A perimetal pilgrimage to the largest of the Mediterranean islands produces greater aesthetic than epicurean rewards
Sicily signifies a great deal more to the traveler than a mere region of Italy, or the largest island in the Mediterranean with a disquieting emblem made up of a face surrounded by wings, serpents and three legs. It is a museum, an astonishing one, of diverse and unrelated civilizations-ancient Greek, Roman, Saracen and Norman, with smatterings of Spain thrown in, When the intrepid Garibaldi stormed the island less than a century ago and brought it into the newly founded Kingdom of Italy, he had annexed for his country an immense vineyard, an even larger orchard, a volatile, raven-haired, sun-browned population, and an absolute treasure of architecture and dramatic landscape.
But Sicily retains a mysterious atmosphere all its ownstrangely African, faintly Oriental. The Sicilians sing with a melancholy Moorish wail, and their villages are pervaded with the perfume of pungent Oriental spices. Their fishing vessels are rigged in slightly berserk fashion, with russet-orange sails, just as they are in Tunis or Cairo. Their swarthy complexions, luxuriant black hair and fine features suggest more than a few Moorish ancestors. They are not as gay as the Neapolitans, but have plenty of Italian virtues. The Sicilian farmers are hard workers, and have made valiant attempts to salvage every bit of arable soil on their island. The most uncompromising hills are terraced in the hope that they will provide a shelf where an olive tree or a few artichokes may take root. There is overpopulation in Sicily, and the poverty which goes with it. The Italian famiry for producing multinidinous progeny is never better illustrated than here. Bambini positively swarm. In other fields of activity, however, unemployment among the men runs high. The streets of mast Sicilian villages are crowded with them, all highly articulate, all gifted with flamboyant gestures. But the Sicilian women all seem to have something to do!
Sicily has been popular with foreign visitors for decades. Most of the pioneer travelers, in the early nineteenth century, were Englishmen-archaeologists who reveled in the remote temples of Segesta and Selinunre, and wine dealers who developed the sweet wines of Marsala into a formidable rival of port in the British market. By the turn of the present century the island had become established as a major objective for travelers, and so it remains today. Hotels were built or adapted to accommodate the tourist about then, and they remain the same also. There is a static charm to the hotel situation in Sicily. My venerable Baedeker dates from 1912, but its information about acceptable hostelrics is quite accurate today, except that full pensions ii no longer 20 lire per day. At present it costs more than that to mail a local letter or to buy an Italian newspaper.
The same few comfortable hotels in Messina, Syracuse, Agrigento and Palermo mentioned forty-two years ago are still the ones to recommend today. Taormina has blossomed out with a few new names, and there is one startling, ultramodern newcomer at Mondello, Palermo's beach resort, which deserves your attention. We have a firm conviction that today's traveler, unless he has had basic training in youth hostels or as an itinerant peddler, will not be happy in the lower categories of Sicilian hotels. Outside of Taormina, the charming exception to the rule, it is wise CO book the best.
Gastronomy plays fourth fiddle for the visitor in Sicily, and we might as well be candid about it. Conventional hotel food will be the lot of all but the most zealous seeker of local dishes. Sicilian specialties do exist, however, and the animated restaurants of Palermo will provide many of them. Rare is the tourist who can claim a first-hand knowledge of pasta alle sarde, probably the most celebrated Sicilian dish. It consists of boiled macaroni, in long strands, mixed with alternate layers of baby fmoccbio and young fresh sardines, both cooked in oil. This delicacy is served cold in pie-shaped portions, It tastes even better than it sounds!
Pasta alle Sards
Clean 1 pound of fresh sardines, discard the heads, tails, and backbones, and split the fish length wise. Roll the fish in flour, sprinkle with a little salt, and sauteé them in a little olive oil until brown on both sides. Trim 1 pound of fennel, wash it thoroughly, and cook it in boiling salted water until tender. Drain, squeeze out the excess water, and chop the fennel finely. Wash the salt from 12 anchovy filets and cook them slowly in ¼ cup olive oil until they are almost dissolved. Add the chopped fennel, a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook slowly in the olive oil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding a little more olive oil if needed. Stir in ½ cup tomato paste diluted in 1 cup hot water.
