235 Best Sights in Sicily, Italy

Hidden behind high walls and accessed through a courtyard, the oratory—or private chapel—of Saint Cita boasts one of the finest collections of the graceful white stuccos for which their creator, Giacomo Serpotta (1656–1732), is famous. The centerpiece is an amazingly elaborate rendering of the Battle of Lepanto, at which the Ottoman Turkish fleet was defeated by combined Christian forces in 1571. The walls are inset with a series of Biblical scenes from the life of Jesus. To leaven the solemnity of such scenes, however, Serpotta has introduced some of his most fetching portrayals of the ordinary people of Palermo, from street urchins to wizened old men and sophisticated ladies, while an army of mischievous putti (cherubs) interweaves among them. Fans of Serpotta can find more of his works in the Oratorio di San Lorenzo in nearby Via Immacolatella.

If the other palazzoli in Scicli simply hint at the luxury of the town's golden age, then this is a full-on assault on the senses. The exterior is covered by stone-carved statues, including representations of mythical creatures and enslaved people that serve as an essential reminder of the town's role in the region's slave trade. The private residence's saloni cannot be visited, but there's an interesting contemporary art gallery and small printworks at the street-level Bassi Beneventano ( www.lomagnoartecontemporanea.it).

You might even have a prince show you around this private palace, which is still inhabited by descendants of the original Biscari family. While only a few of the 600 or so rooms are open to the public, the handful are well worth a visit. Foremost is the highly decorated and frescoed ballroom---a prime example of Sicilian Rococo style, which is overlooked by an oval minstrels' gallery and lit by Venetian chandeliers. Leading on from here is a unique staircase, which seems to float on waves, a rosewood-paneled dining room, and a marble bath used to cool the place down, rather than for bathing. Note that the palace offers tours only for a short period from 10 to 1.

If you want to see how the high society of Scicli once lived, then this is the place. Belying the plain yet grand exterior, the interiors overspill with opulence that may not be to today's tastes: think ornate antique furniture, silk wallpapers, and frescoes galore. Apart from the marbled staircase bathed in blue and yellow light from its gorgeously grated windows, the highlight is the terrace overlooking the immaculate gardens. Over the road you can visit historic pharmacy Farmacia Cartia (1902) with original wooden cabinets, apothecary jars, bottled potions, scales, and cash register.

The best way to experience Gangi is by walking through its historical center and evocative ancient streets. Walk along the Corso Umberto I and Via G.F. Vitale until you get to this late-18th-century palace constructed by the Bongiorno family, the barons of Cacchiamo. The three-story court is filled with decorative frescoes, various artworks, and royally sumptuous details.

Many of Taormina's 14th- and 15th-century palaces have been carefully preserved. Especially beautiful is the crenellated Palazzo Corvaja, with characteristic black-lava and white-limestone inlays and the seat of the first Sicilian parliament in 1411. The interior is presently closed.

Designed by architect Vincenzo Sinatra in the 17th century, Palazzo Ducezio (now the town hall) is still a sight to behold. Up until 2024 you could visit both of its two floors, with the top floor offering panoramic views of the surrounding area. However, a legal wrangle has halted visits. Still, the steps of the palace make for popular pews for watching the world pass before the Duomo's magnificent staircase. The best time to visit is in the afternoon or evening when the local buildings take on a golden hue in the fading light. Around the back, the Bassi di Palazzo Ducezio interiors stage exhibitions, including regular shows of the large, vibrant canvases by charming Siracusano artist Mario Zito, lecturer at the Accademia di Belle Arti di Palermo.

On a steep hill above the main corso, the palace's magnificent balconies, which are supported by mythical monsters, have made it one of the most iconic—and photographed—sights in Sicily. For a rare insight into the lifestyle of social climbers in the 18th century, you can take a tour of the interior to see some of the 90 rooms belonging to the noble Nicolaci family, the highlight being the splendid frescoed ballroom, the Salone delle Feste, which hosts regular classical music recitals. A legal dispute in 2024 halted tours, but this should be resolved at some point. Between tours and concerts, you can wander into the courtyard for a gander during the day. 

