I live in St Louis and every Italian I know are Sicilian, but Not many questions about Sicily.?

Question

No Sicilians on yahoo answers

Answer 1

There have been questions regarding Sicily.... In fact I answered a question once asking why someone should go to Sicily:

Because there is so much to see, the question is if you have time enough to visit Sicily.

Sicily has been referred to as the California of the Mediterranean because of its climate, sea and agriculture. On the eastern part of the island you've got one of the highest active volcanoes in the Med.. At 3,300 meters the top is covered with snow well into late spring. On a warm winter day you could go up and ski all morning and then boat around and even swim down around Catania.

Agrigento and its Valley of the Temples has Greek "ruins" in much better shape than those in Greece. Visit the temples during the summer (take an umbrella, the sun can be overwhelming) mornings and then head out to the sea for a swim in the most inviting of waters of the island (maybe).

Marlsala - I haven't been there for years but do know that the near by salt ponds are still a sunset treat to visit. As the sun goes down the reflections off of the ponds is a rainbow of bizarre and hypnotizing colors. Don't forget to stay a night or two in Marsala to enjoy a cuscus dinner and wash it down with the local wine (not all that sweet as you may imagine).

Up to Palermo from Marsala you'll find a city of contrasts. Crowded, hot, always in action. Museums, markets, food. Palermo may very well be the cultural capitol of Sicily. Make the market 1st thing in the mornings with your camera while you can still capture the closest thing you will find to an Arab market in action. Unfortunately the market area is being over-developed and we may soon no longer have that color and perfume it has now.

Catania, on the east coast: if Palermo is the cultural center of the island Catania is sometimes referred to as the Milan of the south. Fashion and finance.... all in a laid back atmosphere. Catania has a world show case theater dedicated to the maestro Vincenzo Bellini.... an evening to the theatre is a must and afterwards pub crawling to early hours in the same district.

Catania and the surrounding area, during the summer months, is all sea during the day and party all night long in the out door discos.

North of Catania, in the province of Messina, you'll find the jewel of the island - Taormina. Perched on a cliff and overlooking the sea is this ancient Greek city with its' semi-circled theater overlooking the sea still in action today. Taormina is a must even though it can be overcrowded with picture taking tourists. The views from above are on many a poster.... and you can still find a good place to eat and not get gouged.

And there is more: Enna, Piazza Armerina, Piano degli Albanesi (an ancient Albanian settlement where they still today still speak Albanian), Erice (not far from Palermo).

Go to Sicily but first prepare yourself. Get a good guide book and read it before you go and not as you go. The more you know the more you'll want to learn and understand what the Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Spaniards and others wanted from this three cornered island. Go to Sicily and your life may change for ever.