Cook 1 pound of thin macaroni in a large quantity of rapidly boiling salted water until just tender, and drain. Butter a baking dish or a deep pie dish, and put in it alternate layers of the macaroni and the fennel mixture. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and bake in a moderate oven (550' F.) for 30 minutes.
Risotto alla siciliarra is a toothsome version of this famous rice dish, built around eggplant, tomato, parsley and basil, topped off with a golden crust of grated cheese.
Risotto alla Siciliana
Peel a large eggplant, slice it thinly, and sauté the slices in olive oil until brown on both sides. Remove the eggplant and keep it warm. Add I tablespoon each of olive oil and butter to the pan. and in it saute I thin slice of salt pork and 1 small onion, both chopped, until the salt pork is crisp and the onion is browned. Add 1 cup each of tomato paste and water, and salt and pepper to taste, then cook slowly for 40 minutes. Remove 1 cup sauce from the pan and to the remaining sauce add 2 cups chicken Stock and 1 ½ cups rice. Bring the stock to a boil and simmer the rice for about 15 minutes, or until tender, adding a little more stock if necessary. Stir in ¼ cup butter.
In a buttered casserole put half the rice, then half the eggplant. Cover the eggplant with ¼ pound thinly sliced Mozzarella and pour over the cheese ½ cup of the tomato sauce. Repeat the layers, sprinkle with 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese mixed with I teaspoon chopped sweet basil, and bake in a hot oven (400° F.) for 15 minutes.
Marsala is served in any café, often from miniature casks, and it appears on restaurant menus in a sauce for tcaloppine or in a zrb aglione, two of its classic roles. Sometimes you will encounter a refreshing novelty, strawberries served with a sauce of Marsala and orange juice. The varied Moscatos are yours for the asking too, and make a worthy aperitif, especially the not-too-sweet one from Syracuse. The Zibibbo will prove cloying to many palates, but not the Malvasia from the Lipari Islands. Corvo, the handsome table wine from Casteldaceia, is one of the more heartening things about Sicilian meals, be it red or white. It is on every respectable wine list, and shouldn't be missed.
Sicilian fruit, of course, is everywhere you turn. Oranges. lemons, and tangerines are irrepressibly productive. Roadside fruit stands will display large oranges and baby ones. round and Oval ones, red and pinkish ones, and a flashing brunette called sanguina dloppia whose flesh verges on the purple-russet of Sicilian sunsets. A pompelo is a grapefruit. smaller than the ones we relish in America perhaps. but somewhat juicier. Table grapes ripen in the summer. and some arc delectable, particularly the chasselas dorato and the zibibbo, a long yellow grape with a muscat aroma, The Sicilian fig is easily appreciated. It is a local passion, whether dried or ripe.
Almond blossoms brighten the south Sicilian slopes in early spring, and later provide the foundation for many baroque sweets. Coated with a sugar cover the nuts are tossed about at ever)' wedding and subsequent christening. Pistachio nuts, some of the world's best, come from orchards near Catania, and lend their suave perfume to ices and galantines everywhere. Finally, there is the ancient, faithful olive tree which lays a grey-green rapestry over the less fertile areas of Sicily and forms the keystone of its cooking. Butter is a rarity. And the more deftly we sidestep the subject of Sicilian meat, particularly beef, the better. It doesn't make much difference to the average Sicilian family however, by a twist of gastronomic justice. They can't afford the stringy stuff anyway. Bread, pasta, greens and sweets keep them going. They devour purple-laced cauliflower and finoccbio by the cartload. They also have a country pizza of their own, a luxurious affair based on fresh ewe's milk cheese, seasoned with sausage, anchovy, tomato, olives and herbs, and calling (or a fine robust digestion.
The sea is moderately kind to Sicilians, bringing them plenty of sardines, octopus, shrimp, and eel, but rarely the bountiful netfuls common to the Adrifatic. The upper reaches of any Sicilian food shop are hung with twine-wrapped cylinders of cheese in multiple sizes. There are two principal types, both of which need a year of agihg up there in the rafters. One is Canestrato, made from ewe's milk. The Other is called Caciocavallo, a name which would seem to hide a horse, but it doesn't. It is not made from mare's milk, but from that of the forlorn Sicilian cow.