Donnafugata, the country seat of the Salina family in Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel The Leopard, is a fictional place, but it's a fusion of Santa Margherita del Belice (where the Tomasi di Lampedusa palace was destroyed by a 1968 earthquake) and the Chiesa Madre and Benedictine Convent in Palma di Montecchiaro. The town was founded in the 17th century by Tomasi di Lampedusa’s ancestors, when Spain, who ruled Sicily, needed the island to be its primary source of wheat. As rural Sicily was beset with banditry, and considered far too dangerous for individual families to live in isolated farmhouses, the Crown encouraged landowners to found new towns, where peasants could live in relative safety, heading out to the fields each day and returning at night, to live cheek to cheek with their animals in one-story houses. These days, the city has lost its royal luster, but for fans of The Leopard, a visit to the convent to buy almond cookies from the remaining nuns at Monastero Del Ss. Rosario is an eerie experience, offering a brief glimpse of the hidden lives that have changed little in centuries. If you are lucky, you can take a guided tour of the monastery, but the tour times are inconsistent.

This adventure park is located inside the Parco delle Madonie and offers several activities, including archery and obstacle courses, through the forest and above the trees on rope ladders. There are different levels of varying difficulty, which are designed for children and adults alike. You can also rent a tree house or glamping accommodations to spend the night suspended 20 feet above the ground.

This secluded natural sea pool is located at the end of Milazzo's long, wild cape. A meandering rustic path will take you on a 20-minute walk down to the unique natural rock formations that create pools of variable depths. You're able to swim in them, but there are no changing rooms, toilets, or places to buy food or drinks so be sure to bring everything you need.

Starting at the town of Tracino, follow signs to the idyllic valley of Mueggen, where immaculate vineyards and an intricate network of drystone walls and terraces are scattered with pepper-pot dammusi, some exquisitely restored as holiday homes, others picturesquely crumbling. From here, a narrow, unpaved but drivable track leads down into the island’s most fertile valley, the Piana di Ghirlanda, before winding uphill and over into the next valley and the village of Rekale. Just beyond Rekale, a narrow paved road leads steeply uphill (marked Zighidi), then runs past the Byzantine tombs and along a spectacular ridge with views down to the sea and into the Valle di Monastero. Follow signs to Sibà, to discover what may be the island's most charming village, nestled among lush greenery on the lower slopes of the Montagna Grande, then continue to the town of Bugeber, perched high above the Lago di Venere (Lake of Venus), with its green-turquoise waters filling a spent volcanic crater. There are swimming spots from the lake's beaches, and smearing oneself with lake mud and then lying in the sun until dry is considered beneficial.

Located in the geographical heart of the Parco delle Madonie about a half-hour north of Petralia Sottana, the hamlet of Piano Battaglia makes a good day trip for anyone hoping to have a true mountain experience. This is where locals, and many Palermitani, come to enjoy the mountains, whether it's skiing in the winter or picnicking in the summer. The visitor center is a good place to find out about any number of summer and winter activities, including snow tubing, sleighing, skiing, mountain biking, and hiking excursions, and to have a snack at Café Fun Park.

The center of this piazza has a Baroque fountain, the Fontana di Diana, festooned with fainting sea nymphs and dancing jets of water. Look for the Chiaramonte-style Palazzo Montalto, an arched-window gem just off the piazza on Via Montalto.

This square is the civic center of town and is home to the local town hall, a neo-Gothic style palace that was once a Carmelite convent. Surrounding the piazza, there are important aristocratic palaces, including the Palazzo Pottino, which contains the grand, frescoed, 19th-century Salone Delle Feste, which hosted a dinner dance for Umberto di Savoia, Crown Prince of Italy. The palazzo is open to the public on various Sundays.

While the whole of Noto can make you feel that you are on a film set, its central plaza trumps the lot for stage-set impact. Piazza Municipo is home to three of the grandest buildings in Noto, including Palazzo Ducezio, now home to the local town hall, that forms the plaza's main part. If you climb to the top of the ornate staircase to the north you will find Cattedrale di San Nicolò while on the western side of the palazzo is Palazzo Landolina, which was once home to one of the most powerful families in Noto, the Sant'Alfano family.

The square's centerpiece, a lavishly decorated fountain with 500 separate pieces of sculpture and an abundance of nude figures, so shocked some Palermitans when it was unveiled in 1575 that it got the nickname "Fountain of Shame." It's even more of a sight when illuminated at night. Sadly, there is no water in the fountain at present while it awaits a major repair.

This central square houses an elaborate 18th-century Baroque water fountain whose mountain water source has been vital for centuries. The Fontana dei Quattro Cannoli was once the social and commercial heart of the medieval city.

In town, head straight for Via Roma, which leads to Piazza Vittorio Emanuele—the center of Enna's shopping scene and evening passeggiata. The attached Piazza Crispi, dominated by what used to be the grand old Hotel Belvedere, affords breathtaking panoramas of the hillside and smoking Etna looming in the distance. The bronze fountain in the middle of the piazza is a reproduction of Gian Lorenzo Bernini's famous 17th-century sculpture The Rape of Persephone, a depiction of Hades abducting Persephone.

