Goodbye beautiful Sicily… hello Italy once again!

We are back in Italy, on a Sosta a couple of kilometres north of Palmi, N38.40129 E015.86585 and relieved that the temperature is a little cooler - down to 32°C!  We are right on the beach and the sea breeze is bliss.

Enjoying the breeze and watching the sunset

Sun set over the Tyrrhenian sea, near Palmi

For the last 4 days we have been very lazy, spending the morning by the campsite pool...

Enjoying a dip in the pool

and then in the afternoon on the beach.  The beaches are stony on the north of the island but the sea is crystal clear.

The campsite beach

It has been far too hot to do very much, reaching 40°C every day.  We have lost count of the amount of wild fires we have seen on Sicily (and Italy), some due to the heat and others we have been told may have been started deliberately for insurance claims!

We managed a couple of walks on the beach, mostly early evening, as the sun was setting.

We had a ride out on the scooter one of the days along the coastal road to Tindari to try and cool down but even that was like riding through a sauna.  

Sanctuary Holy Mary of Tindari, which can be seen in the distance on the headland from the campsite

Our last day at the campsite who should show up... Richard and Carla – our fourth unarranged 'meet up 'around Sicily with our Dutch friends.  We think they may be stalking us ha! ha! So, as it was going to be our last night together on Sicily - the next day they were heading to Palermo to get the ferry to Rome and us the Messina ferry back to Italy - we had a farewell meal at the campsite.

Enjoying a meal out with Richard and Carla

So, the next day it was goodbye Sicily, having spent 3 fabulous weeks here and hello Italy once again, as we took the ferry back to Villa San Giovanni.

Leaving Messina and beautiful Sicily on the ferry

Adopting the windswept look, as we enjoy the breeze on the ferry from Sicily to Italy

Getting off the ferry we headed south down the motorway to Reggio Di Calabria – right at the end of the boot!  We had arranged to have a broken window replaced on the motorhome and a new cap for our fresh water tank, at Amaranto Camper.  We had a quick drive around Reggio di Calabria, which was one of the first ancient Greek settlements on the Italian mainland.  It is very built up and in a very poor state of decline, and very much under the influence of the local mafia (Ndrangheta), considered to be more powerful and dangerous than the Napoli Camorra.  The coastline is attractive though and the views of the Sicilian coastline lovely. Back at the garage, repairs fixed and all washed we set off.

Sonny, the motorhome having his new window fitted

Sonny getting a clean up and now looking like new!

We followed part of the coastal road through Scilla, a very pretty seaside town, with an old castle on the rock and then back on a short stretch of the autostrada to Palmi.

Scilla

As we got closer to Palmi we saw so much rubbish piled up everywhere.

Rubbish piled up on the side of the road near Palmi

We have seen plenty of rubbish dumps along the road from Naples down but here seemed particularly bad. They don’t appear to have household collections in southern Italy and it seems rubbish is just left randomly on the sides of the road waiting to be collected.  The trouble is most of the bags aren’t tied up and get ripped open by animals and end up strewn all over the place.

Parked up next to us is a lovely Italian family.  Their teenage daughter speaks good English and has told us of a place 2kms down the coast to see - Spiaggia di Trachini, so we are off on the scooter to take a look!

Sally x

Magnificant Mosaics in Villa Romana del Casale

We are currently at a campsite near San Giorgio (N38°10’9” E14°56’56”), having gone from the south of Sicily to the north in 2 days (just over 200 miles).  The campsite is right next to the Tirreno sea overlooking the beautiful Aeolian Islands.

The Aeolian Islands on the Tirreno Sea

And the tip of Sicily and mainland Italy beyond, the other way

Leaving Marina di Ragusa the scenery changed dramatically, as we left the coastline behind that we have been following since arriving on Sicily and cut across the middle of the country on the SS117.  Many of the fields are farmed and as the olive and grape vines disappeared, we encountered many prickly wild cactus plants.  Lots of large ones growing wild on the side of the road and others that were being cultivated.