It is in the realm of sweets that this country really lets itself go. Ah. that Sicilian sweet tooth! Even in the country towns, a pastry shop is a riotous panorama of the gaudiest, ooziest. most flamboyant cukes extant. How do the Sicilians keep their figures? La omnia is a lush ringleader and a strong favorite at Easterrime.
Caisata alla Sicffiana
Combine 1 ¼ pounds of Ricotta cheese, 2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 2 tablespoons crème de cacao and beat vigorously until the mixture is Smooth and fluffy. Add 2 tablespoons each of chocolate bits and chopped candied fruit and mix well.
Cut a moist sponge cake into 1-inch slices and line the bottom and sides of a casserole with the slices. Four the filling into the casserole, cover with more cake slices, and chill in the refrigerator overnight. Decorate the top with candied fruit and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.
Cannoli are sweet cannellonis, if you wish, cylinders of sweet, crust-wrapped chocolate or vanilla filling. Incalculable calories! Perelman said it first: “Cbacnn a son goo!”
Cannoli alla siciliana
To make cannoli, you will need tapered tin tubes about ¾ inch in diameter and 6 inches in length, or a reasonable facsimile.
On a pastry board make a well in the center of I 1/3 cups flour. In the well put 2 tablespoons shortening, a pinch of salt, and ½ teaspoon sugar. Work the center ingredients into a smooth paste and combine it with the flour, using a little red or white wine to make a rather firm dough. Form the dough into a ball, cover it with a napkin, and let it rest for about 1 hour.
Roll out the dough 1/16 inch thick and cut it into 4-inch squares, Place one of the tin lubes diagonally across a square and wrap the dough around the tube. overlapping the two points and pressing them a little with the fingers to close the cannoli. Wrap all the squares in the same way and fry them, one or two at a time, in hot deep fat (370” F.) until they are brown and crisp. Let them drain and cool a little on absorbent paper and then remove the cannoli carefully from the tubes. Let them cool thoroughly before filling with the following cream:
Combine thoroughly 1 pound ricotta cheese and 1 cup fine granulated sugar and press through a sieve two or three times to make a smooth paste. To this may be added, according to individual laste, a little orange flower water, a little melted chocolate, or some finely chopped nuts. Fill the cannoli a and dust them generously with confectioners' sugar. This recipe makes 12 cannoli,
Torrone is the sweetest of all, an almond candy embedded with cherries, citron, orange peel and pistachios.
Torrone
In a saucepan put I cup strained honey and 4 tablespoons corn syrup, Stir the mixture constantly over boiling water until it is heated.
In another saucepan combine 2 ½ cups sugar, ¾ cup water, and ¼ teaspoon cream of tartar, bring to a boil, and cook until the syrup spins a thread. Pour the syrup gradually into 3 egg whites, stiffly beaten, beating constantly. Add this meringue to the honey and cook, stirring until the mixture becomes stiff. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 cup chopped candied citrus peel, 2 cups blanched almonds, ½ cup each of shelled and slightly toasted hazelnuts and shelled pistachios, 1 tablespoon each of chopped candied citron and orange peel, and ½ teaspoon grated lemon rind.
Pour the candy into nougat frames lined with wafer paper, cover with wafer paper, and place a board and a heavy weight on top. Let the nougat stand until cold, then cut it into bars with a sharp knife, using a sawing motion. Wrap each bar in wax paper.
A week, or a year, can be spent in exploring this mountainous, ever-changing island. The greatest interest lies along its coast, however, and an observant tour around its triangular perimeter will hold rich rewards. We have just made the (tip and arc still dazzled. We have nightmares about yellow donkey carts and goatherds, hairpin curves and landslides, and especially about dozens of juvenile Sicilian noses pressed against the windows of our cat. Could we interest you in the highlights of our counterclockwise cavalcade? It begins at Messina, and ends in a burst of creature comfort in that perennial darling of all travelers, Taormina.
