More of a sugar-spiked espresso than a milky
cappuccino, Sicily will reward you with an intense bittersweet
experience rather than anything lightweight and frothy. In Sicily it
seems as though the sun shines brighter, the shadows are darker, and
life is lived full on and for the moment. Overloaded with art treasures,
undersupplied with infrastructure and continuously struggling to thwart
Mafia-driven corruption, Sicily possesses some baffling social
topography. Brace yourself to reconcile baroque architectural beauty in Catania with modern squalor in Palermo,
artistic excellence with moral ambivalence and the rational with the
sensual. This is an island to be visited with an open mind – and a
healthy appetite; one factor remains a constant, and that is the
uncompromisingly high quality of the cuisine.
After some 25 centuries of foreign domination,
Sicilians are heir to an impressive cultural legacy, from the refined
architecture of Magna Graecia to a beguiling, if contradictory, artistic
fusion of Arab craftsmanship and Norman austerity. This complexity of
culture is matched by a startling diversity of landscape that includes
the smouldering Mt Etna, an aquamarine coastline with a tiara of Aeolian Islands and Parco Naturale Regionale Delle Madonie.
Today,
Sicily’s new generation is loathe to remain trapped in the past. New
ventures are seeing aristocratic entrepreneurs prising open the doors of
some of Europe’s finest palazzi and villas, while sensitive agriturismi
(farm stay accommodations) are shedding light on Sicily’s hidden rural
treasures and national parks. Sicily also has a refreshing lack of
neon-blazing entertainment and theme parks, which further helps preserve
its individuality and appeal.
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