We’re contemplating a little family vacation at the end of March, and were thinking about Italy. I’m not interested in Rome or Florence or Tuscany or any of the other places that the Normal People go. These two islands sound pretty nifty and well out of the way.
Sicily’s where Aleister Crowley ran his Thelema Abbey back in the 1920s, in the mountains near Cefalu. But Sardinia’s capital is named Cagliari, which is reason enough to go right there.
I’ve been looking into guidebooks, but I’d appreciate any personal information from Dopers who’ve visited one or both. Which would you pick?
Toledo! I’m gonna try to get a Toledo Dopefest together at the end of March or early April. I’m thinkin’ right now that April 1st would be pretty appropiate. The heck with Europe; they don’t have Vernor’s there either.
I’ve been to Sicily and there’s really only two places I’d put on a “must see” list. The first is Agrigento on the southern coast because of some well preserved Greek temples. The second is Taormina on the eastern coast, just because it’s so damn pretty (the blue Med. to the east and Mt. Etna looming in the south). Spend as little time as possible in big cities like Catania and Palermo. They are two of the ugliest cities in Europe. Dangerous too.
Elmer J. Fudd,
Millionaire.
I own a mansion and a yacht.
I have to advocate for Sicily also. I’m biased, because I lived there for almost 3 years while in the Navy.
I’ll second the opinion that you visit Taromina, and Agragento. I wasn’t terribly impressed with the ruins at agragento, but they are worth seeing. There are also some great sites down in Sirracusa that are worth seeing, and I wouldn’t rule out Palermo either…let me check my old guide books to jog my memory some more, and I’ll give a few more ideas.
I did two weeks of field work there for my dissertation, and I loved it. Since I was there for the rocks, not for the temples, I’ll recommend different sights:
The Aeolian Islands–Lipari, Vulcano, and Stromboli. Fantastic geology, active volcanoes, and great food.
Pantelleria–go to Trápani at the far western end of the island and catch the midnight ferry to Pantelleria, located about 40 km closer to Tunisia than Sicily. Beautiful, forgotten island. Very friendly folk. The BEST rocks in the world, and fabulous food–good Sicilian styles strongly influenced by North African flavors.
Palermo–it’s a dark, scary city. I loved it; very film noir. Not really much to see, except for the Cathedral in town and Monreale just outside of town. Bombed out buildings left over from WW2 are a nice touch.
And if you like Lone Star Beer, then you’ll love Birra Messina.
Uke, i’ll mail you some stuff an Italian friend sent. I’m too lazy to edit and therefore post it as is. The opinion seems to be strongly in favour of Sardinia.
'Droid