Prickly wild cacti

and we came across these derricks, possibly drilling for black gold!

Derricks digging for black gold in Sicily

First stop going north was The Villa Romana del Casale, 3kms outside Piazza Armerina.  It was built between 330 and 360 AD and was used as a hunting lodge up until the 12^th century when it was largely covered by a mudslide.  The Villa is recognised as the best-preserved villas from anywhere in the Roman Empire, with 3,500 square metres of mosaics on the floors and some surviving wall paintings. Many of the mosaics are said to be influenced by the North African motifs of the Romans.

The identity of its owner remains a subject of debate the guides saying that it belonged to a Roman emperor, Maximianus Herculeus but recently it has been suggested that the owner was a senatorial aristocrat and landowner who possibly supplied Rome with grain as well as wild beasts.  In the Roman world a marble floor was considered more prestigious than a pavement of mosaics, suggesting the owner didn’t rank high in Roman society.  Hard to imagine that these beautiful mosaics were once considered second best!

The main entrance leads down to where the thermae (baths), where you can still see the heating system.

Roman Baths at Villa Romana del Casale

A greenhouse-like structure, along with steel has been built to protect the site after it was first properly excavated during the fifties.  A massive pillared courtyard, whose corridors are decorated with animal-head mosaics leads you into the villa.

The Roman mosaics are very impressive and they have sympathetically restored the rooms to how they would have looked thousands of years ago.  Below is just a small sample of the photos we took!

The Great Hunt – a 60 metre strip of perfect mosaics decorating the floor of a long hall.  It is one continuous scene in which groups of armed and shield-bearing men track down and capture wild animals (tigers, ostriches elephants and rhinos) in India and North Africa before transporting them by boat to Rome. Made in the early 4^th century AD.  Ithas never been chopped up or moved, which in itself is incredible.

Mel looking down from one of the balcony’s, thinking... I wonder if one of these would work well on the floor on Sonny, the motorhome – or maybe not!

Female athletes wearing only bikinis exercising with dumbbells, running and throwing balls and the discus – could easily be something out of the 20^th century!

Tiny racing chariots pulled by colourful birds

Mosaic depicting the 4 seasons in one of the bedrooms

There are no campsites inland, and most of the Sostas are just mixed car parks in the towns, so we had a bit of a change and stayed on an Agritourismo site, which are sited on farms/rural sites.  We have seen quite a few signs for these since travelling through Italy/Sicilly and thought we would give them a try.  Agriturismo Agricasale was about 10kms from the villa in the middle of nowhere, lovely and quiet with plenty of shade, a swimming pool and restaurant.

Sonny (the motorhome) enjoying his retreat under the trees at Agriturismo Agricasale.

Swimming pool at Agriturismo Agricasale

Leaving Piazza Armerina we passed another forest fire, presumably caused by the immense heat.

Forest fire as the heat of the sun reaches 40° by mid morning

And passed a few towns built into the rock, like this one at Leonforte.

Leonforte

Looking at the map we thought we would skirt around the town but good old ‘shat-nav’ took us right through the narrow streets of the town!

Breath in Sonny!

The roads continue to be bad but the SS117 was shocking, with plenty of subsidence and potholes. The scenery more than made up for it though!

There was evidence that they had started to build another road across but looking at it this must have been started years ago, probably run out of money and has just been abandoned.

As the temperatures have been soaring outside, so they have inside poor old Sonny. So we have invested in a portable air con system – well a table fan to be more precise but it does the job!

34.3° inside the motorhome and 36.6° out at 18:16!

Still very hot at 18:16 - 36.6°!

