La Bella Sicilia

"Non invidio a Dio il Paradiso perche sono ben soddisfatto di vivere in Sicilia."

A famous quote by Emperor Frederico II which translates to "I do not envy Heaven to God because I am happy to live in Sicily."

Molti anni fa ho avuto un'opportunita di visitare la bella Sicilia quando ero un ragazzino a scuola a Malta...

It was early summer but you could feel the heat as the sun was just starting to rise above the Mediterranean Sea. The gentle ringing of the church bells across the capital city of Valletta added to the excitement that was building up for the upcoming trip to Sicily. We made our way onto the dock and boarded a high-speed catamaran that would take us to the city of Catania. The trip took us approximately 2 hours to cover the distance of less than 200km from Valletta to Catania. However if you were to undertake this trip now, the slower ferries will take twice as long to get you there.

Sicily is a melting pot for a dozen ethnic groups and its history is that of a pawn of conquest and Empire. No wonder that the wonderful people of Sicily have a fiery core, forged by their tumultuous history.

Catania was originally founded in 729 BC by settlers from the Greek island of Euboea and later colonised by the Romans in 263 BC. It then fell to the Byzantines, the Arabs and the Normans. The 16th and 17th centuries saw it being afflicted by civil disorders, pirate incursions, epidemics, famines and natural disasters, such as the eruption of Etna in 1669 and an earthquake in 1693. In World War 2 the city suffered severe damage from fighting and bombing.

As we disembarked in the port of Catania, our first visit was to the beautiful Orto Botanico. A definite must see if you are planning on visiting Catania, it is the city's botanical gardens, operated by the university of Catania. The garden itself has an incredible history of its own going back to 1847 when it was originally created. Unfortunately the revolutions of the subsequent year meant that it was only finally completed and properly established a decade later in 1858.

After the botanical gardens, we made our way to the Duomo Piazza in the centre of the city, where we spent our time exploring. Of course no trip would be complete without sampling the local delicacies, such as the arancini and the cannoli. I certainly enjoyed a few espressos with all the cannolis as I basked in the sunshine while sitting in one of the local cafes of this beautiful city.

Before heading back to the dock to catch our catamaran back to Valletta, we had a bit of time to visit Mount Etna. It was a breath-taking scene, standing there and imagining the sheer power and might that occasionally breaches the surface when it erupts.

Sicily is a beautiful place to visit and I will definitely come back again. Its full of rich history, culinary delicacies and beautiful beaches which unfortunately we didn't have the time to enjoy on this particular trip.