A day embracing the pulsating energy of Naples is a day of contrast. A funicular whisks us up to the leafy neighbourhood of Vomero which sits on a steep plateau overlooking Naples. The sweeping views are impressive of Mount Vesuvius, the Bay of Naples, Capri and the entire historic centre which is the biggest in Europe.

One cannot leave Naples without trying pizza! After all, it is where pizza was invented. History tells us that following the unification of Italy in 1861, King Umberto and Queen Margherita visited Naples. To honour their visit, baker Raffaele Esposito, created a special pizza. He took red tomatoes, white mozzarella cheese and a few leaves of basil to reflect the three colours of the Italian flag and gave birth to the modern pizza industry. We eat pizza in a noisy trattoria in an even noisier street in the Spanish Quarter where scooters speed crazily up and down the tight grid of streets.

Our accommodation in this neighbourhood is living the real Naples. Shopkeepers yell animatedly at each other; walls are covered with religion, art and graffiti; washing is strung out across the streets and music drifts down from the small balconies. Our local bar is on the street in front of our B&B where we happily sip Aperol Spritz amidst the chaos.

A world away, yet less than an hour on the ferry, is the tiny 4.1 square kilometre island of Procida which is the smallest island in the Bay of Naples, often overshadowed by its neighbours, Capri and Ischia. It’s so Italian, so unpretentious and a photographer’s dream with clusters of coloured buildings in shades of pink, yellow, orange, red and blue which is how the fishermen could identify their homes when returning from a long night of fishing.

It’s impossible to resist a long lunch in Marina della Corricella, the oldest seaside village of Procida, where we sit overlooking the fishing boats on an outdoor terrace with a gentle seabreeze. I know. Some days are tough.

I’ve always enjoyed the four hour train journey from Naples to Villa San Giovanni, as most of the journey hugs the coast. Always a good start when the train arrives into Naples on time, but it was a little strange when the carriages started at Coach 9 and finished at Coach 5. Our tickets that I bought months ago were in Coach 2. Only half the train was there! With my driver waiting for us in Messina, Sicily, we were not missing that train. We departed whilst still trying to secure random seats, along with many other travellers, but it worked!

Italy’s biggest region and the largest island in the Mediterranean is a fierce melting pot of cultures, traditions and food. It is an island with a history of 25 centuries of foreign domination that has created a layered history like no other.

Within close proximity, we can experience active volcanoes, majestic Greek temples and ruins, extraordinary Baroque towns, a heart wrenchingly beautiful mountaintop town and an archipelago of seven exquisite islands.

Stunning Taormina

Set above the shimmering blue sea, home to a superb Greek/Roman theatre and an impossibly picturesque medieval centre, Taormina is a place of beauty. It is a ‘pinch me’ moment, knowing we are here for three days and not experiencing it as a daytripper.

The brooding presence of Mount Etna is seen from every corner of Taormina and looked even more spectacular this time as beneath the sunny, blue sky it had trails of snow cascading down the mountain.

Over ten years I have got to know Italy’s most active volcano thanks to Rosario, owner of Sicily Legend, and his guides who are experts. A day exploring in four wheel drive vehicles for off road access reveals far more than anyone expected.

The slopes of Mount Etna provide an abundance of food, with the fertile volcanic soil making it ideal for planting olive groves, orchards, nut plantations and luscious vineyards that produce strong Etna wines. The highest town on Mount Etna called Zafferana Etnea has been producing ‘Etna gold’ since 1910, which is superb honey that accounts for 15% of the honey supplied to Italy.

We ascend 2,000 metres and walk the perimeter of the Silvestri Craters on this fire-god mountain that has been active for 2.5 million years. There are over 300 craters on the mountain which is ever changing. Once a lateral crater occurs, it is the safest place to be as it will never erupt again.

Old town of Ortigia

The tiny island of Ortigia, the historic centre of Siracusa, is widely considered one of the most beautiful destinations in Sicily. Inhabited for over 3,000 years and renowned for its Greek heritage, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site for its “remarkable testimony to the Mediterranean cultures over the centuries”.

On an island only one kilometre long and barely 600 metres wide, it is heavenly exploring every nook and cranny of the tight streets crammed with remnants of the past in the shape of ruins, churches and palaces. In the elegant Piazza del Duomo stands the imposing Duomo, built where the goddess Athena’s shrine once stood and incorporating the Doric columns of the 5th century BC pagan temple. No other building in Sicily illustrates the island’s layers of civilization better.

The historic food market of Ortigia is everything you want a market to be. There is always lots of shouting, gesticulating, wonderful smells and an abundance of sun-kissed local produce.

Three days in Ortigia allows us time to visit a beautiful Baroque town born out of catastrophe and a dreamy fishing village called Marzamemi. More on that next week plus the Aeolian Islands in part two of our Sicilian adventure.

Ci vediamo la prossima settimana.

Deb

PS To access previous newsletters, go to postcards.ciaoitaly.com.au