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Sicily 2024, Italy
  • Gina Steiner
Jan – Mar 2024

Sicily 2024, Italy

A 58-day adventure by Gina Read more
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  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Enna in the rain

    February 10, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌬 12 °C

    Today was a rainy and very windy day, so we decided to take a longer jaunt inland. I've been to Sicily a few times but I've never stopped in Enna. So far I've only driven past it. Today was the day.

    At 931 m above sea level, Enna is the highest Italian provincial capital.

    Enna, known from the Middle Ages until 1926 as Castrogiovanni (Sicilian: Castrugiuvanni), is a city located roughly at the center of Sicily. Towering above the surrounding countryside, it has earned the nicknames belvedere (panoramic viewpoint) and ombelico ("navel") of Sicily.

    The ancient city was placed on the level summit of a gigantic hill, surrounded on all sides with precipitous cliffs almost wholly inaccessible. The few paths were easily defended, and the city was abundantly supplied with water which gushes from the face of the rocks on all sides. With a plain or tableland of about 5 kilometres in circumference on the summit, it formed one of the strongest natural fortresses in the world.

    It was restored as provincial capital in the 1920s. In 2002 it became a university city. The citizens of the city have a high incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS). MS is also prevalent in Sardinia, which has the second highest incidence in the Mediterranean basin.

    It's a nice city but nothing special 🙄 but a nice drive through the island. But truely speaking: I definitely did not like the rain ☔🙄.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Lost space

    February 10, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌬 11 °C

    Today in Enna, we accidentally found an open door in what was obviously a very old palace. Of course we had to get in and roam around the rooms.

    The building was very dilapidated and some rooms were supported with beams.

    That was definitely the highlight of our Enna visit ❤️.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Ballo di gruppo

    February 11, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    First things first... A "ballo di gruppo" is a type of collective choreography where some individuals move their body parts in unison following the rhythm of the music. There are two types of group dance: those inspired by traditional couple dances and those created to specific music.

    For me this was more of an encounter of the third kind. I didn't think anything of it when Siri asked: "Gina, are you coming with us? We're going to eat and then dance." I thought to myself: Sounds good, I'll go with you!

    When I saw the location - I had no idea, but one thing was clear: hardly any tourists ever got lost here and thus it would be fun!

    The whole thing took place in a kind of sports and event facility. The building inside was brightly lit with very white light, but I know that from Portugal, Greece and Turkey. Blinding shock...

    So off we went to the reserved table - nothing works without a reservation. Then Italian home cooking and table wine and then they got started.

    People streamed onto the large area in the middle and then the music boomed so that the beams shook. Sound shock...

    At first they danced in circles like German folk dance and then they danced while looking in the same direction, more like robots. Last but not least there were a few couple dances. One thing was clear: everything follows a precise sequence of steps and every song has its precise choreography. No chance if you haven't learned that.

    There were people of all ages but the majority were over 45 and also many seniors. The whole thing is called “ballo di gruppo” and is ideal for studying people.

    What an experience!    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Granita siciliana

    February 13, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Granita also granita siciliana is a semi-frozen dessert made from sugar, water and various flavorings. Originally from Sicily, it is available throughout Italy in varying forms.It is related to sorbet and Italian ice; however, throughout Sicily its consistency varies.

    The texture seems to vary from city to city on the island; on the west coast and in Palermo, it is at its chunkiest, and in the east, it is nearly as smooth as sorbet. This is largely the result of different freezing techniques: the smoother types are produced in a gelato machine, while the coarser varieties are frozen with only occasional agitation, then scraped or shaved to produce separated crystals. Although its texture varies from coarse to smooth, it is always different from that of ice cream, which is creamier, and from that of sorbet, which is more compact; this makes granita distinct and unique.

    Common and traditional flavoring ingredients include lemon juice, mandarin oranges, jasmine, coffee, almonds, mint, and when in season wild strawberries and black mulberries. Chocolate granitas have a tradition in the city of Catania but are also available in other parts of Sicily. I like almond the most. Another popular granita flavor is pistachio.

    Granita with coffee is very common in the city of Messina, while granita with almonds is popular in the city of Catania. Granita, in combination with a brioche is a common breakfast in summertime (the Sicilian brioche is generally flatter and wider than the French version).

    I love to sit in a Café, sip a Granita and watch the people passing by.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Brioche con gelato

    February 14, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌬 14 °C

    Brioche con gelato is a typical Sicilian dessert. brioche con gelato is a round sandwich (often prepared using the so-called "briosce col tuppo") cut into two parts and filled with ice cream. Sometimes, brioche con gelato are also flavored with sweet ingredients such as almond milk or whipped cream. In Sicily, stuffed brioches with tuppo are considered a classic summer food, and are eaten for breakfast together with coffee and cappuccino.

