Page 68 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

The dramatic volcanic terrain around Mount Etna supports a whole outdoor
activities industry, from guided summit hikes to 4WD safaris. Local tourist offices and
travel agents as far away as Siracusa and Taormina are geared up to book visitors
onto trips. The small mountain towns of Nicolosi and Linguaglossa are the centres for
Etna’s surviving skiing (ski lifts keep being destroyed by eruptions), and winter sports

are also available in the Monti Madonie around Piano Battaglia, where you can rent
ski gear. Really, though, no one comes to Sicily just to ski. Volcanoes are a different
matter, though, as few in the world are as active as Etna and Stromboli – the latter (the
furthest flung of the Aeolian Islands) is another great base for guided crater treks (day
and night), volcano-watching cruises and the like.

Finally, horseriding and pony-trekking are available in some areas – sometimes
offered by agriturismo (rural tourism) properties.

< Back to Basics

CULTURE AND ETIQUETTE

Sicilian society remains deeply conservative, though values are shifting in the big

cities and in places that attract a lot of tourists. Urban Sicilians tend to dress far
more smartly than their Northern European counterparts, and even in the most
remote village, folk will put on their finery of an evening or for Sunday Mass. And
even in holiday resorts, Sicilians would never go out for an evening drink straight

from the beach, but go home to shower, and dress up first. Sicilians would rarely
sport outright beachwear in a city, but in summer shorts and strappy tops for
women, and shorts (of a certain length) for men are quite normal. However, the
same clothes worn on a hot day in April or October will win you stares.

VISITING CHURCHES, MUSEUMS AND RUINS

To visit churches and religious buildings you should dress modestly (which means
no shorts, not even Bermuda-length ones, and covered shoulders for women), and

avoid wandering around during a service. At otherwise free chapels, museums and
archeological sites, if you’re shown around by a custodian or caretaker it’s
customary to give a small tip – say €1 each.

Gay and lesbian Sicily

Homosexuality is not illegal in Italy, and the age of consent is 16. That said, attitudes
towards homosexuality are much less tolerant in Sicily than in Rome or the industrial

north. Taormina is the only place in Sicily where there is any kind of gay scene, and