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May 1, 2007
Hello from Sicily – A Fantastic Driving
Tour Around Mount Etna
Today was Italian Labour Day, a big national holiday that presented
the perfect opportunity to do a little out of town excursion: a
drive around Mount Etna. So together with Jill, a co-student of
mine from England, we rented a little two-door Lancia to go on a
country driving tour. At 50 Euros the rental was not exactly inexpensive,
but we figured it would be worth it to be able to explore the countryside
around Taormina.
View westwards from Taormina towards Mount Etna on a gorgeous day
First we had to deal with fuelling the car: our rental car was
essentially empty and we were supposed to only put about as much
fuel into the car as we thought we would use up so we’d be
able to bring the car back empty as well. The gas stations were
officially closed on this holiday, and unlike in North America,
there was no option to use a credit card for payment at the pump.
The pump, however, did have a little slot where you could feed in
bills and one of the local drivers patiently took his time to explain
the system to me.
The "Gole di Alcantara" (Alcantara River Gorge)
With enough fuel to get us a couple of hundred kilometers we set
off on our country excursion. At Giardini Naxos we turned inland
towards our first destination: the “Gole di Alcantara”,
the Gorge of the Alcantara River which is cut from black basaltic
rock. The signs on the country road pointed towards the parking
lot for the Alcantara Gorge, so we parked our vehicle and entered
the complex. A simple 20 minute tour to see the river and the strange
rock formations would cost 3 Euros, while longer tours and wading
tours through the river are available also. We descended several
sets of stairs to get down to the riverbed from where we got a good
look at some of the interesting rock formations. Unless you wanted
to walk through the river, there was no other place to go than back
up through another set of stairs.
Interesting basaltic rock formations
Once at the top we found out that if we had taken this entrance
we would have been able to view the gorge for free. We were a couple
of hundred meters away from our parked car and by the roadside there
was a little stand which actually was the tourist information booth
for this inland area. Two ladies supplied us with a range of brochures
and information about the villages surrounding Mount Etna, and I
have to admit that the service was better and more knowledgeable
than the tourist office in Taormina,
which happens to be a much bigger tourist centre.
View over the countryside from Motta Camastra
We decided to explore a few of the gorgeous hilltop towns which
are patched up against the rocky outcrops, providing an amazing
vantage point of the surrounding countryside. Following a sign for
a village called Motta Camastra we turned into a winding narrow
road that was slowly taking us to the top of this crag. At the bottom
of the town there was a public parking spot and we figured it was
better to park our car there and walk up than to try to navigate
the unimaginably narrow roads that were snaking through this little
hilltop town.
The narrow streets of Motta Camastra
Just as we had parked our car a local resident in his fifties started
shouting at us in Italian from his balcony and waving at us. It
took us some time to realize that he was actually inviting us up
into his abode for a beer. We graciously declined, and continued
our walk. Jill commented that local Sicilians had been showing a
marked amount of interest in her and attributed it to her noticeably
pale English complexion. After about a 10 minute walk through tiny
cobble-stoned walkways we reached the main square which featured
a bar with about 20 older men sitting outside. Most of them were
wearing caps similar to French berets and they were engaged in a
very spirited discussion. Not a woman was to be seen.
What a view...
Our walk continued to the ancient church and from there we followed
a walkway past narrow houses to a lookout point overlooking the
entire mountain area. Sleepy cats were lounging lazily on the pavement,
here and there women were watering flowers in front of their apartments.
The vista towards Mount Etna, the Alcantara Valley and various mountaintop
villages perched precariously against different rocky outcrops was
breathtaking.
View of Mount Etna behind the clouds
After Motta Camastra we decided to explore another one of these
hilltop towns and following a beautiful drive through a countryside
full of vineyards we reached a place called Rocella Valdemone about
45 minutes later. We parked the car right next to the old town church
and strolled across the piazza. At the other end of this public
square we saw the obligatory bar which again featured about 15 to
20 older gentlemen fully engrossed in an animated discussion. My
guess was they were probably discussing soccer. We got the definite
impression that tourists don’t come here very often because
we certainly stuck out like a sore thumb and the locals were looking
at us a bit as if we were a novelty. Again, women were conspicuously
absent, with the occasional exception who was sweeping the pavement
in front of the house and then disappeared inside again.
Rocella Valdemone
Nature was calling and we asked at the bar if we could use the
bathroom. One thing about Italy is that there are very few public
washrooms, but fortunately local bars are quite easy-going about
their facilities being used by non-paying strangers. This particular
facility was in rather abysmal shape, though, and when I came out
of it I instructed Jill to make sure not to touch any of the surfaces
for fear of contracting a horrible communicating disease. The facility
did the job, but it certainly was everything but a shining example
of hygiene and cleanliness.
Another view of Rocella Valdemone
Our driving tour continued with a drive into the mountain area.
Tree cover got sparser and all of a sudden we were in a mountain
area that must have been about 1500 to 2000 m high with a beautiful
360 degree view northwards and eastwards down to the sea and southwards
and westwards towards Mount Etna. Hundreds of local Italian families
had their cars parked in small side roads that were leading onto
what looked like pasture lands for goats and they were having picnics.
We didn’t seem to see any tourists at all, and we realized
that this is what Italians do on a public holiday in Sicily: they
go for a picnic in the high mountain areas surrounding Mount Etna….