Sally x

Hot! Hot! Hot! in Marina di Ragusa

For the last 4 days we have been staying on a Sosta at Marina di Ragusa (N36.78821 E14.54697).  It is a little town, with a blue flag beach and very clean – a rarity for Sicily/Italy! Everything on the Sosta is free, they just ask for donations when you leave.  It is run by an Italian (Tony) who speaks really good English, as he is married to an English lady. It's quite basic with outdoor washing-up sinks on one side, a shower that just has tepid water but is good for when you have just come off the beach, and 2 sinks for doing your laundry.  Plenty of fresh water and the usual for your grey/chemical waste. Downside is there are no trees to shade poor old Sonny, the motorhome and he is feeling the heat.  Not a problem for us though, as we sit outside under the awning!

Sosta at Marina di Ragusa

The Sosta is full of Italians, who all seem to know each other, a couple of Germans and a Brit (Clive), who has been on the Sosta for 2 months and plans to stop until September before going back to Portugal, where he spends the winter doing painting and decorating jobs.  Our days here have been spent chilling on the beach and wandering around the marina.

The beach at Marina di Ragusa

Marina di Ragusa

Plus, we have been doing all the usual cleaning jobs.  Sonny is spotless once again and all washing done via a laundry down by the marina.

We have had a trip around the coast on the scooter to Punta Secca.  It is where they do a lot of the filming for Inspector Montalbano (Commissario Montelbano in Italian).  We had never heard of it before now but apparently it is very popular in a lot of countries, and is even shown in the UK on BBC4!

Statue depicting Inspector Montalbano and his house at Punta Secca

A lot of Italians have had repairs and servicing whilst parked up here by a handyman so this afternoon Mel asked him if he would service our fridge.  It has taken a bit of a hammering since we have been away.  Once he had it all taken to bits he could see all the sand and just said one word "Morocco"? Yes, said a smiling Mel!

Getting our fridge serviced and rid of some more sand from the dessert!

Once the fridge was serviced we decided to have a ride out on the scooter to cool us down, followed by a swim in the sea.  However, Mel had left the ignition on from a ride out to the shops this morning and the battery was flat!  The only problem was the battery is under the seat and you need to have power to open the seat to get to the battery.  There is an emergency override but as luck would have it the cable wasn't connected.  A quick word with Tony and 2 minutes later we have 2 Italian ex-mechanics who are staying on the Sosta over with their tools taken the scooter to bits to get to the battery.

 Mel and Tony look on as the mechanics strip down the scooter to get to the battery.  When they all start to speak Italian, Mel just looks to Tony for translation!

The battery would need overnight charging, so it was a walk down to the beach for a cool down!

Mel floating in the sea!

The beach is still busy at 7pm!

Tomorrow we head north and inland to Piazza Armerina.  We have to get the ferry back to mainland Italy (Reggio di Calabria) on 14 July as we have arranged to have some more repairs done to Sonny!

Sally x

Siracusa, Ortigia and the Baroque towns of Val di Noto

We have spent the night on a free Sosta at Ragusa (N36°55'31" E14° 44'12"), that has a great outlook up to the old town on the hill.

The car park at the bottom of Ragusa

We left the campsite Paradiso del Mare (N36°56'18" E15°10'39") yesterday and said goodbye to our Dutch friends, Richard and Carla.  We have met up with them 3 times now on Sicily; having first met at Campsite La Focetta Sicula, then at Mount Etna and now spent 4 nights with them at Paradiso.  They are good fun and we have exchanged details, so if we don’t meet them again on our travels around Sicily, we have arranged to meet them in Amsterdam later in the year on our way back to the UK.

Richard and Carla all packed up and ready to hit the road again.  Carla was quick to point to the scratches on the side of their motorhome, as Richard had tried to negotiate a narrow town in Italy that their SatNav had take them down!

We have had 4 great days and nights here, chilling on the beach – although weekends you struggle to find your way through to the sea, as the Italians plant their umbrellas in the sand as close to one another as they can.

Trying to negotiate our way through the umbrellas and towels on the beach to get to the sea!

We also had a couple of rides out on the scooter.  A 15km ride north from the campsite took us along the coastal road to Syracuse, the birthplace of Archimedes (one of the most prominent scientific thinkers of the ancient Greek world).  He was born around 287BC in the city but little is known about this great thinker, who died around 212BC – killed by a Roman foot soldier during the second Punic War and is said to be buried in Siracusa near to the ancient theatre.

