Sicily holidays by Volcano Etna

Top wine tourism and food events in Sicily

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:31:01 +0000

Mediterranean diet + Sicilian cuisine + Tours of Sicily = Enjoy!!

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:46:54 +0000

The “Mediterranean diet” is the traditional alimentary way used by people that live in the Mediterranean countries.

One of the most important aspect of Mediterranean diet is the quality of the ingredients used. The result is that ingredients are fresh, often produced in land, tasty and fragrant.

The main principles of this diet :

The use of “Unique plates” (Plates that combine together carbs and meat)
Intensive use of olive oil
Consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes
Moderate consumption of red meat
1 time a week fish or white meats
Moderate use of cheese and yogurt
1 glass of red wine to accompany the main meals
Consumption of honey instead of sugar
Drink at least 6 glasses of water a day

Here the most known Mediterranean foods and wines you’ll taste during your Sicilian journey…

Seafood- Seafood is well known for its particular heart benefits, Grilled swordfish, Cuttlefish, sardines are popular ingredients of the Sicilian diet always prepared with pasta. Try seafood with whites wines as “Catarratto Bianco, Inzolia, Grillo, and Damaschino”.
Meat – Chicken, Veal, Lamb, Pork are popular meat dishes usually served with marsala wine.
Wines – There are more than 150.000 hectares of land cultivates to wineyards, in particular, on the slopes of the Etna mountain.

Lot of studies explain how the Sicilian red wine consumption is associated with a lower cardiovascular risk. Has been confirmed that parameters like blood glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides, was significantly decreased after the consumption of Sicilian red wines (Nero D’Avola and Torrepalino wines).

Other aliments are:

Bread, pasta, rice, potatoes.
Vegetables: Spinach, Cauliflowers, Carrots, Eggplants, Tomatoes, broccoli, capsicum, capers, garlic and onion.
Fruit: Olives, Grape, Oranges, Lemons, Apples, cherries, Strawberries, peaches, apricots,
Legumes: beans, peas,
Fruit: Walnuts, Almonds, Pistachio nuts
Oil of olive
Honey
Milk and cheeses
White Meat (chicken, rabbit, turkey, etc…) and fish (fish sword, sardines, tuna, clears)
Eggs
Red meat (veal, lamb, etc…)
Water

In you need to live an unique experience that joins together the best places to visit in the southern Italy and the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, then read this simple article about a wine tour of Sicily.

The Sicily island is the biggest island in the Mediterranean sea, it’s at the south of Italy and the north of Africa. Food and wine are among Sicily’s main attractions. Here you can find a mix of different cultures (Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans). These ancient dominations let us their rests in the culinary traditions. Climatic conditions, sun every day and the Volcanic land, facilitate the food’s favour and produce unique of a kind Mediterranean products.

What to discover in this food and wine itinerary…

The tour is along the most known wine territory of Sicily, The Etna volcano and the city of Catania in the Ionic coast of Sicily. With this itinerary you can join the views of many medieval villages located on the slopes of the mount etna, and taste the favour of vineyards and fruit-trees. You can combine the tasting of great Mediterranean diet products while you are travelling across the century’s of millenarian history and culture.

The itinerary explained…The itinerary starts in the South of Mount Etna, from the little villages of Belpasso and Nicolosi. Continues in the sea villages in the Ionic coast to Taormina and finishes in the northern side of the Etna in the natural park of the Alcantara river.

December Travel: Ski in Sicily winter holidays Skiing on Mt Etna

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:57:13 +0000

Here a list of possible ideas to travel in Sicily on December or pass your winter holidays in Sicily by Ski on Mt Etna

Who visit Sicily for Christmas or the winter period, generally does these questions: (For a direct enquire about tips and vacation proposals you can contact us)

What can I expect in terms of weather and what are the Sicily temperatures in winter ? – In Sicily Winter are generally mild. But Sicily could be much colder in December than you might expect. Look here for more info on weather forecast

Where to stay at this time of year? – The best place to stay as bases is Taormina. Taormina would be a base town to visit:

Etna

Giardini-Naxos

Siracusa

Catania

Excursion to the Aeolian Islands

Are there any special events during this time? – Generally Christmas is a Family festivity. The festivity are from (24 December) through the Epiphany (6 January). In Italy, the day after Christmas (Saint Stephen’s Day) is a national holiday, and so is the Epiphany.

