What's your favorite small town in Sicily?
 

We'll be in Sicily at the end of December and figure on Jan.1 we'll just drive around the middle of the island. We're interested in small, out-of-the-way, strange, quaint, funny, weird, off-beat places.

Got any ideas?

Dave

Not sure this qualifies under your criteria - but we loved Enna - which is a mountain top small town - the drive there and back is wonderful and it is small and quaint. We stayed in Giardini Naxos (down the hill from Taormina) which does not really meet your criteria but out of season in particular would not be full of tourists.

ORTIGIA!!! Right across from Siracusa because of its proximity to the Ionian Sea and its Baroque influence. Heaven on Earth!

We spent 2 wks in Sicily this summer and love off the beaten path. GO to ERICE which is in the norhwest. DOn't miss Selilunte for fabulous ruins. ALso Valley of the Temples in Agrigento tho the town is not much. Monreale near Palermo. Don't spent much time in Palerno. The Relais Santa Anastasia is a newly converted monastery in CASTELBUONO. The Relais is fabulous & the town of Castelbuono is charming. While in the area, don't miss CEFALU! All great!

Caltabellotta. It is definitely a "small, out-of-the-way, strange, quaint, funny, weird, off-beat" place. http://www.comune.caltabellotta.ag.it/
http://sicilia.indettaglio.it/eng/co...abellotta.html

I agree with Ortigia, but even more beautiful baroque architecture can be seen in Noto. Quite amazing!

Ortigia is wonderful and you should defiitly go there but it's not really a small town, certainly not out of the way - it's the old section of Siracusa,one of the major cities and on the coast.

Erice is also wonderful - it is a small town, high on a hill on the western coast with great ambiance and fabulous views. Quite un-touristy compared to places on the east coast like Siracusa and Taormina.

In the middle of the island two great towns are Polizzi Generosa and Geraci Sisrulo. They are described in a wonderful book called the Stone Boudoir. The author describes the towns wonderfully and that was one of the main reasons we sought them out and I'm very glad we did. Driving around the middle of the island can be time consuming, and often the scenery is rather boring - compared to the beautiful coast line. But we were glad we saw the area, and those towns.

Ragusa was another favorite. Close to Noto and often done as a day trip from Siracusa for the baroque architecture.

And Cefalu is a great little fishing village about an hour from Palermo.

Great info. I'll not stay in Agrigento based on this info. We'll be in Palermo and will drive the west and southern coast to Siracusa. What towns and places can we stay on our way. We need probably two places. We'll end in Taormina or vicinity to fly out of Catania or could drive to Cefalu to stay and fly out of Palermo. Any advise?

Sicily is a big island and while there are a few major highways you will need to take two lane roads if you intend to travel off the beaten path. In short it is a long drive from Palermo to Siracusa. Plan to spend a day in Palermo, the old town is worth a visit. Segesta and Erice are well worth a stop as is Agrigento. Breakfast on the terrace at Villa Athena is more than suggestive. Cross the island and head south. Stopping in Enna (as others have suggested), Piazza Armerina (Amazing tiles in the Roman villa of Casale), and Caltagirone (known for its ceramics). Visit Ortiga in Sircusa but don't stop there. Head south to Noto, the heart of Italian Baroque. Taormina is nice and certainly worth a day trip but after visiting the above it is likely to feel like a tourist trap. One last thing, before you define your itinerary find out whether any towns have special celebrations around New Year.

Thanks to everyone and especially Tancredi. Caltabellotta looks like just the kind of place we are hunting for.

We have the days prior to the first pretty well laid out, we just figure on the 1st we'll just drive around the center of the island and see what there is to find, since most stuff will be closed for new years.

dave