MESSINA
They have been talking for decades about a vehicular tunnel to connect Sicily with the Italian mainland, but the modern ferries which ply between Villa San Giovanni and Messina will prove far more pleasant to sightseers. The ferries absorb whole trains along with incidental passengers and automobiles. and only half an hour is needed to bring you to the Sheltered port of Messina which. as you've surely guessed, is called the Gateway to Sicily. As such, it has had its troubles, particularly in August. 1943, when halo-German forces held it against Allied bombardment to permit remnants of their troops to escape to Calabria. Parts of the city are still tattered as a result. All of this in the wake of the earthquake which made a shambles of most of Messina in 1908. This city might be your first overnight stop in Sicily. SO don't be alarmed at the stubby HOTEL ROYAL or GRAND HOTEL which await you. For seismic reasons they don't build high structures in Messina. Either of these two-storied hostelries will prove acceptable. There is a better than average restaurant, too, the RISTORANTE DA BORGIA at 27 Via dei Millc. It is one of those high-ceilinged. white-walled, neon-lit places with all the atmosphere of a telephone booth, but the cooking and service are good, the menu comprehensive. We indulged in a flavorful tagliatelli alla bolognese, unexpectedly tender scahppinc with mushrooms, then cheese, salad and a bottle of red Corvo, and were quite content. A better than average museum, and a cathedral with handsome portals have come through Messina's many tribulations, and are worth seeing before beginning the Grand Tour. Then you climb hills laced with hairpin turns to the northeastern shore of Sicily and a first glimpse of the Lipari Islands. They look mysterious, and infinitely peaceful in the iridescent morning light. Beyond them is Stromboli, its volcano smoking in solitary contentment, secure in the knowledge that its public relations have picked up enormously since that movie.
This northern shore of the island is precipitous. The cactus-clad mountains tumble down into the sea, and the coastal roads wind semi-hysterically at times. It takes almost two hours to get to the dramatic and sketchable citadel of Tindari, crowning a particularly bloodcurdling pinnacle above the sea. Tindari was a Greek settlement four centuries before the Christian era, but most of it has slid into the sea. What remains is a medieval sanctuary, well worth the slight detour.
CEFALU
The drama of these hills begins to taper off as you approach Ccfalu, one of the most memorable of Sicilian towns, crouching at the base of a Gibraltarlike limestone promontory. The square towers of its massive Norman cathedral, begun a little over eight centuries ago, Stand out from a welter of close-packed waterfront buildings. In the choir are the first of the superlative mosaics for which Sicily is famed. It was here that the Norman King Roger wished to be buried with his queen. He built two im posing sarcophagi of porphyry for the purpose. But his wishes were ignored. The couple have long since joined the royal family in the tombs of the cathedral in Palermo. Adjoining Cefalú's cathedral is a Romanesque cloister of great beauty. It all builds up into quite a temptation for the more assiduous enthusiasts of Norman art.
PALERMO
Many travelers begin their Sicilian adventure in this island capital, coming here by transatlantic liner or by the overnight steamer from Naples or Tunis. Daily plane service from Rome, Milan and Naples brings other visitors, sometimes in unexpected droves. Palermo's hotel facilities being limited, it is highly important to make reservations in advance, either at the long-established VILLA IGEA overlooking the sea, or at the HOTEL DES PALMES, in the heart of the city.
This effervescent, noisy metropolis of some half million inhabitants holds unexpected rewards for the prowling sightseer, especially near the waterfront and the market squares. Pinpoint the Piazza Caracciola on your map and look for the ultimate in Sicilian animation. The place reverberates with the shouts of black marketeers, fish peddlers, pastry vendors and medicine men. Street singers, hand organs, quite gruesome meat markets and damsels of doubtful virtue enrich the atmosphere. The sheltered Cala, where the fishing fleet clusters in colorful disorder, is another spot dear to the hearts of local artists. After a rainstorm, a hundred sails in varied lints arc hoisted to dry, an unforgettable sight calling for the quick use of a color camera. Nor will you ever forget the catacombs of Palermo: dank places whose walls are decorated with the robed skeletons of lmonks. A mote cheerful apparition is found in the gay and pagan fountain decorating the Piazza Pretoria, as playful and irreverent a display as you'll find in many a day, and certain to be banned in Boston. Other highlights of Palermo arc more sober-the extraordinary half-Moorish, half-Norman churches with their tomaco-pink domes, and the immense, discordant cathedral with its sextet of royal tombs. There are many beautiful things in Sicily but, in my humble opinion, nothing quite approaches the splendor of its monks, two superlative examples of which arc here. Missing that chef-d'oeuvre of Byzantine art, the Palatine Chapel in Palermo's Royal Palace, would be comparable to missing No re Dame in Paris. It is a thing of perfect, miraculous beauty. In the hills some five miles above the metropolis is Monreale, a city made famous by its cathedral and cloisters, both of which have no peer in the world of architecture, Monreale leaves one speechless with awe and admiration for the achievements of which man is capable.
