Sicily Planning Questions - Car & Ceramics
 

Hi, I'm working on an itinerary for Sicily and had a few questions.

(1) We will be renting a car. I have seen a lot of mention of theft from vehicles. One book I have says park in a lot with an attendant. Are there lots with attendants? Is this an issue at archeological sites? Or mostly in towns? I'm trying to figure out if we can see something en route with a trunk full of luggage, or if we really need to avoid that everywhere, etc. Thoughts?

(2) We are interested in shopping for ceramics. (My mother is a serious shopper). Does anyone have recommendations? Is it worth it to go through somewhere like Caltagirone?

Thanks for any input!

We were warned about auto theft and the only place we left luggage in the car trunk, not a hatch back, was at Villa Romana Casale. There was a ticket taker there and several tour buses were parked, drivers standing outside. We were robbed, things removed from locked car, in Chile so are a little sensitive to this issue.
In two half weeks in Sicily that was the only time we did that.

I did buy a small ceramic piece in Taormina. It is where they are made and sold. Lovely shop. They use themes from Sicily, plants, animals.It is located on the main pedestrianised street at the opposite end from the Greek theatre. I encourage your mother to visit this shop.
KERAMEION
di Marco Manforte
Corso Umberto 198
Taormina
kerameion.com

I do believe that I posted the name of a hotel at Piazza Armerina that will rent a day room for your luggage. We ended up staying at an agriturismo between Agrigento and Piazza Armerina and drove to both with our luggage safely in our room. You can click on my name for my Sicily report from last April.

I'm risk adverse and planned the trip to avoid stops with luggage in the car.

For those with a love of ceramics, Caltagirone is an interesting place to visit for its public ceramics, and at least when I was there (2007), prices for items for purchase were decent -- but I didn't search elsewhere and so can't comment on whether the prices were competitive. Whether it makes sense to include Caltagirone in your itinerary depends on your interests and the rest of your plan.

I, too, am planning a trip to Sicily and wondering if I should include Caltagirone. I've made two or three trips to the island but the last was about ten years ago. I was robbed at knifepoint in the lobby of the Palermo hotel, and suffered minor wounds which impacted the rest of the trip (I fought with the attacker--bad move), and from then on, my partner had crossed Sicily off our travel list. But Ii am keen to go and we are planning for next spring...

So after that long intro: Should I include Caltagirone? I am not planning to buy ceramics but the staircase looks beautiful. The rest of the town?? Enough to keep us busy for two days? (I hate one night stays)

We have about three weeks...no limit, really. Planning to begin in Catania and move in clockwise direction from Catania to Ragusa and then on to southern coast.

There isn't much other than the staircase -- a church with a ceramic dome, a nice park, there's a museum on ceramics that I didn't visit.... There wasn't enough to keep me busy for more than a few hours; YMMV.

Thanks for that. I trust your opinions and think I will skip, in light of the fact that we have so many stops planned already....

Hoping to begin in Catania, stay about three nights and then head to Ragusa with day trips to Noto and Modica. Skipping Siracusa and Taormina because have been there twice in the past. Then head west across southern coast. skipping Agrigento.

I must begin a new thread as soon as I get my guides from the library and do more reading..

You certainly can and I know your taste and trust you very much. I already have Trapani on the list..maybe do a daytrip to Erice from there?

I must begin a new thread once I do more reading...for now, I was thinking of staying in Catania, Ragusa (day trips to Modica and other towns near there including Noto for Caffe Sicilia and architecture)

Then drive east to town near Scala dei Turchi where I found a lovely-looking B&B. Then maybe Sciaccia, and then Castelvaltrano, before heading north to Trapani area, and then to another lovely B&B I found near Termini Immerese. Then fly home from Palermo, maybe staying there a couple of days, too.

No Siracusa and no Taormina because I've been and would rather explore less touristed areas....much depends on the designated driver who has a bad feeling due to the robbery mentioned earlier, even though that person was fast asleep upstairs when it happened despite my screaming and the screaming of the woman on duty at reception who has her rings and gold cross yanked off before the moron leaped the divide and stole the cash out of the drawer.!! Best part was that we got a great tour of Palermo from the police who put us in the back of the car with siren roaring and proceeded to race around the city pointing out all the highlights and telling us that they were Napolitan and that Palermo was "Baghdad" compared to that city. More excitement when we got to the questura and talked to the "detective.." Truly it was creepy but nothing horrible but my broken finger and loss of a lot of cash that was in my wallet that was taken.
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Sounds like a good idea!
And WOW, I'm glad my experience of Palermo was unlike yours. :omg: I'm glad you've been able to get past the trauma -- and I would have found it traumatic.