Page 401 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

… for the last five hours all they had set eyes on were bare hillsides flaming yellow under the sun … They
had passed through crazed-looking villages washed in palest blue; crossed dry beds of torrents over
fantastic bridges; skirted sheer precipices which no sage and broom could temper. Never a tree, never a
drop of water; just sun and dust.
Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard

It is in Sicily’s vast and mountainous interior – thoroughly depleted by mass
emigration – that you can truly begin to get off the tourist trail. Outside just

three or four decent-sized towns, bunched together almost in the centre of the
island, much of the land is burnt dry during the long summer months. The
extensive cornfields have been a feature of the Sicilian landscape since Greek
times, but the rolling hills are mostly silent and empty, punctuated only by
occasional moribund towns and villages wrapped around easily defensible heights.

Even crossing through the centre via the Catania–Palermo motorway gives a
powerful flavour of the rural Sicily in Lampedusa’s books. However, travelling
slowly through this land has its rewards, not least the fascinating glimpses of a

way of life that has all but disappeared in the rest of the island. This is true not
just of the countryside, but of the cities too – perhaps manifested most intensely
during religious festivals, such as Easter. Indeed, one of the most evocative times
to visit the area is Holy Week, which sees costumed processions in Caltagirone,
Troina, Caltanissetta and, most striking of all, Enna.

Symbol of the entire interior is the blustery mountain settlement of Enna, easy to reach
from both Catania and Palermo. It’s a historic place, with a mighty castle and some
even mightier views, and deserves a night’s stay. Routes north (towards the
Tyrrhenian coast and Palermo) or east (Etna and Catania) head through minor
mountain towns and villages on the fringes of the Nébrodi and Madonie mountains,
and make good driving circuits provided you don’t mind potholed roads and a middle-

of-nowhere feel. The largest town in the region is actually Caltanissetta, gateway to
the south coast and the deep west, though it’s also the most disappointing and devoid
of much charm. The treasures of the interior are all in the southeast, especially the
single biggest draw: the lavish Roman mosaics at the Villa Romana del Casale. This

lies just outside the enjoyable Baroque town of Piazza Armerina, which could also
be your base for seeing the extensive and unsung Greek ruins of Morgantina and the
fabulous collection of the Archeological Museum in Aidone. Further south, ceramic-
studded Caltagirone makes a handy departure point for the Baroque towns of the
southeast.