Today’s newsletter comes to you from Poste Italiane, Rome’s grand post office with its multi-arched ceiling complete with frescoes. Why? Because I have been sitting here for over an hour waiting for my number to be called which is becoming an exercise in patience and an acknowledgement of the well worn cliche “It is what it is”. The Sicily tour finished this morning and the next tour which is Lake Garda and the Dolomites will start as soon as I get out of this post office!

It would appear to be an efficient system whereby you select your task and receive a numbered ticket with a letter pertaining to your mission. In an hour the board has moved from P030 to P032. I am P038! More worrying is that all P numbers have now disappeared off the board. My inner voice is telling me this may be a fruitless exercise. Four out of the thirteen counters are open and every person is taking an inordinate amount of time to do whatever they’re doing.

Not in my nature to give up, but I admit defeat.

I left you last week midway through our tour of Sicily. Here’s what happened next:

Sicilian baroque architecture happened because of a catastrophe. In 1693 the southeast of the island was hit by an earthquake that virtually destroyed Catania and completely flattened Noto, Ragusa and Modica.

Backed by aristocratic money, baroque architects built entirely new towns. Over the top decoration with ornate detail, graceful balconies, elaborate carving, swags of fruit and flowers and wildly gesticulating saints are all trademarks of the architecture. Sublime Noto, its honey coloured stone glowing golden in the sunlight, is the most beautiful of all Sicily’s baroque towns.

Locals call it “il giardino di pietra”, the garden of stone.

You cannot visit Noto without tasting gelato from Caffe Sicilia which opened 134 years ago. Francesco, fifth generation, has now taken the reins from his father Corrado, known as Mr Sicily, who saved not only the almond but traditional Sicilian pastry making. The gelato is the best you’ll taste and the pastries are wickedly tempting.

A thirty minute drive from Noto takes us to a tiny fishing village tucked into the bottom southeast corner of Sicily called Marzamemi. On a perfect spring day of 25 degrees, the salty scent of the sparkling Ionian sea mingling with fresh seafood is irresistible for lunch by the sea. There are very few tourists, but in the summer it is a popular destination for its restaurants and beaches.

Now a town of less than 400 people, Marzamemi was once a bustling tuna processing hub. The tonnara closed in 1969, but there are two historic family owned tuna businesses that specialise in processing fresh tuna. Adelfio bluefin tuna, caught in the Mediterranean waters, represents the pinnacle of Sicilian tradition. Handcrafted in Marzamemi using methods passed down through generations, it retains an intense flavour and firm texture. Best not to wander their warehouse, as it’s too tempting to fill a shopping basket with an enormous selection of their products.

Canneto on the island of Lipari

Since discovering the Aeolian Islands a few years ago, they have become an integral part of the Sicily tour. Our home for three days is the largest island of Lipari where we stay in the beachside hamlet of Canneto, home to around 2,000 residents.

Life in the village revolves around its main seaside avenue, Lungomare Marina Garibaldi, which is lined with colourful, Mediterranean style houses, small cafes, bars and restaurants. The Canneto beach forms a long, scenic bay with incredibly clear water in everchanging shades of turquoise, blue and indigo.

We look directly out to the smallest, glamorous island of Panarea that has a reputation as the ‘party’ island and Stromboli, which is in ultimate contrast to its neighbour. Instead of manicured luxury, it offers wild, untamed nature dominated by one of the most active volcanoes on the planet.

The volcano rises 924 metres straight out of the Tyrrhenian Sea, but its massive base actually plunges another 1,000 metres down to the sea floor. It has been in a state of near continuous, rhythmic eruption for at least the last 2,000 years, earning it the title of the “Lighthouse of the Mediterranean.”

It was particularly active whilst we were there, shooting a stream of lava into the sky before the red hot stones tumbled down the mountain slope into the sea.

Island life lulls you into a tranquil state, especially spending the day on the water island hopping. Gliding through the calm seas, we closely circumnavigated the island of Salina, known as the Green Island, and famous for producing a sweet desert wine called Malvasia and capers. Its volcanic origin has blessed it with fertile soil perfect to grow grapes for the world famous wine.

Our boat takes us to Lingua, a tiny hamlet on the edge of the island. On the waterfront promenade, we settled in for another seafood lunch where we chose the island’s legendary Calamaretti alla Malvasia. It was SO good I have to share it with you. The baby squid are stuffed with a mixture of breadcrumbs, grated parmesan, fresh parsley and garlic before being cooked in onion and the amber coloured dessert wine known as the “nectar of the gods”. The Malvasia wine gives the seafood an incredibly rich, subtle, sweet-and-sour depth that you won’t find anywhere else. Seriously, you would go to Salina just to have this dish.

Our challenge at the beginning of this tour was the train journey from Naples to Villa San Giovanni when only half a train arrived without our coach. Leaving the island of Lipari to reach Sicily, cross the Strait of Messina which separates the eastern tip of Sicily from the “toe” of the Italian mainland and return to Rome involves several modes of transport. Our day of departure threw in another challenge with the announcement of a national train strike across Italy. Perhaps due more to luck than good management, we arrived in Rome in time for dinner, virtually unscathed!

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb

PS The Tuscany/Italian Riviera/Lake Como tour in September and the Matera/Puglia tour in the first two weeks of October are booked out, but there are still a few spots left on the tour of Sicily/Aeolian Islands in the last two weeks of October. This is another wonderful time to visit with fantastic weather and less tourists.