Palermo has its lighter side-a fine opera, a university whose students swarm the busy streets between classes and, we are glad to say, a few restaurants to provide a glimpse, at least, of Sicilian cooking. The most satisfactory of these is the OLIMPIA, on the populous Via Ruggera Settino. We found the place full of silver-thatched Sicilian executives, an unfailing index of excellence. On the ground floor is the CAPE DAGNINO, a student-dense wonderland of drinks, cakes, confections and ices which merits exploration. In the far corner is a sort of hot shop where they sell exotic unsweet things, and litre is your best chance to savor Palermo's local specialties. You take your pick, prop yourself on a high stool facing a marble shelf on the wall, and you tan almost imagine yourself in an American beanery-except for the food, which shatters the illusion at once. You can buy a segment of that famous pasta alla sarttc here for a song, or aromatic rice fritters, assorted pizzas, fish fries and sandwiches which defy all precedent. It's a marvelous place to stock up on provisions for a picnic, and you don't have to know the names of things. Just point. The brunette at this counter will wrap up a treasury of strange delicacies which taste less alarming than they look. Up one flight is the Olimpia restaurant, a reposeful and well-lighted salon whose windows overlook the teeming thoroughfare. The menu is conventional but varied, and the service by waiters dressed as bellboys with gold buttons, is all one could ask. The wine list is good, the coffee hot and strong. The grey-haired businessmen arc rignr, as usual; Olimpia deserves its steadfast clientele.
We tried several other restaurants in Palermo, and found two which offer possibilities. The RISTORANTE CASTELNUOVO, on the other side of the piazza of the same name, is another of those high-ceiling, white places, devoid of atmosphere but dedicated to an honest standard of cooking. Anglo-Saxons like the Castelnuovo, and don't seem to mind the ambulant salesmen who How by their tables without pause. Everyone but the shivering little match girl takes a try at it-the newspaper boy, the fat lady with flowers, the lottery-ticket man, the bangle vendor and, of course, the violin-and-guitar duo with the silver tenor.
SPANO, probably the best of the “typical” restaurants in Palermo, is on the Via Messina Marina. It is likely to be gay, crowded and noisy; reminiscent of a Genoese trattoria. It's not the place to wear a mink or a monocle, but the cooking is good and a few local specialties appear, including that delectable risotto alla Sicilian. The atmosphere is salty, authentic and friendly.
MONDELLO
This seaside village, wedged in between two granite promontories some nine miles west of the metropolis, is Palermo's Lido. Its beach is broad and inviting, but its hotel facilities were negligible until last October, when a startling ultramodern newcomer Opened its doors. The MONDELLO PALACE HOTEL is the most luxurious place in Sicily. judged by contemporary standards, and well deserves its standing as the island's third lusso hotel. The Palace is something out of Rio, Holly wood and Le Corbusier all thrown together. The architect, the decorators, and especially the unfettered artist who conceived the super-Picasso tilework, were given a free hand it would seem. The plumber, however, held strictly to reality. Each room has its own beautiful bath, and its own wide private balcony overlooking the sea. The array of lights, fans, gadgets and buttons to push is bewildering, and care must be taken in turning out the lights: Chances are two to one that on your first try you'll land the head waiter at your door with an order pad. This hotel is quieter than anything in Palermo, and it should be a joy to travelers who arrive in the warm months. Everything is spanking new and spotless, and the service is alert and polite. It is a bit expensive, perhaps, but much less than the same category of resort hotel in America. The transportation problem for the earless is nor too complex, for electric buses from the heart of Palermo, twenty minutes away, stop at the front door. Somebody has sunk millions of lire into this modernistic hotel by the sea. He will recoup his millions faster if he installs a top-notch kitchen staff. Three uninspired prix fixe dinners convinced us of that.
