, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Portugal, Paris, Ireland, the heart of England, Scotland, Germany’s Black Forest, Alsace, the great cities of Switzerland, and more. I never know exactly what’s next…but it’s always fascinating and inspiring. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.

Posted on

Video: Sicilian Churches: A Chronicle of Drought, Pestilence, and War

At the western tip of Sicily, Erice’s church is stony on the outside, lacy on the inside. While the Romantic, uber-Gothic interior only dates from the late 1800s, the church itself is clearly much older. Exploring the church, I find a plaque listing the handful of times in the last 500 years when impending disasters merited taking the town’s top relic down from the altar and parading it through town to gain God’s favor and be spared the ravages of drought, pestilence, and war.

This is Day 9 of my A Hundred Days in Europe series. As I lead tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences in Sicily, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Portugal, Paris, Ireland, the heart of England, Scotland, Germany’s Black Forest, Alsace, the great cities of Switzerland, and more. I never know exactly what’s next…but it’s always fascinating and inspiring. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.

Posted on

Video: A Sicilian Lunch with Maria

An exciting dimension of our Best of Sicily in 11 Days Tour is a daily banquet of delicious, fresh, and seasonal local cuisine. Here’s an example of the meals our guide, Alfio, is dishing up almost daily — as introduced by our host and chef, Maria Grammatico. Maria is a legendary cook in Erice (on the far-western tip of Sicily), and she was delighted to introduce us to her favorite dishes. The African influence (couscous in Italy?) is a reminder that we’re just 100 miles from Tunisia — home of the once-upon-a-time rulers of this region, the Carthaginians. The few seconds at the end of this clip, when our entire group digs in, really captures the experience.

This is Day 8 of my A Hundred Days in Europe series. As I lead tours, research my guidebooks, and make new TV shows, I’m reporting on my experiences in Sicily, Naples and the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Portugal, Paris, Ireland, the heart of England, Scotland, Germany’s Black Forest, Alsace, the great cities of Switzerland, and more. I never know exactly what’s next…but it’s always fascinating and inspiring. Thanks for joining me here on my blog and via Facebook.