Central Sicily
Piazza Armerina's small, slick public art gallery showcases mostly local artwork from the 15th to 19th centuries, including altarpieces and frescoes from…
Must-see attractions in Sicily
Southeastern Sicily
This is the most beautiful of the beaches in the Riserva Naturale di Vendicari, a protected stretch of coastline around 11km south of Noto. Located at the…
Cefalù
This small, privately owned museum showcases a collection amassed by parliamentarian, archaeologist and natural-history buff, Baron Mandralisca (1809–64)…
Syracuse
Buried 20m beneath the Alla Giudecca hotel in Ortygia's old Jewish ghetto (known as the Giudecca) is an extraordinary ancient Jewish miqwe (ritual bath),…
Southeastern Sicily
Completed in 1772, the pared-back, late-baroque Chiesa di San Giuseppe claims beautiful stuccowork and a valuable marble statue of Santa Agrippina,…
Taormina
For eye-popping views of the coastline and Mt Etna, head for this cute hilltop village above Taormina, crowned by a ruined castle. If you're reasonably…
Greek Fortifications of Capo Soprano
Gela
Built in 333 BC along Gela's western coastline at Capo Soprano by the tyrant of Syracuse, Timoleon, Gela's ancient Greek fortifications are remarkably…
Tyrrhenian Coast
This unique little museum displays photographs and memorabilia documenting the Targa Florio, the world's oldest sports-car racing event. Established by…
Vulcano
Vulcano's beach scene is centred on this smooth strip of black sand at Porto di Ponente, about 10 minutes' walk beyond the mud pools on the western side…
Palermo
The disparate architectural styles and eras of the buildings adorning this magnificent piazza should by rights be visually discordant, but in fact…
Southeastern Sicily
Completed in 1769, this Carmelite church dominates the southwest corner of handsome Piazza Busacca. Its pure white interior harbours stuccowork by master…
Enna
One of Sicily's most formidable castles guards Enna's highest point, at the easternmost edge of the historic centre. The original castle was built by the…
Galleria Regionale di Palazzo Bellomo
Syracuse
Housed in a 13th-century Catalan-Gothic palace, this art museum's eclectic collection ranges from early Byzantine and Norman stonework to 19th-century…
Catania
Attributed to Sicilian baroque maestro Vaccarini and built between 1739 and 1751, the Chiesa di San Giuliano features an elegant convex facade and, above…
Palermo
The 16th-century 'Oratory of the Whites' obtained its nickname from the white ceremonial gowns worn by its religious guild, whose members comforted…
Chiesa delle Santissime Anime del Purgatorio
Ragusa
Consecrated in 1658, the Chiesa del Purgatorio miraculously survived the earthquake of 1693 before being tweaked and expanded the following century. These…
Catania
Housed in the brooding 13th-century Castello Ursino, Catania's civic museum holds the valuable Biscari archaeological collection, an extensive collection…
Noto
A swirl of boxes and stuccowork, this petite 19th-century theatre is named in honour of Italian stage and silent-film actress Tina Di Lorenzo (1872–1930),…
Chiesa Capitolare di San Cataldo
Palermo
This 12th-century church in Arab-Norman style is one of Palermo's most striking buildings. With its dusky-pink bijou domes, solid square shape, blind…
Palermo
What was once a row of dull apartment blocks is now a veritable open-air gallery, its trio of outstanding murals part of the Pangrel urban-renewal…
Ionian Coast
There are two reasons to make the 2km downhill walk to this minute fishing village. One is the walk itself, which, once you've crossed the main road, is a…
Antico Stabilimento Balneare di Mondello
Mondello
Of all of Mondello's fabulous Liberty (art nouveau) buildings, none endear themselves as much as this turreted foreshore landmark. Built as a bathing…
Chiesa Rupestre di San Nicolò Inferiore
Modica
Carved into the rock and discovered by accident in 1987, this 12th-century church is Modica's oldest. It's worth a visit for its Byzantine frescoes, whose…
Trapani
Trapani's majestic central park, first laid out in 1878, is a relaxing spot to lounge in the shade of centurion trees, admire and learn about dozens of…
Parco Archeologico Greco Romano
Catania
West of Piazza del Duomo lie Catania's most impressive ancient ruins: the remains of a 2nd-century Roman Theatre and its small rehearsal theatre, the…
Palermo
The centrepiece of the Capo quarter is the Chiesa di Sant'Agostino and its adjoining Augustinian monastery, which ran the region in medieval times. A…
Catania
The most obvious reason to visit this museum, adjacent to Catania's duomo, is to see the Fercolo, the famous silver reliquary bust of Saint Agata that's…
Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi
Palermo
On a picture-perfect piazza, the much-amended Chiesa di San Francesco d'Assisi dates back to the 13th century. Remnants from its early history include the…
Mediterranean Coast
About 3km east of town, the Castello Incantato is actually a large park festooned with thousands of sculpted heads. The man behind this bizarre collection…
Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista
Southeastern Sicily
After the earthquake of 1693 reduced the original church to rubble, construction of the current baroque beauty began in 1760. Behind its elegant convex…
Palermo Region
Occupying an 18th-century villa in Bagheria, 13km east of Palermo, this wonderful, little-known museum of modern art claims numerous paintings by Sicily's…
Western Sicily
Set amid the salt pools 9km south of Trapani, this simple family-run museum in a historic windmill offers a wonderful perspective on Trapani's salt…
Agrigento
At the top of a set of steps off Via Atenea, this convent was founded by Cistercian nuns around 1290. A handsome Gothic portal leads inside, where the…
Catania
With an elegant concave-convex facade reminiscent of Borromini, this 18th-century church was designed by Palermitan architect Giovanni Battista Vaccarini…
Ragusa
Channelling the classical iconography of Charity, this powerful depiction of a Sicilian mother tending to two infants was executed by Australian street…
Catania
Catania's forbidding 13th-century castle once guarded the city from atop a seafront cliff. However, the 1669 eruption of Mt Etna changed the landscape and…
Western Sicily
Traditional tuna fishing is explored at this unusual seafront museum, in a vintage tonnara (tuna 'factory'), in operation from the 13th century until its…
Mediterranean Coast
This blindingly white rock outcropping, shaped like a giant staircase, juts into the sea near Realmonte, 15km west of Agrigento. It's a very popular spot…
Palermo
Dominating this small chapel is Anthony Van Dyck's fantastic blue-and-red altarpiece, The Virgin of the Rosary with St Dominic and the Patronesses of…
Enna
Just below the entrance to Castello di Lombardia is a huge rock, which was once home to Enna's Temple of Demeter (Ceres to the Romans), goddess of…