For a quick beach escape from Agrigento, head to Punta Bianca Beach, a natural reserve along the coast. Like most natural reserves on the island, the access road is in poor condition, so be patient while driving. The bumpy ride is worth it when you catch the breathtaking views from the hill overlooking an abandoned stone house that stands against the white stones. The best time to go is in the afternoon to catch the golden hour and sunset. The short hike to the beach is enjoyable and not too challenging, even for children. The reward? A truly incredible and secluded beach experience. Best for: solitude, sunset, walking. Amenities: none.

One of a pair of pylons (the other is across the strait in Villa San Giovanni, Calabria) that carried electricity across the strait from 1955 to 1994, this steel tower stands 761 feet over the most northeastern point of Sicily. Though the pylons are no longer officially in use, they do have protected historic monument status and are used to gather meteorological data. Access to the 1,000-odd steps to the top is closed to the public. 

The Four Corners is the decorated intersection of two main thoroughfares: Via Vittorio Emanuele and Via Maqueda. Four rather exhaust-blackened Baroque palaces from Spanish rule meet at concave corners, each with its own fountain and representations of a Spanish ruler, patron saint, and one of the four seasons. These days it's one of Palermo's major tourist hot spots and a favorite venue for street performers.

The lovely historic center of Ragusa, known as Ibla, was completely rebuilt after the devastating earthquake of 1693. Its tumble of buildings are perched on a hilltop and suspended between a deep ravine and a sloping valley. The tiny squares and narrow lanes make for pleasant meandering, but expect plenty of stairs.

Just inside Porta Trapani, the western entrance that most people use to access Erice, the first sight that confronts visitors to the town is the dramatic ensemble of the Real Duomo, Erice's main church, and its detached bell tower, the Torre di Re Fernando. Both are battlemented and retain a formidable Gothic appearance. The church, dating from around 1314, contains traces of a fresco of an angel dating from its original construction, visible in the sanctuary on the left-hand side of the nave. The bell tower was orignally built by the Aragonese as a lookout tower in the late 13th century, and its 108 steps can be climbed for splendid bird's-eye views.

Just across the road from the Porto Turistico, area fishermen set up stalls inside the commercial plaza every morning (even Sunday). Though it's much smaller and less chaotic than the Catania fish market, the quality of seafood is excellent, and you'll see prime examples of everything that swims or crawls in these local waters. And it has a very locals' market feel to it, with people buying fresh fish each morning for their daily meal prep (it's open until about noon).

Distinguished by its five reddish-orange domes and stripped-clean stone interior, this 12th-century church was built by the Normans on the site of an earlier mosque—one of 200 that once stood in Palermo. The emirs ruled Palermo for nearly two centuries and brought to it their passion for lush gardens and fountains. One is reminded of this while sitting in San Giovanni's delightful cloister of twin half columns, surrounded by palm trees, jasmine, oleander, and citrus trees.

Dedicated to Thomas à Becket, the English saint famously martyred after provoking the fury of Henry II, Marsala's imposing Duomo is located in the heart of the old town, dominating a stately piazza that is also flanked by the 18th-century town hall. The church's grand Baroque facade is matched by its spacious and airy interior. A painting behind the altar depicts the murder of St. Thomas, while chapels on either side of the nave contain much work by Sicily's prolific Gagini family of sculptors.

The cape that gives this town its name has a long sandy beach on a promontory overlooking a bay in the Gulf of Castellammare. San Vito Lo Capo is famous for its North African couscous, made with fish instead of meat. In late September it hosts the 10-day Cous Cous Fest ( www.couscousfest.it), a serious international couscous competition and festival with live music and plenty of free tastings. San Vito is also one of the bases for exploring the Riserva dello Zingaro; this nature reserve—one of the few stretches of coastline in Sicily that is not built-up—is at its best in late spring, when both wildflowers and birds are plentiful.

The walls of this splendid Baroque church (1596) in Piazza Bellini are covered with extremely impressive decorative 17th-century inlays of precious marble. There are marvelous views from the terrace, and a bakery selling delicacies made using the nuns' recipes.

A steep, half-hour walk (or a very twisty drive) from Acireale's center, this picturesque harbor, with lava stone steps leading to the water, is filled with fishermen unloading brightly colored boats. Inexpensive lunches are served in the many restaurants along the harbor; your fresh fish dish is priced by weight.