massimop

meant to add: Trapani also has an airport.

Also, it's not going to work for this trip, but if you ever do get to Palermo, many of the churches have amazing interiors done in vivid varied polychrome stone. Sounds like it would fascinate both you and your husband. It might also exist in some of the other places in Sicily on your wish list. It's something to keep an eye out for.

Also wondering if your husband wants to get up close & personal with lava stone in Sicily.

rosetravels

massimop - one would think a geologist would be interested in Etna but no, lava isn't a geologic puzzle.

That is such a good question, "what experience of Sicily I most want to have." The experience I want is to get to know the food, wine and daily life of Sicily. I never think any site is a 'must-see' but it's nice to have something to do and wander into - however small - every day. I do seek out paintings and churches and beautiful squares in the towns I visit but I tend to choose the towns for restaurants and street life first and then look around for things to see. The thing I like best about Italy is how every town can be an adventure and that stopping for an espresso in a small bar in a town you've never heard of is a memory that lasts.

Yes, I've been to Paestum twice. DH would like to see Agrigento (I could easily not). We'll think about Cefalu. Our son was there last December and really liked it but it was probably the mix of coastal and ancient that appealed and other places would be as good.

What interests me about the Noto Valleys isn't the sites or specific buildings, but that they seem to be just nice, vibrant cities to spend time in and the landscapes in the area look appealing. We do love the energy of big cities and I've been unsure if I have enough time allotted to Catania.

Haven't purchased our RyanAir tickets yet. We just have our tickets to Berlin and then home from Milan.

kja - good to know that Agrigento can take that much time! I was thinking 3 hours but it's always hard to know. I thought Paestum was good for about an hour but I happily spent 6 hours at Pompeii.

massimop

If you end up going to Agrigento you might want to stay in this Agriturismo for the food & experience if it is open in December

https://eatingwithziggy.com/tag/ciucis-manor-sicily/

And you might want to browse through the rest of that blog for more food tips, even though the blogger's itinerary in Sicily was a little more beachy than yours will be.

The area of the Baroque towns is one of the richest in terms of food production in Italy, being an important agricultural belt, so you might find it particularly rewarding to go there. This is an old article but you might find it interesting.

http://www.travelandleisure.com/arti...ly-old-and-new

One thing to take away from that article which is true is that the best cooking in Sicily is traditional scooking and home cooking. If you can book a Home Food meal with a "Cesarine" (there is a website) it can be fantastic, as can agriturismi meals.

If you haven't bought your air tickets in and out of Sicily give some consideration to flying into Trapani or Palermo & making your way to Agrigento first, and then flying out of Catania. It's often windy in Catania so I prefer to fly out of it rather than into it, but maybe you dont care and flying into Catania and out of either Palermo or Trapani airport would work better in terms of flight schedules.

What I know about geology is -- nothing!

massimop

For what it's worth I arrived at Agrigento in the late afternoon and spent about 90 minutes at the site & thought it a satisfying visit & haven't felt a desire to return. I didn't go to the museum the next day, which obviously would have taken some time. I spent about an hour at Paestum's temples and perhaps 2.5 hours at the museum. i have visited Pompeii twice, 4 hrs first time, six hours 2d time, & would go back again.

kja

If interested in painting, note that Caravaggio’s <i>Burial of St. Lucia</i> is in Siracusa and Messina’s <i>Virgin Annunciate</i> is in Palermo.

Our timings are remarkable similar: I also spent about an hour at Paestum and 6 hours at Pompeii.

rosetravels

You've all been so helpful! I've made changes and I'm heading over to TA to ask. The link to the Travel and Leisure article is reassuring as it makes SE Sicily sound like the experience I like. And it has links to a couple of wineries. Bonus.

kja - I'll track the painting down in Siracusa! massimop - we haven't bought our tickets from Berlin and to Milan yet but the dates don't work to fly into Palermo, sadly. It would cut our time in Germany short.