This way to Archimedes tomb

The tiny island of Ortigia (1km long by 0.5km wide) is linked to Syracuse by 2 bridges.  It was the original Greek settlement before spreading out to Saracusa. The little narrow streets are a mix of late medieval and Baroque.  The temple of Apollo sits in a small park surrounded by railings.  Erected in 570BC it was the first grand Doric temple to be built in Sicily, although today apart from a couple of columns there is not a lot to see.

Temple of Apollo

Up near the temple is a large Market, selling some lovely fish but not sure what these long silver ones were.

Ortigia’s sunbathing area – wooden decking reached by a flight of metal steps looks like it has seen better days.  But on a hot day a swim in the sea by any means is always welcome - the dog with his owner certainly seemed to enjoy it!

Piazza del Duomo and Cathedral (Temple of Minerva)

Next to Fonte Aretusa, looking towards Maniace Castle at the tip of Ortigia.

It’s amazing how many museums claim to be Leonardo di Vinci originals.  We first came across one in Vinci (his birthplace), then another one when we visited Florence, and now one in Ortigia – it seems that they all want to own a piece of him!

15kms south of the campsite took us to Noto.  In 1693 an earthquake totally destroyed the original towns and villages of Sicily’s Southeastern bulge, which were rebuilt as new planned towns in an opulent Baroque style.  Eight of these are now protected by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites.

Noto is one such town restored to its original apricot and honey limestone facades.

They even decorate their steps here!

Beautiful baroque balconies of galloping horses and fat-cheeked cherubs

Beautiful baroque balconies of galloping horses and fat-cheeked cherubs, Noto

Having left the campsite we headed for Modica, which is famous for the production of chocolate and another town affected by the 1693 earthquake.  We parked in a free Sosta at the bottom of the town and took a slow climb up to the old town. The town is beautiful with its Baroque architecture and is watched over at the top of a vast flight of steps is San Giorgio.

On the steps of San Giorgio.

We popped in to a shop where you could taste the different varieties and it definitely wasn’t to our liking.  It is a very strong and bitter taste, made without cocoa butter and heat, so that the sugar doesn’t melt and that gives it an unusual crunchy texture.

So many varieties of Modica chocolate including carrot, sea salt and chilli flavours!

When we came out we got a nice surprise – an Italian cleaner.  The first one we have seen on Sicily cleaning up all the rubbish - albeit with an old fashioned brush and dustbin! Although Sicily doesn't appear to be as dirty as mainland Italy. Modica is our official 'cleanest place' we have visited in Sicily.

Cleaning up in Modica - he seemed really happy in his work!

From here we drove to a few kilometres around to Ragusa.  It is a town of two parts as it was literally split in two by the earthquake of 1693.  Ragusa Superiore and Ragusa Ibla, both rebuilt in baroque style.  It is a steep climb up to the towns, and all by steps.

Looking towards Ragusa Ibla, on the outcrop of rock from Saint Maria Della Scala, Ragusa Superiore

There are so many churches in Ragusa we lost count, but it was a great to just go in them and cool down a while from the relentless heat of the sun.  When we arrived at the cathedral a Sicilian wedding was about to take place.  The bride's dress was beautiful but she was having trouble getting it under control!

Luckily we were able to go in and have a look whilst the wedding was taking place, although it did feel a bit intrusive.

Wedding taking place in the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista

Having done lots of climbing up around Modica and Ragusa Superiore we decided to leave Ragusa Ibla for the next day.  However, when night fell and the town lit up it looked lovely so we did an evening walk!  Unfortunately, I only had my phone with me so pictures not brilliant! 

The Duomo and little train on Ragusa Ibla

The little train was operating around the town until midnight!  We came across this art shop, but unfortunately the picture doesn't do justice too!

We move on again this morning to Marina Di Ragusa, as we need to be near the cool breeze of the sea!

Sally x