A quick dash to neighbouring Sicily

We Maltese always complain that our geographical location is not ideal for travel. Being at the edge of the continent and on an island to boot means that you must endure a good number of hours of travel to anywhere on the mainland.  However, our location also puts us close to the uncut jewel that is Sicily, often overlooked and dismissed by quite a few people as a place to be somehow avoided.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Last week the wife and I grabbed our car and made a quick visit to this Mediterranean gem, visiting Cefalu', Savoca, and Marzamemi, driving down the Taormina coast, past Isola Bella and Naxos. A truly wonderful break facilitated by glorious weather. All it takes is a 90 minute trip by catamaran from Grand Harbour in Valletta to Pozzallo at the southern tip of Sicily. 

Snow capped Mount Etna in all its volcanic glory

Cefalu's old town is absolutely magical with narrow medieval streets dominated by an imposing Norman 12th century cathedral which is a UNESCO world heritage site.  The cathedral must have made a strong statement of Norman power after they conquered Sicily, southern Italy, and even Malta itself from the Arabs. It's heavy build must surely have been meant to advertise Norman prowess and control. Add to all this the great food and wine and you have a truly unbeatable combination!

The cathedral's imposing facade

Cefalu at night dominated by the Norman cathedral

A two hour eastward motorway drive along the north Sicilian coast takes you to Messina and thence south towards Taormina. Just before reaching that lovely town, the junction towards Santa Teresa di Riva takes you down to the shore before leading you up again through a steep winding uphill road leading to the village of Savoca. This place is just incredibly beautiful, perched on a steep hill and surrounded by terraced olive groves, vineyards and bougainvillae. The church of St Nicholas lies perched at a cliff's edge and commands views across azure waters to mainland Italy.

Savoca was relatively unknown until it featured in Coppola's first Godfather film. The church of St Nicholas, the Bar Vitelli, and the village square all featured prominently in the film, even if they were standing in for the town of Corleone. This place is an obligatory stop for any film buff but even if you're not an afficionado, this charming village is definitely worth a visit.

Savoca with the church of St Nicholas perched on a cliff's edge

A closer view of the church of St Nicholas where the wedding scene was shot.

Bar Vitelli features prominently in the film and remains pretty much unchanged today

On Bar Vitelli's front with the missus. In case you were wondering, the guy on the left is definitely NOT Al Pacino!

The last leg of our drive took us to Marzamemi at the south eastern tip of Sicily. This is an old fishing village not far from Syracuse and the baroque city of Noto. It is admittedly quite run down in places but the old centre has been delightfully converted to house an array of open air restaurants and wine bars which are quite well frequented by locals and tourists alike. Another fine place in the sun!

Marzamemi's old centre is dotted with open air restaurants just like this one

So now the scene is set for a longer visit sometime in the near future (hopefully) but when that happens we'll be going to the west side of the island. The one thing I'll say is that if you're ever around these parts, do take some time to visit Sicily - it's definitely worth it!