Still in draft form but here's what I'm thinking:

20. Catania. Take cab into city, O/N Catania
21. Pick up rental car in city after lunch. O/N Enna
22. Visit Agrigento. O/N where?
23. Modica (or stay in Noto these days)
24. Modica
25. Modica
26. Ortigia (possibly return car first)
27. Ortigia
28. Ortigia
29. Catania
30. Fly out Catania in the morning

kja

Caravaggio’s <i>Burial of St. Lucia</i> might be in the church of Santa Lucia in Siracusa (not the one in Ortygia); it had just be "returned" there when I visited after a long tenure in the city's museum (which was closed when I was there). BUT the Santa Lucia in Ortygia apparently entered battle over where it should be housed....
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...-10295715.html
I'm sure your lodging or the TI office can help you find it. Let us know where it ended up!

I enjoyed Enna and had a scrumptious meal at a restaurant that was, at least when I was there, geared to locals -- the Ristorante Centrale (Piazza VI Dicembre, 9). It still gets decent reviews, so you might want to consider it.

There are several places in Agrigento that offer views of the back-lit temples at night. You might want to look for one of them. (The one in which I stayed is under different management, so I don't feel comfortable recommending it.)

Returning your car upon your arrival in Ortygia makes a lot of sense to me.

In Ortygia, I was very pleased with my stay at l'Approdo delle Sirene, and am glad that several other Fodorites have since enjoyed their time there.
http://www.apprododellesirene.com

I hope you are still considering a stop at the Villa Romana del Casale!

Hope that helps!

sundriedtopepo

I think your stay at Enna is to overnight in order to see the Villa Romana del Casale, is that right, rosetravels? Otherwise it doesn't make sense to overnight there, as the drive to Agrigento is not long by the highway. Second kja's suggestion of Ristorante Centrale.

Have you considered if you decide to keep your rental car in Ortygia that it's pretty easy to drive from there to the airport, easy to find off the highway? It took us 45 minutes with the help of google maps. We were able to get a flight out at 11 am, which meant we didn't have to rush.

We did not have a good impression of Catania. It's rather dark and dirty and a real workaday city. I would not suggest taking a rental car into the city. It's easy to do a day trip there if you want, by bus or train from Syracuse but I think you would enjoy an extra day in Ortygia area more.

sundriedtopepo

Hmm just reread your earlier questions, I see your flight is at 8:30... I guess you have to weigh an overnight in Catania over getting up earlier to arrive at the airport on time from Syracuse. Good news is there shouldn't be much traffic But it could take 20 minutes or so to get to the airport from Catania depending on where you're staying, so add another 40 minutes to give lots of time from Syracuse... Since I hate getting up early I'd have a hard time with this decision �� But it also depends on where you are headed that day, I think.

Another thing to consider is opening times of your car rental office at the airport. You may need to drop the keys, but I would take pictures of the car for any damage claims.

Rose it seems a shame to me for you to miss the views from the theatre at Taormina since you are an artist. But it is a resort and reportedly a lot of things close in the winter, so probably not worth your while anyway.

I'm going to recommend a hotel in Agrigento called Colleverde Park Hotel. In the winter you may be able to get good rates. They have a wonderful garden with a view of the sea and temples below. Some of the rooms also have a view.

Watch opening times and festivities around Christmas time if you will be travelling then.

annhig

Caravaggio’s Burial of St. Lucia might be in the church of Santa Lucia in Siracusa (not the one in Ortygia); it had just be "returned" there when I visited after a long tenure in the city's museum (which was closed when I was there). BUT the Santa Lucia in Ortygia apparently entered battle over where it should be housed....>>

kja - we happened upon an exhibition about this painting after our lovely Sunday lunch in Ortyigia, so I'm pretty certain that's where it is; google maps seems to agree with me too.

massimop

rosetravels.

You can't count on being able to go to Enna in the mountains at that time of year. The elevation is high enough for there to be snowstorms. Bear in mind that the weather in that part of Sicily is quite changeable, and generally only very short term weather forecasts are reliable -- I am talking shorterm like 4 hours if storms are predicted. (If the 2-day forecast is for nothing but sunny skies for the next 5 days, that's usually good to go.)