SEGESTA
Sicily's great Greek adventure begins as your path heads westward from Palermo, through lemon groves and fishing villages, to the mysterious mountain site of Segesta. Here, in total solitude, is an unfinished Greek temple; its columns all standing, but unfluced. its entablature ready to receive carved metopes which were never achieved. There it stands today in forlorn majesty, just as it was twenty-five centuries ago when war with the Carthaginians interrupted its consiruction. Crows hover noisily about, and a few goats rustle through the surrounding cactus. Otherwise, all is silence. It is one of the most moving sights in Sicily.
TRAPANI
Most travelers turn southward at this point, but we had seen Trapani from the air during a wartime flight from Tunis to Naples, and had always wanted to take a close look at the picturesque windmills which dominate its salt beds. Trapani has been in the business of extracting salt from sea water for centuries, and once carried on a thriving commerce with the Scandinavian countries. The old port and salt beds were rewarding, but the city offered little else. If it hadn't started to rain, a trip to the nearby mountain fortress of Ericc would hove been in order. Instead we turned toward Marsala, passing miles of well-tended vineyards.
SELINUNTE
Another extraordinary glimpse of ancient Greece lies along the southern road which leads to Agrigento and a good night's rest. This is the remains of Sclinuntc, founded seven centuries before Christ, and now an incredible chaos. Especially dramatic arc three ruined temples on a lonely slope above the sea. This has none of the solemn majesty of Segesta rather the fury and violence of an unrecorded earthquake which must have caused most of the grotesque damage. A colossal, cataclysmic stone-pile is the result. In one place the massive drums of Doric columns have been thrown to earth in even rows and lie like fallen stacks of dominoes. It is an archaeologist's heaven. if a turbulent one. The sculptured metopes from Sclinuntc were rescued long ago and moved to the museum in Palermo. There are seven ruined temples in all, one of which has been partially restored, bur these three are enough to stagger the layman.
AGRIGENTO
True to the promises of the travel posters, the fabulous Greek temples of Agrigento were silhouetted against clouds of almond blossoms. The five astonishing temples which are aligned along the walls of the ancient city need no such flowery embellishment. They are superlative in themselves. How well the Greeks understood the art of picking a site! Along a dramatic ridge they stand, overlooking the sea. Put them all together and you have truly Homeric experience, and enough Doric architecture to last a lifetime. Not that the Agrigento temples could outdo the Parthenon. They are carved from the rough, porous local stone, in contrast to the Parthenon's gleaming marble, and were covered with stucco, many traces of which remain. High above the temple ridge is the modern city of Agrigento, occupying the ancient Acropolis. It lacks interest, except for a Grecian sarcophagus in the cathedral, and the fact that it is the birthplace of Pirandello.
The hotel situation is better in Agrigento today than in the past, when Goethe, for example, searched in vain for even a simple locanda. The author of Faust finally found refuge in a spaghetti factory Today's traveler finds a wide, sprawling establishment half way between the temples and the citadels, called the HOTEL DDI TDMPLI. It has seen better days, but its southern rooms have a magnificent view of the temples and the sea. Its tropical garden is pleasant, if its echoing salons arc somewhat barren. The cuisine maintains a respectable standard, and the rooms are furnished in precisely the same way they were when Baedeker was a boy. It's the best place in Agrigento, however, and has a most cosmopolitan clientele, including at the moment some Texas oil nun with flowery neckties and friendly ways, who are drilling for liquid treasure in the nearby hills.
Herds of sheep and goats form a traffic hazard here. The goats, whose flat spiral horns are highly picturesque, come straight from the grazing hills to the villages, where they are milked in front of the housewife's door. No middleman here, except the shepherd. The yellow and orange Sicilian donkey carts which have escaped the antique dealers rattle along these southern roads. Every inch of these carts is covered with decorative painting. The donkey wears a plumeddunce tap, and another feather duster bounces from his harness. If the day is festive, he is further bedecked with velvet and lace, and his harness is hung with colored streamers of ribbon. You can't sublimate a donkey much more. The burro, the donkey, the mule, the jackass (or is this getting redundant?), these are still the elemental means of transport in Sicily. Except, of course, for the women, who carry everything from a jug of water to a load of wood on their heads. The Sicilian youth may slouch, but not the maiden; she has a fine erect hearing, and for good reason!