What type of activity can I do?

There’s a wine route you can take. This site will have 4 wine routes. Strada del vino dell’ Etna

The winter ski resorts on Etna will also be open.

Visit the entire volcano towns with the Circumetnea Railway (The service does not run on Sundays, or holidays.)

Relax

Shopping

Ancient ruins

Maybe a beach

Feel for Sicily’s culture

Map of Ski spots on Mt Etna

View Larger Map

Can I visit Mt. Etna to go skiing? Are there other spots for Sicily ski holidays? – The Etna mountain is covered of snow, the ski season on Etna runs from November to March, and skiing is possible. Mt. Etna offers 1400 meters of vertical skiing. There are two ski areas on Etna, the southern – Nicolosi and the northern – Linguaglossa. In these areas are available Hotels, Chalet and ski rentals.

Here a video, clik on the menu button in the lower right corner to see other related videos

Here you can practice:

Downhill

Cross-country skiing

Snowshoeing

Telemark

Alpine ski

Snowboarding

The main experiences are with the snowshoes and cross country ski. Here you can cross the forests, open spaces and the paths over the 1.800 meters.

Snowboard is very good because over 2.000 meters there aren’t trees.

Here the list of the ski stations in the South- Rifugio Sapienza, Nicolosi

1° ski lift: Silvestri 1910mt. to 2100 mt.
2° ski lift: Capannina 2100 mt. To 2300 mt.
3° ski lift: Omino 2300 mt. To 2550 mt.
4° ski lift: Montagnola 2450 mt. To 2650 mt.
Cross country path: Piano Vetore
Cable car 1910mt. to 2500 mt.

Here the list of the ski stations in the North- Piano Provenzana, Linguaglossa

1° ski lift: Baby
2° ski lift: Tanaurpi
3° ski lift: Le coccinelle
4° ski lift: Monte Conca
5° ski lift: Anfiteatro
Cross country skiing: Poiana

More and more people like to do show-shoes excursions, because they are the substitute of trekking during the winter.

The main itinerary is:

Day 1 Catania.
Day 2 Western Etna – Monti Sartorius (4 Hours walking: + 350 – 100mt.)
Day 3 Northern Etna – Piano Provenzana (5 Hours walking: + 680 – 680 MT)
Day 4 Etna – Randazzo (4 Hours walking: + 350 – 620 MT)
Day 5 Park of Nebrodi (4 Hours walking: + 50 – 290 MT)
Day 6 Southern Etna (6 Hours walking: + 400 – 400 MT)
Day 7 Taormina
Day 8 Catania

Other tips:

Many hotels and restaurants take a month or two off between November and February, when spa and beach destinations become padlocked ghost towns, and it can get much colder than you’d expect.
From late October to Easter, most attractions go on reduced winter hours or are closed for renovation.
Taormina will be very, very quiet!

List of the best pictures of Mt Etna eruptions of all times

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 15:22:24 +0000

Here the best pictures of all the recorded Mt Etna eruptions.

Eruption of 1989

Eruption of 1992

Eruption of 1995

Eruption of 1997

Eruption of 2000

Eruption of 2001

Eruption of 2002

Eruption of 2004

Eruption of 2006

Eruption of 2007

Mt Etna is erupting again in September 2007 !!!

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 02:02:55 +0000

4-5 September Mount Etna is continuing its eruptive activity…here the history of 2007 eruption.

For all the night, in the depression on the east flank of the crater of S-E, is in course an intense and spectacular strombolian activity with lava fountains that catch up a height of several hundreds of meters. A small tap of lava heads towards the Bove Valley. Moreover present is an ash column of approximately two kilometers that go towards east on Fornazzo and Milo.

It’s for the ash that it has been decided, beginning from 1:00 Am of this night, the closing of the airport of Catania.

