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Beautiful sea, but otherwise definitely not my kind of place. I was underwhelmed by Mt Etna, too, although I didn't get to see too much of it. Much better from a distance!
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Day 24: Gambino Winery (Linguaglossa)
Gambino Winery in Linguaglossa is a perfect day trip from Taormina. It has 28 acres of grapes on the eastern side of Mt. Etna and makes unique wines from the volcanic soils there. There are several winemakers around Etna, but Gambino, which sells a lot of its production in the US, claims to be at the highest elevation on Mount Etna. A beautiful spot for a tasting that can include a lot of good food as well.
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Day 24: Castello degli Schiavi (Fiumefreddo di Sicilia)
We were in Savoca and Forza d’Agro and enjoyed the Godfather film locations in each. We had read about an equally famous spot, featured in two of the Godfather films, Castello degli Schiavi. The last online review for this property was four years ago, so we aren’t certain of its current status. At least in the past, the baron of this palatial property personally gave tours, open only to group visits. While driving over 2,000 miles on this trip, we happened to be in Fiumefreddo di Sicilia. A quick google search revealed we had just driven by the place. There was no place to turn out or park on this road, so we stopped our car in the middle of the road, Italian style, jumped out, peeked through a big gate and got a quick glimpse of one side of this well-cared for property.
https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ff9484193.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...1ba998051.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e9f4cbffe.jpeg Godfather film clip |
Originally Posted by thursdaysd
(Post 17378497)
Beautiful sea, but otherwise definitely not my kind of place. I was underwhelmed by Mt Etna, too, although I didn't get to see too much of it. Much better from a distance!
Beach towns like Giardini Naxos not our kind of place either, except for wine and lunch. As for Mt. Etna, a few days later, we had the perfect distant view of nighttime red lava explosions that even made CNN news. |
Day 25: Taormina
We spent six hours on a Friday in Taormina, one of the most popular of Sicily’s villages. Crowds were not too bad on this day, despite the usual tour groups. We will return here to end our trip, and it does get much busier. Taormina is colorful and quite photogenic. If it weren't for those crowds, this is arguably one of Italy's most beautiful places.
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Gorgeous pictures. I figure it's worth one night in Taormina to see it in the early morning and evening when hopefully there are no crowds.
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Originally Posted by thursdaysd
(Post 17378832)
Gorgeous pictures. I figure it's worth one night in Taormina to see it in the early morning and evening when hopefully there are no crowds.
Thank you. It is a beautiful place. Of course, crowds depend a bit on the time of year. We noticed a big uptick in crowds from our first visit on May 20 to our return on May 28. When we returned there, after visiting cousins and then Aeolian islands, we also re-visited Castelmola. That makes it worth an extra day. More on that soon. |
Day 25: Alcantara Gorge
The scenic Alcantara Gorge (Gola Alcantara) was created by an eruption of Mt. Moio, a tiny hill-top below Etna, probably 4,500 years ago. While the lava was still hot, a huge crack opened creating the original gorge. And, over the years the river has found its way through this lava and eventually to the sea in Giardini Naxos.
This is a popular day trip from Taormina for swimming and river sports like body rafting. We had expected to see a dry river bed, like we had seen in a lot of drought-impacted Sicily, but the water flow looked similar to when we were here 14 years ago. We just took a peek on our way to our next base. https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9024c873e.jpeg |
Day 25-27: Malvagna
Few people, even in Sicily, have ever heard of Malvagna, on the northern side of Mt. Etna, but, for us, this was the highlight of our trip. We met and stayed with wonderful cousins for the first time here. This is a very quiet town, away from tourism and perhaps sadly threatened with long term survival, as young people are departing, to find jobs, like my grandfather did in 1905. We visited their vineyards, olive groves and gardens. Yet, many of those young people will tell you this is the kind of place where everything, employment excepted, is as close to perfect as you can find. Everyone knows everyone. Family bonds are strong. The air is clean. The sharing of family meals. Self sufficiency. Wine, fruit, oil, nuts, flowers, herbs. And, surprisingly there is a lot to see and do within easy reach. They can go shopping or dining in Catania, a little more than one hour away.
A little known fact is that Etna is NOT the only place that has spawned volcanoes or has craters in the main part of Sicily. Anyone who has been to Alcantara Gorge or even Giardini Naxos has seen miles of lava rock leading into the sea. This lava rock came from an eruption, perhaps a few thousand years ago, from a tiny hilltop volcano (Mt. Moio) adjacent to Malvagna, which is below the northern slopes of Mt Etna. More on that crater in a separate post. From our bedroom terrace, while there, we watched explosive blasts of red lava from the still snowy slopes of Mt. Etna, each of the three nights we were there. They continued throughout the nights. They were significant enough that CNN even reported about them while we were there. https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...31b9bc677.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f681b1468.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3463b9285.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e07cdbdec.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0ad3fa78a.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...ed1f184aa.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...90de7362d.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...90b81b3e4.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...04fdbcd45.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...2d26465cf.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b1f5d44aa.jpeg Byzantine Church on outskirts of town https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...aadc761f7.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...a9b507fc2.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...3ffeb054a.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...fa48442ff.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f73f8342e.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...193ff384a.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...87f5e9560.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...77e1dfc68.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...47cd6b61a.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...400d82653.jpeg |
Yo WH, a most interesting section, this last one.
