The Gods surely, tarried a while when building this island and endowing it with the timeless beauty that Sicily has zealously guarded over centuries. The people have rugged personas but very warm hearts. When I visited Antonio’s home for a meal, I was treated like a son. The best wine was brought out, his mother and sister went overboard with the meats and pasta that day and some special cheese was served for me. Violla still writes to me about interesting events in their town. I had kept the bottle of Bianco that they had gifted me for a long time.

In Sicily, family is sacred. Everyone in the family are concerned about the wellness of others, across generations. ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ could not have been truer than here, on this island, that is in essence Italian and yet so different from the Italian peninsula. Molto Italiano, the real Italy? Maybe. Legend has it that when Neptune, god of the sea, wanted to give his children a gift, he gave them Sicily.

A land surrounded by water, unknown to men and other gods. In Sicily you find the key to everything, wrote Johann Wolfgang Goethe, in Palermo in 1787. Sicily has imbibed the best of all the nationalities that have lived there; Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, Aragonese and Spanish. The character of this land and its people are a reflection of centuries of diverse influences that war, religion, trade and maritime events have bestowed upon them.

Palermo is the main city and the most connected airport in the north west of the island. You can visit the town of Monreale nearby. The Baroque town of Acireale and, Taormina and Catania, are the other attractive places to stop by and breathe in the essence of Sicily – snow and fire. These are on the east coast.

However, travelling time by coach within Sicily is usually no more than three hours, enabling serious pursuit of relaxation and adventure that takes you to great gastronomic and cultural highs. Waterfalls and lakes are in plenty; here nature is most generous and beguiling. The Etna region offers several sulphurous water baths and vegetomineral mud treatments because the volcanic eruptions have created fissures and mineral springs, know for their therapeutic properties in Santa Venera al Pozzo. These owe their origin to the Roman baths of the 1st century !

There is a train called ‘Circumetnea’, inaugurated at the end of the 19th century and runs a circular route of 100 kms that in some parts reaches an altitude of over 1000 feet and while at other stretches reaches the coast. Bronte is homeland of the pistachio, and has the Ducea given by Fernando IV to Admiral Horatio Nelson. And the 400 year old religious history illustrated by the Crypt of San Sebastiano.

The beaches are an absolute delight as they are perhaps the cleanest in the world and least crowded. The fresh catch from the sea make for mouth-watering dishes served with enthusiasm and pride in restaurants dotting the waterfront. Music and dancing is sure to follow, when the wine flows. This is when you really understand the people in their innocence and earthiness, in their pursuit of joy and celebration of life.

Have you ever seen the sea from the top of an active volcano? Have you ever looked at an active volcano while swimming? You should, at least once in your life. Sicily has great weather round the year. Best time to visit Sicily? Anytime. When you are feeling blue. When your stress levels are high. When you have worked hard for a long spell without a break. Go to Sicily. You will come back with the deep blue sea in your soul and your energy levels all fired up.

Getting there
Fly to Palermo and Catania from Rome, Sorrento, Naples. International flights from New Delhi and Mumbai fly directly to Rome and KLM, Lufthansa, Emirates, Air France through their respective hubs in European cities.

Currency: 1 Euro = INR 68 approx.

Visa: Apply through VFS at 32 J.L.Nehru Road, Kolkata – 700071. Visa issued by Consulate General of Italy, Raja Santosh Road, Alipore, Kolkata – 700027.

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