Here the list of all news about the 2007 eruptions:

Here the list of all pictures of this eruption

My latest week end in Sicily – At the discovery of “Baia del silenzio” in Brucoli, Syracuse

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 17:17:23 +0000

September is coming so, after my last trip in Capo D’Orlando, I’ve decided to do another mini-trip to go in the private home of my girlfriend’s granny in Baia del Silenzio near Brucoli.

We didn’t spend money and enjoy too much for a 2 days and 1 night trip.

Here what we did:

Saturday night a tour in Brucoli for eat an ice cream
Sunday morning on the beach
Sunday lunch with roast meat and home made bread
In the evening at home…was too

This zone is very beautiful, 20 Km from Syracuse and 30 Km from Catania.

We stay only 40 minutes to arrive there from Acicastello.

Here the map

View Larger Map

More pictures of the trip here

What is new and what was new in Sicily…

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 10:31:13 +0000

This last week I’m been too busy with some “hope so” improvements on the website.

Improvement n°1 – Website theme
First of all there is a new theme in the website with news header pictures and a more usable navigation:

The section Volcano with more info about Mount Etna: History, Geology, Eruptions, Video
The section Etna park with more info on nature, lakes, lava rock, wines, history and castles

Improvement n°2 – Legend tutorial
I’d like to start a “Tutorial” about the legends and traditions on the volcano. You can read the legend of the famous “Empedocle” and other. In the next week i’ll add a complete section dedicated to the famous “Sicilian visitors” like Goethe etc…written by my friend Giancarlo.

Improvement n°3 – Free travel guide e-book
There is also available the new free e-book “Sicily as you never seen before“. A 100 page PDF travel guide about Sicily to help you travel better and save up to 5% The guidebook is available by subscribing to the news-letter form in the right side of the website

Improvement n°4 – News aggregator
We have launched a news aggregator section about Sicily (there are more than 30 different news sources that update the page daily) with an archive of the last month best facts and news. You can also subscribe to the RSS

If you lost the latest news you can read here:

Improvement n°5 – Travel tools
To give you a more clear view of all Sicily experiences i’ve created a new page called “Sicily travel tools” where find the main info.

New contents added

Ideas for the future

In the past days i’ve send requests to verify the value of Travel 2.0 tools to gain trust etc…with visitor. I want to use them and see what’s up…so stay tuned
Starting from October me and my girlfriend Valeria will do a weekly report (Video, Pictures and podcast) about every single attractions to visit in the Etna territory
I want to share other people Sicilian experiences so I’d like to do an “Interviews” section with some “Opinion leaders” about Sicily

Thank you for reading this post and continue enjoing it!!

No related posts

Are you planning your holidays in Sicily on September 2007? Then read this…

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 17:04:12 +0000

If you are planning your vacations in Sicily in September, then read these simple ideas to live your holidays in Sicily.

By pureguava

In this period of the year the best side to visit is the East one and especially have a visit on:

If you arrive in the Catania airport the best thing you can do is to rent a car or use the public transports (more cheap but you could loose more time).

Just in the airport you can easily find the base points to take the Bus or rent a car. (maybe you could find more info here about driving conditions in Italy)

You could relax and enjoy…here some activity suggestions:

Baroque tour of Catania and shopping in Via Etnea.

By Sim

You can also taste the typical foods in the well known bar “Savia”, very famous for its “Arancino” and other Sicilian sweets -Tot. Cost ….depends on what you buy

Shopping in Corso Umberto in Taormina and visit the hill town of Castelmola (Up to Taormina) to taste the typical Almond wine of “Bar Turrisi” a very typical place to visit

By alit22fred

Do and Excursion on the Etna – Tot. Cost 200€ to divide for your group members
Wine tasting in the country of Castiglione di Sicilia (up to the Mount Etna) to taste the typical Sicilian wine – Tot cost 15€ at person
Beach vacations in the beaches of Catania and Taormina – Tot cost FREE

The Best beaches of Catania are:

1) San Giovanni Li Cuti

By gutter

2) La scogliera

By Gioacchino Forte…my Daddy

Relaxing golf vacations
If you are active you can have a look on the outdoor adventure holidays

The Accommodations in this period are less crowded and it’s possible to apply for a discount price.