    Although they are considered a symbol of Sicilian pastry making, brioche con gelato are now widespread throughout Italy. In San Pancrazio, a hamlet of Montespertoli, in the metropolitan city of Florence, the brioche con gelato festival is celebrated.

    Known throughout the world, brioche con gelato serve as a snack and dessert in some places in the USA.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Farmers market Licata

    February 16, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    The farmers market in Licata is great. I have rarely seen such a comprehensive farmers' market with locals, often small farmers, butchers and cheese sellers.

    There is also everything: nuts and legumes, spices, pickles of all kinds, and for sure also coffee, we‘re in Italy... In short: you don't need to go to any other store. Of course there are also a lot of clothes stalls and hair and cooking utensils, but that wasn't of interest to me.

    There were three of us and we were tasked with shopping for seven people for a whole week. Great! It was immediately clear to every dealer what quantities we would buy and so we tried everything out without further ado.

    We could hardly save ourselves from it. Every now and then a new delicacy landed under our noses, which of course had to be eaten. We had two shopping trolleys with us, which we proudly brought home full. In addition our stomachs were properly filled.

    I will definitely come back again and buy a few things for my return trip.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Daily routine

    February 16, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Today I only worked for some hours and took a long walk, my daily routine walk. This time once more until the end of the beach.

    I like the houses there, most of them can be bought. But I'm not ready yet to get settled.

    Of course I took a swim 🏊 at the small beach 🏖️ behind the end of the beach where you can see the Torre di Manfria.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Our shepherd Nuntio

    February 17, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

    Today we visited our shepherd Nuntio. He recently prepared a delicious lamb 🐑 for us and sat around the campfire 🔥 with us for a long time afterwards.

    At one point I challenged him to a nighttime swimming 🏊 competition. Of course, as a proud Sicilian, he couldn't let that go and jumped into the water 🌊 with me (naked but in socks! 🤣). In the middle of the night 🌛, mid-February. The others stood on the beach 🏖️ cheering.

    For the rest of the evening he sat by the fire 🔥 in awe and repeated 10 times that he had never experienced anything like that. In short: we had a big piece of cake afterwards.

    Today we walked across the fields and visited him. A lamb had been born shortly before and now it was a matter of building the bond between the mother sheep and the lamb. It was all very exciting and afterwards Nuntio invited us to his house for panettone al cioccolato and homemade limoncello.

    Of course he didn't have much time because it was the middle of the day and his work called. But we will see each other again, because his nephew is a fisherman and will bring over a fatty fish 🐟 that Nuntio would like to grill with and for us.

    What hospitality 😍❤️.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Scoglio di Manfria

    February 18, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Today we went to the bay behind the Torre di Manfria. We did not walk but drove since it was too far for us to walk further than the Torre, i.e. into the bay behind it.

    So we drove to the Torre to hike from there. Great! The almonds are blooming and the bees are buzzing. The yellow clover shines everywhere and the asphodel stretches into the sky. Every now and then a Mastorchis (Himantoglossum robertianum) has secured a place between the crystal stones.

    What a wonderful bay.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Calidris

    February 19, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Today I would like to introduce you to my friends. May I introduce? Sandpiper family. They often accompany me on my walks on the beach.

    Calidris is a genus of Arctic-breeding, strongly migratory wading birds in the family Scolopacidae. These birds form huge mixed flocks on coasts and estuaries in winter. They are the typical "sandpipers", small to medium-sized, long-winged and relatively short-billed.

    Their bills have sensitive tips which contain numerous corpuscles of Herbst. This enables the birds to locate buried prey items, which they typically seek with restless running and probing.

    How wonderful to observe them! 🤩    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Once more Caltagirone

    February 20, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 12 °C

    Today we went to Caltagirone again, this time with four people.

    Luigi, that's what I called the car that I borrowed from Martinello, was quite busy with 4 people.

    This time we left so early that we were able to return at 1:00 p.m. In my opinion, siesta makes no sense in winter. Everything is closed from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. or even 4:00 p.m. and only opens again when it's almost dark again.

    Today we were definitely early enough to stick our noses in everywhere before the siesta.

    A really nice town.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Taormina

    February 21, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    The town of Taormina, located on a plateau above the Sicilian east coast, developed into a preferred travel destination in Sicily thanks to the picturesque view of Mount Etna and the offshore island of Isola Bella, the numerous sights and the mild climate even in winter.

