Author: jtoews

i wandered around the hilltop old city of ragusa in southern sicily for a few hours. it was the day after we had experienced the hottest day ever recorded in european history, so ann needed to get some ac at a mall. ragusa was an interesting place to explore mostly because of its hilltop topography and viewpoints – it is also famous for its church and for being completely destroyed by an earthquake in the late 1600s, and subsequently rebuilt.

 

we stopped in the town of modica in southern sicily. some nice churhes and good food.

 

in the south of sicily, we stayed in a sub-standard rural hotel near syracuse. the old town of syracuse is on an island called ortygia, with some impressive churches and great food. we watched the sunset with an appertivo at a waterside club and it was nice.

of note, on august 11th 2021 we were in syracuse, sicily, when the hottest temperature ever recorded in europe was reached, also in syracuse, sicily – 48.8 celcius or 120 fahrenheit.

we flew into catania, sicily, and drove a little north to the hillside town of taormina. the hillside town is very touristy, with a long pedestrian street and some great views over the sea. a great place for an appertivo and a nice meal at a trattoria.

we spent 2 days in the city of lecce, in the “heel” of italy, which is known as the “capital of baroque.” it has five unbelievably ornate church facades. the city has an interesting history as it was the destination of many exiles from the ottoman empire. there is a large, bustling central square, where we engaged in extensive passeggiata, walking around after dark to see and be seen. lecce also has presents perhaps the best value for money in italy – we stayed in the best 5 star  hotel in town, the patria palace, for about the same price as a hostel in rome!

alberobello is a town in southern italy known for its trullis, which are cylindrical stone-roofed buildings. secondarily, we learned that this region is also known for its delicious custard-filled pastries called pasticcioti.

the town of matera is composed of countless ancient cave dwellings and churches. we slept in a renovated cave, and our hotel (locanda san martino thermae) had an underground spa-style cave pool. matera is a remarkable town that many tourists in italy don’t even know exists. it reminded me a lot of jerusalem.

we spent a full day hiking along the aptly named amalfi coast “path of the gods,” which has unbelievable views. the hike ends in the town of positano, where we jumped on a ferry to the town of amalfi, and then a bus back to our agriturismo in the hills of san lazzaro.

ravello is a town overlooking italy’s amalfi coast, with some very nice villas and gardens.

ann booked us into this amazing agriturismo for 3 nights on the san lazzaro heights above the amalfi coast! an agriturismo is an italian phenomenon of a family farm which hosts tourists to help sustain itself, and feeds them really well. the owner silvio was a very exuberant host, but everyone else did all the work. very much recommend the place!