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| Welcome to the East of Sicily! |
Up to 2007, only Ryanair could allow flights directly from Dublin to Trapani (on the east Coast), far from the historical sites and the interesting spots to visit. Luckily, Aer Lingus opened a route between Dublin and Catania in 2008, which allowed me to arrive directly at the right place. This page is dedicated to the east coast of Sicily and contains photos of Catania, Taormina, Syracuse and a day trip to the Etna National Park. You can go to Taormina and Syracuse by train or bus, but check their timetable carefully... indeed, if car drivers seem to be driving like Fangio, public transport travels at its own pace! It actually makes Bus Eireann look very good!!! On this page, you'll be able to see some photos taken during my 4-day journey on the east coast of Sicily... If you prefer to visit the South of Sicily, please click here. If it's the centre you're interested in, please click here. |
| 1. Visit the Villa Bellini... Like a lot of big cities, Catania has got great neighborhoods (like here near the Villa Bellini), and more dodgy ones (near the train station for example). Unfortunately, during my visit to this part of the city the gardens of the Villa were closed due to restoration work. |
| 2. Observe Castello Ursino... Castello Ursino was built in the 13th century and -- incredible but true -- it was originally located by the sea. Nowadays, it is located 3km from the sea. What happened was that a lava flow in 1669 extended the Sicilian coast. I would know a lot of coastal homeowners who would be crying if that happened to them. |
| 3. Admire the Piazza del Duomo... In the middle of this square, you can see a local curiosity which is the symbol of Catania: the elephant fountain. You can indeed watch an elephant, sculpted in volcanic lava, carrying an Egyptian obelisk. |
| 4. Admire University Square... As you can see on the right-hand side, the University Square is a beautiful spot, nearly empty of visitors when I visited it. Nonetheless, it's a great area to enjoy one of those delicious Italian ice creams. If it rains, even 2-3 drops, lots of street vendors will insist in selling you one of their umbrellas in this area. |
| 5. Walk on Via Etnea... 3 km long, this is definitely the best street to do shopping and to access the main sites of Catania (see photo). If the weather is bright, you can even see Mount Etna at the end of the street (I wasn't so lucky this time). |
 Photo 5. Via Etnea. |
| 6. Spy on the football fans... It's a well-known fact: Italians are huge football fans (il calcio). I took advantage of the occasion to take a photo of Sicilian daily life, here in front of hardware shop, in a street close to Via Etnea. There was some excitement, with spectators watching a match which opposed Catania against another Italian town on TV. |
| 7. After the town, the mountain... Catania is the ideal base if you want to go into Etna National Park. I personally chose the company "Etna Experience" to bring me there because I don't think you can enjoy this kind of trip if you're stuck in a bus with 50 other people... On the right-hand side, you can see the remains of a lava flow from a previous eruption of Mount Etna. |
| 8. Climb the Montagnola... For health reasons, 3 persons decided to stop their experience after 30 minutes of the jeep ride. We ended up having only 4 people for the tour. Our guide, Marco, suggested changing our itinerary and brought us on a "stroll" across the volcanic ash on the "Montagnola", at 2600m above the sea level, to admire the Bove Valley (Note it in the background). |
9. Observe Mount St Sylvester... After the climb (phew!) and a nice picnic, we went on Mount St Sylvester, close to Cantoneria dell'Etna. The blue sky was not there at this altitude, but for once, I think the fog created an interesting atmosphere in this Martian ambiance... It almost reminds me of the movie "Total Recall".