Church and main square in Rocella Valdemone
We had come prepared – before our departure we had picked
up some prosciutto, cheese, fresh buns, fruits and drinks at the
local supermarket in Taormina and this was our time for our very
own little picnic. Due to the chilly wind that was blowing on this
high mountain plateau we actually stayed in the car to eat our lunch,
but nevertheless our view out the windshield was simply gorgeous.
Our lunch spot, looked like in the High Alps
After a very satisfying improvised meal we drove back down from
the mountains towards Mount Etna, past a large number of parked
cars whose owners had gone hiking somewhere in this mountainous
terrain. At an intersection a local woman was selling home-made
cheeses and sausages, evidence of Italian culinary craftsmanship.
We neared a town called Randazzo, with the volcano majestically
draped in the background which impressed us with its Cathedral of
Santa Maria, which was started in the 13th century and rebuilt several
times. The bell tower dates from the 18th century, an example of
the various different styles composing this imposing church.
Randazzo
We started our leisurely drive around Mount Etna, at times right
next to the Ferrovia Circumetnea, a small-gauge railway that encircles
Mount Etna for about 90 km between Catania and Riposto. Terraced
vineyards spread far in front of our eyes, and the drive through
little towns like Maletto, Bronte, Adrano and Paterno was enjoyably
peaceful. Once we approached the coastal side east of Mount Etna
things got a lot busier. We started realizing that this was indeed
a public holiday and all the locals were out and about. The traffic
was starting to get crazy. Continuing through Nicolosi, Trecastagni,
Zafferana Etnea (where saffron used to be cultivated, introduced
by the Arabs), we continued through Giarre and Fiumefreedo di Sicilia
towards Gardini Naxos, located right on the Ionian Sea.
Beautiful mountain villages
The traffic in the coastal areas was now enormous and beside the
road along the shoreline stretching north of Giarre, thousands of
cars were parked, belonging to people who had been enjoying a sunny
day at the waterfront. We continued through Giardini Naxos at a
crawling pace. This resort town south east of Taormina was founded
in 735 BC by the Greeks and represents one of the oldest Greek settlements
in Sicily. We drove past Isola
Bella and Mazzaro and took the northern entrance into Taormina
and got into a major traffic jam where we sat virtually without
moving for about 45 minutes, a distance that should have taken us
about 5 minutes under normal circumstances. No doubt everybody was
on the road.
View of Mount Etna from the west side, always hidden by the clouds
It was a relief to finally have reached Taormina when we drove
through the tunnel underneath town to reach the rental company on
the western side of town. Just like the roads had been full of people,
the town of Taormina was now packed with people strolling. Thousands
of people were milling up and down the main strip, Corso Umberto,
and we were literally rubbing shoulders with the other walkers.
We decided we would have dinner outside of the city gates on Via
Pirandello, where the pedestrian traffic was not quite as crazy
and grabbed a nice table on a terrace at Trattoria Da Lino’s,
a little restaurant where I had already had a couple of chats with
the owners who recognized me and gave me a friendly hello. From
the terrace we had a great view over the northern part of town and
the Ionian Sea below us. After a filling pasta dinner we received
a little free treat: a tasting of Amandola liqueur (made from almonds)
on the house – a great way to cap off an exciting day to catch
a rest for another day of Italian
lessons…
Interesting and useful books about Sicily:
Useful links:
Sicily
Tourist Information
Taormina
Tourist Information
Babilonia Italian
Language School
Hotel
Villa Nettuno in Taormina
Related articles:
My Italian language learning adventure
in Sicily in 2007
Hello from Sicily: Arrival in Taormina
Hello from Sicily: An
interview with the Sciglio family from Hotel Villa Nettuno
Hello from Sicily: A hike to Castelmola
and a taste of Sicily
Hello from Sicily: An excursion to
ancient Siracusa
Hello from Sicily: A leisurely
Sunday at Isola Bella
Hello from Sicily: Language
studies in Taormina and a walking tour
Hello from Sicily: A country driving tour
around beautiful Mount Etna
Hello from Sicily: A private lecture
about Sicily and the Mafia
Hello from Sicily: A Sicilian
cooking class in Taormina
Hello from Sicily: A hike up Mount
Etna a few days after an eruption
Hello from Sicily: Goodbye Taormina
- Hello Milazzo
Hello from Sicily: Starting my sailing
trip through the Eolian Islands
Hello from Sicily: Discoveries of Lipari
and Salina
Hello from Sicily: A driving tour of
Salina and Italian studies on a patio
Hello from Sicily: Explorations of
Stromboli, featuring an active volcano
Hello from Sicily: Beautiful Panarea
and a nice dinner in Lipari
Hello from Sicily: A driving tour of
Lipari and arrival at Vulcano
Hello from Sicily: Conquering Vulcano
and a final dinner in Milazzo
Hello from Sicily: Discovering Milazzo,
its long history and architecture
Hello from Sicily: An excursion by train
to the medieval treasure of Cefalu
Hello from Sicily: Discoveries
in the Nebrodi Mountains
Hello from Sicily: My final day in
Catania
Presenting:
The Babilonia Italian Language School in Taormina
Presenting:
The Laboratorio Linguistico Italian Langauge School in Milazzo
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