    So winter is ideal for visiting. Then the city is not crowded at all, the streets are almost empty as well as the stores and there is space in every coffee and restaurant.
    Actually we planned to go up the hill by cable-car but it was closed since it was under revision. So we drove up by car and parked in the parking garage , where we easily found a spot.

    The Siculians settled on Monte Tauro before the Greek colonization, and friendly relations were maintained with the Greek colonists in neighboring Naxos. After the destruction of Naxos by the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse in 403 BC. Their residents were absorbed into the city, which was given the Greek name Tauromenion. The city later came under the rule of Syracuse until the Romans took control of Sicily with the First Punic War.

    The main town of Taormina, straggles along a hillside, 2 km up a hairpin road from the coast.
    Above the main town, Via Leonardo da Vinci continues to zigzag upwards, to Sanctuario Madonna della Rocca and the castle. And on it climbs, to end at the hilltop village of Castelmola.
    The name "Taormina" is also loosely applied to the strip along the coast road below, notably to the railway station Taormina-Giardini-Naxos. Taormina town limits include the beach area of Mazzaro at the foot of the cable-car, and the tip of the peninsula where Via Pirandello starts its climb.

    I already knew Taormina, but the other three didn't and the city is definitely worth a day trip, especially in winter.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Pinsa

    February 21, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Do you know Pinsa? I didn't know that before.

    The Pinsa goes back to an idea by the Italian entrepreneur Corrado Di Marco, who registered the brand name Pinsa romana in 2001. As early as 1981, Di Marco introduced the sheet dough, which was later called Pinsa, into its product range for the first time. As a marketing strategy, as Di Marco later admitted, the Pinsa's non-existent historical connection to Ancient Rome was circulated in order to better sell the product.

    The name Pinsa is a connection to the Latin pinsere (to crush). In addition, when developing the name, a similarity to the terms pizza and pita was desired. With the success of the product, the invented Roman past of the Pinsa was also taken over and spread unchecked by the media.

    The dough usually consists of different types of flour (wheat, soy and rice), sourdough and yeast as well as salt, if necessary oil and cold water. The dough is rich in voids before baking, making it light and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. The sourdough is intended to ensure digestibility and is usually baked without toppings and only then topped. The pinsa is often topped without tomato sauce, just with oil and salt, and sometimes with other ingredients such as tomatoes, salami, cheese or vegetables. The Pinsa dough can be stored longer than pizza dough made from pure wheat flour without becoming sour.

    I definitely had to try this - it tastes delicious!    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Cafè Sant'Angelo

    February 22, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    Another attempt at aperitivi.

    This one didn't convince me either. Apart from Siracusa, I haven't found anything that convinced me.

    But it is definitely a very nice café in the middle of a spacious, sunny square.

    Regarding aperitivi I'll try again in Palermo because tomorrow morning I'm going to Palermo for 3 days ❤️.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Santuario di Sant'Angelo

    February 22, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 15 °C

    The Sanctuary of Sant'Angelo is located in the homonymous square in the historic center of Licata.

    The works perfected in their current forms and carried out in 1752 were evaluated by Angelo Italia, architect and "engineer" of the diocese of Agrigento, and by the architect Giovanni Biagio Amico.

    The church was elevated to a sanctuary on 5 May 2010 by the metropolitan archbishop of Agrigento, Francis Montenegro.

    A visit is certainly not necessary, but if you're having a drink in the Cafè Sant'Angelo anyway, you can definitely take a quick look.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Arrived in Palermo

    February 23, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    After a 3 hour drive we arrived in Palermo. Everything went pretty smooth and the apartment is super nice and central.

    After we had something to eat in a nice cultural café called Radici, we tried in vain to activate the parking ticket for the traffic-calmed zone via SMS with our German and Romanian cell phones. No chance.

    The nice man at Tabacchi was able to help us, you probably need an Italian phone number otherwise no confirmation can be sent via SMS.

    I've been to Palermo a few times and it's always a pleasure ❤️.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Radici

    February 23, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌬 17 °C

    We went eating in a location called Radici. We found it by accident when we returned from the restaurant where we actually wanted to have lunch - but it was fully reserved.

    So we stumbled over Radici - also called a "Small Museum of Nature". It is a cultural center for the construction, promotion and dissemination of ecological thinking.

    The multifunctional space, dedicated to girls, boys and adults goes beyond the traditional idea of ​​a museum and is also designed to accommodate daily moments of study, work, play or simple leisure.

    Guided tours, workshops, free activities, corners of quiet and shelves full of books and specialist magazines are just part of what you can find, perhaps while enjoying the small specialties to eat.

    A nice place!    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Catacombe dei Cappuccini

    February 23, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    Today we walked 40 minutes across Palermo to get to the Catacombe dei Cappuccini. I already knew the catacombs, but found them so fascinating last time, that I wanted to look at them again.