I’ll suggest you:

Holiday Club Naxos: Rooms are of good size and clean with a pool and small beach.
House holidays Bellavista
Camping jonio
Apartment for rent by Tiziana

General tips:

For rates it’s better you contact them directly.
Consider that September is still peak season so it’s better to book as much as early possible.
With 1 week you will be able to tour quite a bit!

Enjoy you Sicily holidays…hope I’ll be useful!!

Need quotes about Sicily? Learn my holiday rentals Sicily life!

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 08:10:07 +0000

If you are searching for quotes about Sicily, then read this quick travel story about my real trip in the Tirrenic coast of the island (Messina, Capo D’orlando).

You’ll discover real life tips and tricks fruit of my real holiday rentals Sicily experience.

This is my trip report about my Sicily beach holidays passed with my girl friend Valeria. We don’t like to travel in other regions of Italy because we think that Sicily mix all the Italian attractions. So before visiting Italy we want to visit all the Sicily island.

This is the time of the Northern coast in the province of Messina exactly in the Town of San Gregorio near Capo D’Orlando. The trip was of 4 days and 3 nights and in a self guided tour. We were very lucky while choosing our tirrenic coast hotel Sicily because in that period (August), all the accommodation were full booked.

Here the detail of the Itinerary:

Period: 10-13 August 2007
Location: San Gregorio – Capo D’orlando, Messina
People: 2
Accommodation type: 4 stars Hotel
Vacation type: Activity Holidays Sicily + relax + Ecotur
Meals: B&b and self provided
Transfers: By Car
Total cost: 548,00 €
Here the map of the Itinerary

Details of costs
All the vacation cost us 548,00 € (274,00 € per person)

We spend our money in:

Accommodation + breakfast: 450,00 €
Gas: 45 € (500 km of distance A/R + sightseeing tour – starting from Catania)
Freeway tickets: 14,80 € (We took 2 freeways: A18 Catania-Messina and A20 Messina-Palermo)
Food and beverage: 38,10 € (Arancini, pizza, Ice creams, granita, etc…)

Considering the high season period i think it was a bargain holiday…;-)

Some considerations about our Holiday accommodation – Hotel & Village “La Mia Valle”

When we arrived we had a great impression of this accommodation. It’s a good structure in the nature with a lot of trees. The hotel is built on an hill. Our room was a double room with bathroom and a little terrace.

The hotel has a private beach “Lido l’Ancora” where you can see the Aeolian Islands (Vulcano, Lipari, Salina, Alicudi e Filicudi).

If you like you can pay for a boat tour to these islands starting from the port of Capo D’Orlando (Average price 38-60 € http://www.nologommoni.com)

Things we like:

Nature
Relaxing landscapes
Good position near the main attractions
Very tasty breakfast
Clean and comfort rooms
Sweet horses and donkeys to do tour of the property

Whos is the Donkey?

Things we don’t like:

Too much car rumors from the near freeway
If the hotel is full it looks like it is empty and you can feel you are too isolated
You have to wait for a shuttle bur to move around the property
Too much bugs and mosquitos

In summary i’ll suggest this accommodation. We enjoyed too much and found a very relaxing atmosphere. You can see its pictures and description here

Sicilian touristic attraction we saw:

The Nebrodi mounts
Capo D’Orlando
The landscapes of the Aeolian islands
The little villages of Ucria, Naso, Castell’Umberto, Sinagra, Brolo
Gioiosa Marea

The best attraction to see is the Coast. You can do with a car the SS113 (Statal road n°113) that connects Palermo with Messina and visit all the sea villages and see the magnific landscapes.
You can see all the pictures of this trip here

Here the daily itinerary

Day 1 – Arriving in the hotel

Starting from Catania, 2 hours of freeways (A18 and A20)
Arrive in the hotel
Afternoon on the beach
Dine with “Panino ca’ cutuletta” (bread with chicken)
Sleep

Day 2 – It’s raining man…alleluja!!

