Family Reunion in Sicily

Well the time had finally arrived, after months of planning (mainly by Colin and Dan) we begin our trip to Sicily. We set off on a beautiful sunny day to our first stop Catania by train from Crotone. 

Train loading on the ferry

How do you take a train to Sicily when it is an island I hear you ask? Well the answer is the train is loaded on the ferry. The ferry trip between Villa San Giovanni on the mainland and Messina on Sicily takes about 40 minutes. You are allowed to get off the train and have a look around if you want to. It was a beautiful day with only a little wind so the trip was smooth and very pleasant.

Ferry to Sicily

The weather is starting to get a little warmer now after a cold winter so Di was happy to get up on deck for a dose of vitamin D.

After arriving in Messina the train trip continues along the coast until we arrived in Catania. Catania is an ancient port city on Sicily’s east coast. It sits at the foot of Mt. Etna, an active volcano with trails leading up to the summit. The city’s wide central square, Piazza del Duomo, features the whimsical Fontana dell’Elefante statue and richly decorated Catania Cathedral. In the southwest corner of the square, La Pescheria weekday fish market is a rowdy spectacle surrounded by seafood restaurants.

Baba and Max had been looking forward to the reunion for 5 months and max couldn’t wait to give his Baba a big hug. 

After checking into our accomodation we went out exploring. I must admit that for me it is a little unsettling, the fact that you are so close to a smoking volcano but I suppose that with time it would seem normal and you wouldn’t even notice it. 

Catania with smoking Mt Etna in the background

If we had been staying a little longer I would have liked to go up mount Etna for a closer look but we had to make a decision and decided a trip to Taormina was the place to go.

Taormina is a hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily. It sits near Mount Etna, an active volcano with trails leading to the summit. The town is known for the Teatro Antico di Taormina, an ancient Greco-­Roman theater still used today. Near the theater, cliffs drop to the sea forming coves with sandy beaches. A narrow stretch of sand connects to Isola Bella, a tiny island and nature reserve.

Taormina Train Station

We decided to train it to Taormina a trip of about 45 minutes from Catania along the coast. On arrival it was a quick taxi ride up to the village proper, it is quite a steep assent  so we were thankful that we weren’t walking it. We were deposited just outside the entry gates to the town.

Colourful Shops of Taormina

The town itself is a typical Italian hilltop town with narrow streets lined with shops selling all manner of colourful wares. There was plenty going on as we walked the streets as it was the Flower Festival this weekend. There were no end of quaint little Cafe’s to chose from with breathtaking views over the sea bellow to have a drink or a bite to eat.

After lunch we decided to explore the Ancient theatre of Taormina (the teatro greco, or “Greek theatre”) is built for the most part of brick, and is therefore probably of Roman date, though the plan and arrangement are in accordance with those of Greek, rather than Roman, theatres.

Ancient theatre of Taormina

It is supposed that the present structure was rebuilt upon the foundations of an older theatre of the Greek period. With a diameter of 120 metres (390 ft) (after an expansion in the 2nd century), this theatre is the second largest of its kind in Sicily (after that of Syracuse); it is frequently used for operatic and theatrical performances and for concerts. The greater part of the original seats have disappeared, but the wall which surrounded the whole cavea is preserved, and the proscenium with the back wall of the scena and its appendages, of which only traces remain in most ancient theatres, are here preserved in singular integrity, and contribute much to the picturesque effect, as well as to the interest, of the ruin. From the fragments of architectural decorations still extant we learn that it was of the Corinthian order, and richly ornamented.

The view from the top is absolutely stunning.

After leaving the theatre we took the taxi back down to Isola Bella, which means “Beautiful Island” in Italian. It is a wild and small nature reserve in Taormina (here is how to spend a day in Taormina). This charming island is an extension of the mainland connected by a thin strip of shingle beach that you can see when the tide is low.

Isola Bella

Ferdinand I of Bourbon, King of the Two Sicilies, donated it to the town of Taormina. In 1890, the island was purchased by a rich English aristocrat, Lady Florence Trevelyan. She was exiled to Sicily by the Queen Victoria after a dalliance with the future King Edward VII. Then she married the Professor Salvatore Cacciola. She built a small house on the Island and planted exotic plants. Thanks to Lady Trevelyan we have such a charming island in Taormina. It is protected by WWF and it has been declared Nature Reserve thanks to its beauty and untouched nature.

After exploring the island and the pebble beach it was time to head back to Catania.

Isola Bella Beach