    So the Catacombe dei Cappuccini are burial catacombs in Palermo. Today they provide a somewhat macabre tourist attraction as well as an extraordinary historical record.

    But how did that happen? Palermo's Capuchin monastery outgrew its original cemetery in the 16th century and monks began to excavate crypts below it. In 1599 they mummified one of their number, the recently-deceased brother Silvestro of Gubbio, and placed him in the catacombs.

    Bodies were dehydrated on racks of ceramic pipes in the catacombs and sometimes later washed with vinegar. Some bodies were embalmed and others were enclosed in sealed glass cabinets. Friars were preserved with their everyday clothing and sometimes with ropes they had worn in penance.

    Initially the catacombs were intended only for deceased friars. However, in later centuries it became a status symbol to be entombed in the Capuchin catacombs. In their wills, local luminaries would ask to be preserved in certain clothes, or even have their clothes changed at regular intervals. Priests wore their clerical vestments, while others were clothed according to contemporary fashion. Relatives would visit to pray for the deceased and to maintain the body in presentable condition.

    The catacombs were maintained through donations from the relatives of the deceased. Each new body was placed in a temporary niche and later placed into a more permanent location. So long as contributions continued, the body remained in its proper place but if relatives stopped sending money, the body was put aside on a shelf until they resumed payments.

    The bodies present have never been counted, but it is believed that there were up to 8,000. The mummies, standing or lying down, dressed in elegant clothes, are divided by sex and social class. Most belong to the higher classes, as mummification was an expensive procedure. In the various branches one can recognize prelates, merchants and bourgeois in Sunday clothes, army officers in parade uniform, young virgin women, who disappeared before they could get married, wearing their wedding dress, family groups standing on high shelves , separated by thin balcony-like railings, and children.

    What a strange place 🤪.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Mercato di Ballarò

    February 24, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Mercato di Ballarò is a well-known historical market in Palermo. The permanent market extends from Piazza Casa Professa to the bastions of Corso Tukory towards Porta Sant'Agata.

    The market is famous for the sale of first fruits that come from the Palermitan countryside. Ballarò is the oldest of the city's markets, frequented daily by hundreds of people, animated by the so-called abbanniate, that is, by the noisy calls of the sellers who, with their characteristic and colorful local accent, try to attract the interest of passers-by.

    It looks like a mass of crowded stalls and with the street invaded by wooden boxes containing the goods which are continuously shouted, shouted at, chanted to advertise the good quality and good price of the products.

    Ballarò is mainly a food market, mainly used for the sale of fruit, vegetables, spices, meat and fish, but you can also find household items for cooking and cleaning the house, as in the Capo and Vucciria markets.

    Inside the market, greengrocers sell cooked foods and street foods, typical of Palermo cuisine, such as boiled or baked onions, panelle (chickpea flour pancakes), crocchè o cazzilli (potato croquettes), boiled vegetables, octopus, quarume (veal innards) and panino con la meusa (spleen sandwich).

    If you are in Palermo go there in the morning and at least eat one thing, better three 😋.    Read more

  • Gina SteinerSicily 2024, ItalyTraveler

    Orto Botanico Palermo

    February 24, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    The Orto Botanico di Palermo
    (Palermo Botanical Garden) is a garden complex that is used by the University of Palermo as a teaching and research facility and is open to interested visitors.

    In 1779, the Accademia dei Regi Studi (Royal University) founded the Chair of Botany and Medicine. This chair was assigned a piece of land on which plants could be cultivated and examined for possible use as medicinal plants. However, since the allocated land soon turned out to be too small, the complex was moved to its current location in 1786 next to the then existing Villa Giulia.

     In 1789, construction began on the neoclassical administration building, the Gymnasium, based on the plans of the French architect Léon Dufourny. Two outbuildings, the Tepidarium and the Calidarium, were designed by Venanzio Marvuglia. Dufourny also designed the oldest part of the garden near the high school.

    The garden was opened in 1795. In the following years, the complex was expanded to include the Aquarium (1798), a pool with aquatic plants, and the Serra Maria Carolina (1823), a greenhouse.

    In 1845, the Ficus macrophylla, now the garden's landmark, was imported from Norfolk Island (Australia).

    The current size of around ten hectares was achieved through many smaller expansions in 1892. In 1913 the Giardino coloniale ("Colonial Garden") was opened, but it no longer exists today. Since 1985, the garden has been managed by the Dipartimento di Scienze Botaniche (Institute of Botany).

    The garden is definitely worth a visit and impresses with its beautiful greenhouses and the peace and quiet in the middle of this turbulent city.    Read more

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