Breakfast
Rain
In the morning visit to the Nebrodi parks (Sinagra, Naso, Ucria, Castell’Umberto)
Lunch with Granita and Brioche in the Bar “Mamy and Papy” Morosito bar – San Gregorio
Afternoon on the beach
Evening a visit in Capo D’orlando for a Pizza in “Crazy Pizza”
Walking on the Long Beach

Day 3 – Arancini mon amour…

Breakfast
All the morning on the beach
Luch with typical Sicilian food (Arancini and Siciliane) in “Da Matteo” Restaurant, San Gregorio Phone: 0941 955029
Afternoon on the Beach
In the evening an excursion in Gioiosa Marea and dine with a Brioche and Ice-cream in Bar “Miramare”

Day 4 – Come back home

Breakfast
On the beach to 12:00 o’clock
Come back home…:-(

Here my trip…if you like you can post your comments or if you need more advices you can contact me to ask all you want…thanks for reading…Enrico and Valeria.

Travel info on Sicily wine and cooking classes or houses to rent on the beach in Sicily?

enrico@volcanoetna.com — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 16:40:08 +0000

What’s new in Sicily this week and useful tips to live your summer holidays…

Is you need more travel info on Sicily during your travel, the best thing to do is to be always updated on what’t up around the island.

Here you are the latest news of the week…

(Source)

An holiday in Sicily tasting Italy wine – Discover the event “Glasses of Stars”

On 10 August 2007, in the night of Saint Lorenzo, the National Movement of the Wine Tourism will organize the event for the passionate of the wine “Glasses of Stars”. The appointment, not to lose, will be carried out in some land property of the Sicily like the Donnafugata Estate and the Scilio Estate of Valle Galfina in Linguaglossa.

In the Estate of Donnafugata (S.S. 624 Palermo-Sciacca) will be the opportunity to participate to guided visits at the vineyards of the Chardonnay “the Escape�? and to vinification wine cellar. A specialized staff will explaine the techniques of the vineyard’s cultivation.
Naturally there will be tastings of the Donnafugata wines.

The Scilio Estate of Valle Galfina ( 2 Km from Linguaglossa on the S.P for Zafferana) will introduce an evening dedicated to the wine and music jazz with the concert of Maria Patti Quartet. There will be, obviously, the tasting of a special selection of the wines Etna Scilio and the opportunity to dinner in farm holidays with reservation.

To participate at the events, it will be necessary to pay € 5 for the incomes and a bail of € 5 for the use of the glass.
Information and reservations for the Scilio Estate of Valle Galfina: http://www.volcanoetna.com/2/valle-galfina.html
For Donnafugata obligatory reservation – Telephone number: 800 252321 or email: info@donnafugata.it

(http://www.flickr.com/photos/fazen/)

At the discovery of the Greek – Roman art and architecture in Sicily – The summery night

This initiative has been introduced in Catania, for who want to know the Sicily’s culture. For some days of the week and until September the 2nd, there will be the possibility to visit the artistic patrimony of the island.

Churches, archaeological site and museums will remain opened, also of night, for the tourists to discover the places of the sicilian art. Naturally, all the province of the region will participate.

In Catania will be admired:

The Terme Achilleane
The Roman Terme
The Roman Amphitheater
The Greek – Roman Theatre
The Belliniano Museum
Ursino Castle and other tourist interest sites

Info http://www.volcanoetna.com/en/villages/catania.html

Castiglione of Sicily – Exhibition calendar of the summery event 2007

“Eventi Estate 2007�? is the summery manifestation that will have place to Castiglione of Sicily, Etna Nord. An event that represents an opportunity for the promotion of the Etna’s territory and for its gastronomy products. The calendar is rich of encounter, that will be carried out also in the adjacence of Castiglione, in the month of August. Between music, fashion, culture and teather, will find space also conventions, sport and gastronomy competitions.

For information: www.comune.castiglionedisicilia.ct-egov.it