Basilica del Santissimo Salvatore
Noto
Situated towards the grand Porta Reale is the Basilica del Santissimo Salvatore. Its recently restored interior is the most impressive in Noto, crowned by…
Must-see attractions in Sicily
Agrigento
The main feature of the western zone is the crumbled ruin of the Tempio di Giove. Covering an area of 112m by 56m with columns 20m high, this would have…
Ragusa
Built in the bassi (working-class abodes) of a noble family's palazzo, this jewel-box theatre looks like a grand Italian opera house in miniature form…
Lipari
One of Lipari Town's great pleasures is simply wandering its streets, lapping up the laid-back island atmosphere. Lipari's liveliest street is Corso…
Salina
Don't miss a trip to sleepy Pollara, sandwiched dramatically between the sea and the steep slopes of an extinct volcanic crater on Salina's western edge…
Western Sicily
Crowning the summit of Monte Bàrbaro, this 3rd-century BC Greek theatre is Segesta’s most prominent ruin after its famous Doric temple. The theatre…
Palermo
The late-16th-century Oratory of St Lawrence features glorious stuccowork by master rococo sculptor Giacomo Serpotta. Capturing scenes from the lives of…
Western Sicily
Segesta's centrepiece is its remarkably well-preserved Doric temple, dating from around 430 BC. Standing in splendid isolation amid fields of wildflowers…
Ragusa
At the top end of the sloping Piazza Duomo is the town's pride and joy, the mid-18th-century cathedral with a magnificent neoclassical dome and stained…
Panarea
Dramatically sited on Punta Milazzese, an elevated headland surrounded by the sea, these round foundations of 22 stone huts are the only vestiges of a…
Southeastern Sicily
The Unesco-listed 18th-century Palazzo Beneventano is Sicilian baroque on steroids. Fantastical stone creatures taunt, terrorise or merely bemuse from the…
Chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Teatini
Palermo
In the southwestern corner of the Quattro Canti is this 17th-century church, topped by an elegant cupola designed by Giuseppe Mariani and flanked by the…
Erice
This 12th- to 13th-century Norman castle was built over the Temple of Venus, long a site of worship for the ancient Elymians, Phoenicians, Greeks and…
Western Sicily
This museum on San Pantaleo island, 10km north of Marsala, houses a unique collection of Phoenician artefacts assembled over decades by amateur…
Lipari
Down near Lipari's southwesternmost tip, this high perch commands unparalleled views south to Vulcano (backed by Mt Etna on a clear day), and west into a…
Central Sicily
Of the rooms on the northern side of the peristyle, the most interesting is a dining room featuring a hunting mosaic called the Little Hunt – 'little'…
Western Sicily
Virtually the symbol of Selinunte, Temple C is the oldest temple on the site, built in the middle of the 6th century BC. The stunning metopes found by…
Museo della Mandorla Siciliana
Mediterranean Coast
Located in a restored Favara mansion, this interesting museum showcases the importance of the humble almond to Sicily. Exhibits are well labelled in both…
Lipari
After the pirate Barbarossa rampaged through in 1544, murdering most of Lipari's men and enslaving the women, the island's Spanish overlords fortified…
Salina
Tumbling down the hillside to a small shingle beach, this settlement on Salina's north coast is the island's largest, though you'd never guess it from the…
Palazzo Nicolaci di Villadorata
Noto
The fantastical facade of this 18th-century palace wows with its wrought-iron balconies, supported by a swirling pantomime of grotesque figures. Inside,…
Salina
Salina's main port, Santa Marina is a typical island settlement with steeply stacked whitewashed houses rising up the hillside. The principal street is…
Agrigento
The 5th-century-BC Temple of Hera is also known as the Tempio di Giunone (Temple of Juno). Though partly destroyed by an earthquake in the Middle Ages,…
Central Sicily
Just off the southern end of the Ambulacro della Grande Caccia, in the Sala delle Dieci Ragazze, is the villa's most famous mosaic. It depicts nine …
Tyrrhenian Coast
Turquoise waters lap this gorgeous beach to the east of the point at Capo d'Orlando. Framed by rocky outcrops, with a mix of sand and pebbles and gorgeous…
Museo Archeologico Eoliano (Sezione Classica)
Lipari
Highlights here include finds from Lipari's 11th-century-BC necropolis, including a sizeable collection of burial urns, a staggering array of amphorae…
Western Sicily
Built in the 5th century BC and reconstructed in 1958, the majestic Temple E stands out among Selinunte's eastern group due to its completeness. As you…
Museo Archeologico Eoliano (Sezione Preistorica)
Lipari
Housed in the Palazzo Vescovile (Bishop's Palace) next to the Cattedrale and displaying a plethora of artefacts in chronological order that provide a…
Central Sicily
The main part of the villa is centred on the peristyle, a vast covered courtyard lined with amusing animal heads. This is where guests would have been…
Central Sicily
The palaestra wows with a splendid, sweeping mosaic depicting a chariot race at the Circus Maximus in Rome (the room is also known as the Salone del Circo…
Lampedusa
Secluded up near Lampedusa's northeast corner, this rocky cove is one of the island's most tranquil getaways, with crystal-clear waters and excellent…
Central Sicily
The radiating apses in the the octagonal frigidarium contained bracing plunge pools.
Taormina
Taormina's chief delight is wandering this pedestrian-friendly, boutique-lined thoroughfare. Start at the tourist office in Palazzo Corvaja, which dates…
Taormina
The short climb to the top of Monte Tauro (378m) is not exactly Himalayan, but it is steep and the final steps are quite hard work. Your reward is a…
Palermo
Fringed by imposing churches and buildings, Piazza Pretoria is dominated by the over-the-top Fontana Pretoria, one of Palermo's major landmarks. The…
Southeastern Sicily
The town of Ispica, about 12km southeast of Modica, is located at the head of the 13km-long gorge known as Cava d'Ispica. Long used as a neolithic burial…
Catania
Taking centre stage on Catania's showpiece Piazze del Duomo is the city's most memorable monument, the smiling Fontana dell'Elefante (Fountain of the…
Palermo
Laid out by Léon Dufourny and Venanzio Marvuglia, this raffish, subtropical paradise shelters massive fig trees, tall palms and dazzling hibiscus bushes,…
![[UNVERIFIED CONTENT] If you go to Sicily you can't miss the capuchin catacombs of Palermo, something that confirms the ghoulish side of this city. A cemetery that contains 8000 mummies, lined upon walls, lying or standing, skeletons, and perfectly preserved bodies. It was active until 1920, when the last body was interred.](https://lp-cms-production.imgix.net/2019-06/GettyImages-159818983_master.jpg?auto=format&fit=crop&ar=1:1&q=75&w=1200)
Palermo
These catacombs house the mummified bodies and skeletons of some 8000 Palermitans who died between the 17th and 19th centuries. Earthly power, gender,…