Anyway, I don't know if going via Caltagirone would keep you off mountain roads. But you need a Plan B. You shouldn't have any trouble booking things last minute.

kja

@ annhig: Just to be clear, you're saying you saw the Caravaggio in the Santa Lucia in Ortygia itself? And your understanding is that it has been permanently hung there, as opposed to the Santa Lucia across the channel that was it's original home and that was battling for its return?

kja

massimop has a good point about the roads to Enna. I remember a seemingly endless stretch of switchbacks that I didn't particularly enjoy in good weather and would hate to tackle if the weather was not cooperative.

My recollection of the road from Caltagirone to Siracusa is that it was quite easy, except perhaps for the first kilometer or so upon leaving Caltagirone. I'm not sure I trust my memory! I didn't drive from Agrigento to Caltagirone, but don't think it would be quite such a challenging road as the one to Enna.

annhig

@ annhig: Just to be clear, you're saying you saw the Caravaggio in the Santa Lucia in Ortygia itself? And your understanding is that it has been permanently hung there, as opposed to the Santa Lucia across the channel that was it's original home and that was battling for its return?>>

Sure would be pushing it, [we'd had a "good" lunch!] but i have a strong recollection of seeing it in the church just along from where we'd had lunch, in a street to the south side of the piazza del duomo in Ortyigia. The painting, very dark, was there, plus an exhibition about it. I can't say whether it's still there, but when I put Chiesa di Santa Lucia, Ortygia into google maps, the details of the church come up along with a mention of the painting.

it also links to this website:

https://www.secretsiracusa.it/dove-a...adia-siracusa/

which has a lot of interesting info about the church and the picture as well as other sites in Siracusa itself.

annhig

Piazza Armerina is the obvious place to stay in order to see the Villa and whilst the old town is on a hill, it is surrounded by a new[ish] town where there are hotels; the main road through the town connects to the autostrada from Catania to Palermo, which also goes through Enna.

I don't remember this bit of Sicily being particularly difficult to drive, unlike some of the other areas we encountered.

rosetravels

You are all the best. That website is great! I've definitely rethought the Enna stay but I think - given the time of year - that we can make a last minute decision too.

kja - glad to hear of your recollection of the road to Caltagirone. It's a long drive to Agrigento if it's only along the coast. It would pain us to see a route through the hills and mountains and be unable to take it.

sundriedtopepo

kja I wonder if the switchbacks you remember are the ones driving up to the top of the hilltown of Enna? The highway itself, that is the toll highway A9 I think it is, is as good a highway as you can get.

Our last trip, we drove from Taormina to Piazza Armerina on the SS288 which runs between the northern toll highway, and the southern highway through Caltagirone. We found it a very scenic road, but slower going of course than the toll road.

The road to Caltagirone looks similar, but might be a better bet as it is further south.

kja

@ annhig: Yes, that's the Santa Lucia in Ortygia itself, a church well worth seeing IMO -- for example, there's a very impressive silver bust there, IIRC. But since there is some dispute about where the painting belongs, I still think the OP would do well to confirm IF it is a priority.

@ sundriedtopepo: Yes, the switchbacks I meant were in the part of the roads that one drives to actually get into or out of the hill town of Enna. Thanks for making sure I clarified that!

@ rose travels: Please don't take my word about the roads through Caltigirone -- it's been too long for me to remember with any certainty. It sounds like sundriedtopepo has better information....

annhig

I don't remember the roads to or from Caltigirone being a problem and it makes a fine place for a half day/lunch stop. We found a car park up at the top of the town and walked down, explored for a couple of hours and had lunch, then walked back via the famous church up those notorious steps. Phew. There are some interesting shops in the town selling ceramics, including ones for presepe, [nativity scenes] with some shops having wonderful displays. What it would be like in December of course I don't know as we were there about this time last year [September '16]