Casa-Museo di Antonino Uccello
Southeastern Sicily
Off Piazza del Popolo is the former home of the poet and scholar Antonino Uccello (1922–79), a museum since 1984. Uccello devoted himself to preserving…
Must-see attractions in Sicily
Area Archeologica Eraclea Minoa
Mediterranean Coast
Set on a headland above the seaside village of Eraclea Minoa, the vestiges of this ancient Greek city are limited to the crumbling remains of a soft…
Giardini-Naxos
Giardini's long beach (mainly sand and coarse grey pebbles) curves around the crescent-shaped bay between Capo Taormina and Capo Schisò, a lick of…
Palermo
Surrounded on all sides by elegant palazzi, gentrified Piazza Marina is Palermo's quietest piazza, and its small Giardino Garibaldi encloses Palermo's…
Trapani
One of Trapani's most admired historic buildings, this 16th- to 18th-century palazzo (mansion) enjoys a creamy neoclassical facade and many an admiring…
Messina
The pale marble Fontana di Orione (1553) depicts a lounging Orion, the mythical founder of Messina. The fountain was constructed by Giovanni Angelo…
Catania
The Arco di San Benedetto is an arch built by the Benedictines in 1704. According to legend, it was built in one night to defy a city ordnance against its…
Cefalù
Built of massive limestone blocks quarried directly from the mountainside, the megalithic Tempio di Diana dates back to the 4th or 5th century BC. On the…
Syracuse
Ortygia's Museo del Papiro offers a fine collection of papyrus documents and products, including artefacts from antiquity. There's also an English…
Salina
This tiny hamlet on the south coast is Salina's second port, regularly served by hydrofoils and ferries. Pastel-coloured houses huddle around the…
Taormina
Built inside a grotto on Monte Tauro, this small church was founded by the abbot Francesco Raineri in around 1640. According to legend, the Virgin Mary…
Taormina
This is the nearest beach to Taormina, located directly beneath the town. It's well serviced with bars and restaurants, though it gets very crowded in the…
Lipari
A few kilometres north of the beach at Canneto lies the Campo Bianco quarry, where huge gashes of white rock streak down the green hillside. These are the…
Central Sicily
Flanking the southern end of Piazza Duomo is Palazzo Trigona, a baronial palace once home to the island's powerful Trigona family. Constructed of…
Milazzo
Housed just below the castle in the 16th-century Quartiere degli Spagnoli defensive barracks, this 10-room museum displays treasures dating from neolithic…
Syracuse
Down the winding main street from the cathedral is this ancient spring, where fresh water still bubbles up just as it did in ancient times when it was the…
Museo della Cultura e delle Arti Figurative Bizantine e Normanne
Tyrrhenian Coast
Next to the 16th-century Chiesa di San Teodoro, in a restored 16th-century Benedictine monastery, is a lovely space showing fresco fragments from the town…
Catania
Located at Le Ciminiere – a converted sulphur refinery – the Museo del Cinema explores the evolution of movie making. Exhibition translations are poor,…
Pantelleria
This tiny free museum near the Punta Spadillo lighthouse has a fascinating collection of displays in Italian and English, covering everything from…
Western Sicily
Occupying the hill of Manuzza, to the north of the acropolis, the Ancient City, where most of Selinunte's inhabitants lived, is the least excavated of all…
Museo del Cioccolato di Modica
Modica
Sharing the same building as the Museo Civico, this humble museum sheds light on the town's unique chocolate, from its history to its production method…
Catania
Separating Piazza del Duomo from rough-and-tumble food market La Pescheria is gushing Fontana dell'Amenano, a Carrara-marble fountain created by…
Noto
Whipped up by Neapolitan architect Orazio Angelini and erected in 1838, this neoclassical arch commemorates Noto's loyalty to Bourbon king Ferdinand II…
Catania
Standing at the northern end of Unesco-lauded Piazza del Duomo, the 'Palace of the Elephants' is Catania's town hall. The building's eastern, southern and…
Panarea
Measuring only 7300 sq metres, Bottaro is the second smallest of Panarea's offshore islands. The island itself is of negligible interest, but scuba divers…
Central Sicily
Nicosia's cathedral dates back to 1340. It's built in the Gothic style and is capped by a beautiful, painted wooden ceiling. The interior includes a…
Lipari
In the sunken area opposite Lipari's cathedral, you can see the remains of a series of circular huts, the oldest of which date to the 17th century BC…
Southeastern Sicily
This is the most interesting of Chiaramonte Gulfi's museums. While the highlight is an olive press from 1614, there's also a collection of old farming…
Tyrrhenian Coast
Petralia Sottana's 17th-century 'mother church,' also known as Chiesa Maria Santissima Assunta, dominates the square at the north end of Corso Paolo…
Taormina
Just behind Corso Umberto and near Porta Catania, this 13th-century palace was once home to the De Spuches, a noble family of Spanish origin. Now used as…
Catania
Built to connect Via Etnea to the port, Porta Uzeda was commissioned by the Duke of Camastra and completed in 1696. The gate is named in honour of Spanish…
Noto
For sublime views of Noto's baroque skyline, climb the campanile (bell tower) at this church on the town's main pedestrian thoroughfare. If you suffer…
Ragusa
On the street to the right of the entrance of the Giardino Ibleo, eye up the Catalan Gothic portal of what was once the large Chiesa di San Giorgio…
Tyrrhenian Coast
Dating to 1484 but largely made over in the 17th century, this church is one of the major landmarks along Petralia Sottana's main street. The interior is…
Stromboli
Stromboli's black sandy beaches are the best in the Aeolian archipelago. The most accessible and popular swimming and sunbathing is at Ficogrande, a strip…
Trapani
The huge Cattedrale di San Lorenzo has a baroque facade and stuccoed interior. Constructed in 1421, the cathedral was modified dramatically over the…
Catania
Escape the madding crowd and enjoy the fine views of Mt Etna from these lovely, if unkempt, gardens along Via Etnea. Speckled with lush foliage and…
Syracuse
In the northwestern corner of Piazza del Duomo is the Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco. While its origins are medieval, the baroque palace you see today is…
Lampedusa
This minuscule strip of sand squeezed between two rocky ledges gets crowded in a hurry, but makes a convenient place to swim if you're staying at the…
Messina
Guarding Messina's harbour is the soaring golden statue of the Madonna della Lettera. A good spot to admire it and the harbour is from the seafront…