SYRACUSE
Two dramatic hill towns, Ragusa and Modica, lie along the highway before the land becomes flat and fertile, and the island silhouette of Syracuse comes into view. It is hard to believe that this was once one of the most powerful Hellenic cities. It boasted half a million inhabitants at a time when Rome was little more than a village. Now its population has dwindled, and most of the ancient city has disappeared completely. What remains, however, is impressive-a superlative Greek theater hewn in the rocky hillside during the fourth century B.C., a Roman amphitheatre in fine preservation, and some very spooky quarries with lurid legends attached. A much later curiosity worth visiting is the little Romanesque church of San Giovanni, and its immense catacombs. Visitors who stay at Syracuse's leading hotel, the VILLA POLITI, will be within walking distance of all these, and will be assured of comfortable rooms and good food.
The present city of Syracuse is concentrated some distance away on the hook-shaped promontory of Ortigia, extending into the sea. Close-packed and animated, it has a museum of immense interest to historians and numismatists. But the sublime marble statue of Aphrodite, discovered just 150 years ago. is its most obvious treasure. It is headless. alas, and one forearm is missing, but the attributes which remain arouse considerable enthusiasm with the public. There is a strong Spanish flavor to the ornate facades on Syracuse's cathedral square, and it is more than a surprise to discover that the cathedral's flashy front masks a converted Greek temple. All archaeologist would probably want to stay here for a month, but most travelers will do Syracuse in a day or two. The HOTEL DES ETRANGERS, overlooking the port and the famous fountain of Arethusa, will prove a satisfactory place for an overnight stop.
The overpowering, snow-crested silhouette of Mt. Etna was etched against the sky as we headed north from Syracuse on the last Iap of this journey. Etna's immense majesty is mixed with more than a faint foreboding, for the volcano is still periodically active.
More than one village and farm on this gently sloping giant have disappeared under the advancing clinkers, hut the Sicilian farmers who cultivate these hills are tenacious. They always come back, for Etna's dusty perimeter is extraordinarily fertile. Fruit trees prosper mightily, as do chestnuts, almonds and hazelnuts. Vineyards thrive on its lower slopes and produce a heady and very acceptable table wine. Higher up are evergreen forests where local huntsmen go gunning for hare and wild boar, which are prepared in the piquant Sicilian fashion-hut not for the hotel dwellers, alas! Villainous as it has been for the past millennium and more, Etna also has its bountiful side.
TAORMINA
This ancient town, sitting on a shelf 672 feet above the sea, is more popular with travelers than any other place in Sicily-and it deserves to be. For decades it has made the greatest effort to provide comfortable accommodations for them. Its hotels and pensioni are a joy after some of the rugged experiences which traveling in southern Italy entails. They are clean, well-heated and cheerful, In every category, from the expensive San Domenico Palace (where bridegroom King Farouk took some sixty rooms for his honeymoon with Narriman) to the second-string little places, they offer excellent value, hospitality and service, and usually a palm-sheltered garden with a view. Taormina's main thoroughfare, the Corso Umberto, is the cleanest street in Sicily, and the only street where the temptation to shop is irresistible.
A traveler's resort par excellence, it has somehow retained its native charm. Ancient as the Greeks, its architectural treasures are many, the hill-top Greek theatre being its greatest monument. From this site one of the most thrilling panoramas in Italy is revealed-the sunlit town in the foreground. the sea below, and the grandeur of Etna as a back-drop. Taormina's old churches, its Moorish and Gothic buildings, its cactus and tropical vegetation make it a perpetual favorite with painters and aquarellists.
Of course, there is a slight extra charge for Taormina's many privileges. Prices are upped on everything from a chocolate to a bottle of Sotch. Its restaurants are routine. and there is small temptation to desert one's hotel dining room, where good, middle-of-the-road cooking, designed to be acceptable to polyglot pilgrims from a dozen different countries is the rule. Everything considered, Taormina's eleven principal hotels and its sprightly little pensioni deserve a blanket endorsement. with no particular names singled out. They have done quite as much as the shops, the sunshine and the scenery in making Taormina the most charming spot in southern Italy even without pasta alla sarttc and wild boar.