I am done. the lava |
Day 26: Randazzo
We made a quick visit to Randazzo, the town that could have been destroyed in 1981, when a powerful flow of Etna lava headed dangerously in that direction. Lava and snow don’t mix well, and unmelted snow caused explosions. If the lava hit water in the Alcantara River, that could have doomed a wide area including Randazzo, but the lava was halted by a large area of vineyards (all destroyed). Randazzo is an interesting, but non-touristy, village that has used lava rock to its advantage, with its street and major buildings built with blocks of the rock, even the immense columns in its beautiful basilica. Often called the “black town”, due to all the dark lava material and building highlights, Randazzo also was once known as the “town of 100 churches”, many of which still remain. One church in the center seemed to defy the darkness of the basilica with lots of light colors and bright chandeliers.
While in Randazzo, we did some shopping at a Lidl store, framed by an explosive Mt. Etna. https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...db771c2ed.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...4205eecdd.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b3aa38eee.jpeg https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...f6a3d69f3.jpeg https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...9f9ca6e7d.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...19e5518c8.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...cf7c7a775.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c0af6e947.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...d1c641f18.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...8b52a3e70.jpeg https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...abcfb3034.jpeg |
whitehall, just popping in again to repeat that I'm thoroughly enjoying your descriptive and photo-rich trip report - especially given our own forthcoming (first) trip to Sicily this September. We will have < 2 weeks, so will barely scratch the surface relative to your travels!
btw, Randazzo reminds me about this interesting little piece I read https://edition.cnn.com/travel/artic...meci/index.htm, though I'm sure the gelato pretty much everywhere will be exceptional! |
Me too. Great report. I look forward to the updates every day.
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Day 26: Riserva Naturale Orientata Bosco di Malabotta, Megaliti D’Argimusco
While visiting family in Malvagna, we discovered the Megalith of Argimusco, which some people describe as Italy’s version of Stonehenge. These various large rock formations are located in La Riserva Naturale Orientata del Bosco di Malabotta. It is within the town of Montalbano Elicona. We don’t get to that town’s center, but it was on our list of places we wanted to visit.
Many of the megaliths have suggestive shapes, a praying person, rabbit, eagle, and more. Views from there extend to Milazzo, the sea and the Aeolian islands to the north, east to Giardini Naxos and south to Mt. Etna. We had the place to ourselves. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c3aa633a5.jpeg https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e4db84617.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5510be331.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...acac81710.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...c5cc7cdba.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...6c0842b40.jpeg https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5dbb22951.jpeg https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...5f599de4b.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...b36dfc378.jpeg https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...0675187f0.jpeg https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...81812776d.jpeg https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...bce65e9a2.jpeg https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...61d4c8ba3.jpeg |
Originally Posted by ANUJ
(Post 17379396)
whitehall, just popping in again to repeat that I'm thoroughly enjoying your descriptive and photo-rich trip report - especially given our own forthcoming (first) trip to Sicily this September. We will have < 2 weeks, so will barely scratch the surface relative to your travels!
btw, Randazzo reminds me about this interesting little piece I read https://edition.cnn.com/travel/artic...meci/index.htm, though I'm sure the gelato pretty much everywhere will be exceptional! Thank you ANUJ . Your link on gelato in Randazzo didn't work, but here is another one, since we thoroughly enjoyed it. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/g...eci/index.html One of the churches we photographed was only a few feet from this bar, but we missed it. Hoping to be back in September for the family grape harvest and will definitely go there. While many gelato places, especially in tourist areas, serve the colorful stuff we stay away from, it is great to see people still focusing on quality and making it in their back rooms. Besides colors, places with covered tins (more interested in preserving the quality of the product than the need for display) appeal to us. As the article suggests, the US has not been able to duplicate great Italian gelato. We did find one exception. A young college age woman was trained by a family in Florence, Italy, and opened a gelato place several years ago a few feet from Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. It was as good as any we have had in Italy. She opened a second location in an upscale Boston area mall, and then Covid put both places out of business. Too bad; it was that good. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fod...e768c705ca.jpg Morano Gelato, Hanover, NH |
Originally Posted by ANUJ
(Post 17379396)
whitehall, just popping in again to repeat that I'm thoroughly enjoying your descriptive and photo-rich trip report - especially given our own forthcoming (first) trip to Sicily this September. We will have < 2 weeks, so will barely scratch the surface relative to your travels!
btw, Randazzo reminds me about this interesting little piece I read https://edition.cnn.com/travel/artic...meci/index.htm, though I'm sure the gelato pretty much everywhere will be exceptional! Whitehall, your pictures are drool worthy, how much more you can see and do when you aren’t dependent on buses/trains and our own horsepower as we were, lol! 😂 |
Originally Posted by geetika
(Post 17379551)
Anuj, delicious gelato everywhere in Sicily, tiramisu too, I gorged on them!
Whitehall, your pictures are drool worthy, how much more you can see and do when you aren’t dependent on buses/trains and our own horsepower as we were, lol! 😂 |
Day 27: Mojo Alcantara
Within walking distance of Malvagna is the Mt. Moio volcanic crater, which we believe is considered extinct after 4500 years. Although this crater is a few feet from Malvagna, it is in the town of Mojo Alcantara. Unlike the usually crowded craters on Mt. Etna, we shared the path up to Mt. Moio, past an old wine mill, with only a slithering black racer snake. The crater does not have a moon-like appearance as the ones on Etna and is full of life, with lots of grass, bushes, wild fig trees, even sheep. The views in all directions show the best of Sicily.
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Day 28: Milazzo
A peek at beautiful Milazzo as we wait for the ferry to Aeolian islands. We got our first glimpse of this large peninsular community from the mountains above a couple days earlier. Seemed to be an authentic seaside town, with the only tourists the ones lining up for the ferries to the islands. A large and busy harbor, with plenty of room for modern hydrofoils and small fishing boats. This one would be worth another visit. Next time.
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