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| 10. Go to the Greek Theatre... I am now in Taormina in the Northeast of the island (and not in Greece as one may think!), roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes by bus from Catania. Taormina is known to be very touristy during the peak season. Fortunately, it was less so in September. On the right-hand side, you can see the main archaeological site of Taormina: the Greek Theatre. |
| 11. Que bella fruta!... Because they have so much sunshine, Italians manage to grow any kind of fruit. With such beautiful colours, I think there's no excuse for missing your "five a day". |
| 12. Explore the Public Parks... Taormina has its own public gardens, with a superb selection of flowers and trees of all colours. Off-season, the park was not really touristy (not a bad thing?); however, you can get incredible panoramic views of the sea and the mountains, which surround the town. |
| 13. Observe the view from via Roma... Here's an example of the unique view you can get from via Roma in Taormina. Even with grey clouds, the sea is always so blue! |
 Photo 13. View from Taormina. |
| 14. Walk in the streets of Taormina... As indicated above, Taormina tends to be quite touristy during the high season (which is understandable). Indeed, the town is surrounded by beautiful landscapes and every street of the town has its charm. Here is an example on the right-hand side. |
| 15. Observe Isola Bella... It is worth having a look at the sea, the coast and Isola Bella (see photo), which are visible only a few minutes on foot from the bus station. |
 Photo 15. Isola Bella Island in Taormina. |
| 16. Observe the Ear of Dionysius... I am now in Syracuse, which is about 1 hour and 30 minutes from Catania by bus. I have to say that I didn't plan anything special but I did expect something extraordinary because a famous French song referred to this town ("j'aimerais tant voir Syracuse"). The modern town doesn't have anything special, but fortunately the archaeological park and the old town (located in Ortygia) keeps you busy for a full day -- if it's sunny. On the right-hand side, you can see The Ear of Dionysius, a kind of cave, 65 m long, 5-10 m wide and 23 m high. Even if it seems really natural, this one was excavated by men, most likely to build monuments, houses etc. |
| 17. Go back to the Greek Theatre... Syracuse, like most of the Sicilian towns, was colonised by several groups ofinvaders. The town was under Greek rule from the 8th century (BC). The Greek theatre (see photo) is a sign of this influence. It was built in 489 BC to celebrate a victory against Carthage... |
| 18. then go to the Roman Theatre... ... and in the 3rd-4th century AC, Sicily was dominated by Rome, which explains the presence of a Roman theatre in the area. It is actually the biggest theatre in Sicily (140 x 119 m in external diameter). |
| 19. Enter Ortygia... As indicated previously, the modern town of Syracuse doesn't have anything special to see, so after the park and possibly the archaeological museum (so so...), I advise you to go directly to the old town of Syracuse, called Ortygia. On the right-hand side, you can see one the bridge, which allows you to enter the island. |
| 20. Observe the Temple of Apollo... ust after crossing the Umbertino Bridge, you arrive in front of the Temple of Apollo, which was initially built on the 6th century BC. It was then transformed into a Byzantine Church, into a mosque, then a Norman basilica. After the discovery of the original temple in 1858, the basilica was destroyed in 1858 to allow excavations to be carried out (pictured). |
| 21. Walk on the Piazza del Duomo (Syracuse)... It's easy to spend hours wandering in the old streets of Ortygia (this reminded me of Venice). There are several sites to see and to take shots of. The Piazza del Duomo is one of them. |
| The East of Sicily in pictures | ||
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 Photo 2. Castello Ursino. |
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 Photo 3. Piazza del Duomo. |
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 Photo 4. University Square. |
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 Photo 6. Football fans. |
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 Photo 7. Let's go to Mount Etna. |
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 Photo 8. La Montagnola. |
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 Photo 9. Near the Mount St Sylvester. |
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 Photo 10. Greek Theatre in Taormina. |
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 Photo 11. Que bella fruta! |
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 Photo 12. Public Gardens of Taormina. |
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 Photo 14. Streets of Taormina. |
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 Photo 16. Ear of Dionysius. |
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 Photo 17. Greek Theatre in Syracuse. |
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 Photo 18. Roman Theatre in Syracuse. |
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 Photo 19. Ortygia. |
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 Photo 20. Temple of Apollo. |
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 Photo 21. Piazza del Duomo in Syracuse. |
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