A wonderful city it serves as your hop off point for the Galapagos. The old town has a south American Spanish charm and it’s nightlife is both generally safe and fun and loud. The earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC. By around 750 BC, Sicily had three Phoenician and a dozen Greek colonies and it was later the site of the Sicilian Wars and the Punic Wars. After the end of the Roman province of Sicilia with the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD, Sicily was ruled during the Early Middle Ages various groups until the Norman Conquest. The Norman conquest of southern Italy led to the creation of the County of Sicily in 1071, that was succeeded by Kingdom of Sicily, a state that existed from 1130 until 1816.
The Amalfi Coast is a 50-kilometer stretch of coastline along the southern edge of Italy’s Sorrentine Peninsula, in the Campania region. It’s a popular holiday destination, with sheer cliffs and a rugged shoreline dotted with small beaches and pastel-colored fishing villages. After the 1816 it became affiliated with Sicily as the Kingdom of two Sicilies until it was unified under a revolt led by Giuseppe Garibaldi during the Italian unification, and a plebiscite.
Sicily was given special status as an autonomous region on 15 May 1946, 18 days before the Italian institutional referendum of 1946.
Pompeii is near Naples and was an ancient city, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area that was buried under 21 feet of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Largely preserved under the ash, the 66-acre site has had 44 acres excavated and offers a unique snapshot of Roman life, frozen at the moment it was buried. It was a wealthy town, with a population of ca. 11,000 in AD 79, with many public buildings and luxurious private houses with lavish decorations, furnishings and works of art. Organic remains, including wooden objects and human bodies, were entombed in the ash. Over time, they decayed, leaving voids that archaeologists found could be used as molds to make plaster casts of unique, and often gruesome, figures in their final moments of life. The numerous graffiti carved on the walls and inside rooms provide a wealth of examples of the largely lost Vulgar Latin spoken colloquially at the time, contrasting with the formal language of the classical writers. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world, with approximately 2.5 million visitors annually.
We visited the Northern coastline of Sicily. We travelled from Palermo to Catania visiting Cefalu, Lipari, Stromboli and Taormina. Palermo is a quaint city with medieval attractions. Spend a day in Palermo and use it as a starting or ending point.
Lipari and Stromboli are reachable by boat and ferries. They are worth the trip The highlight are downtown center square and Stormoli volcanoes. You will spend most of your time on rock beaches and on boats touring nearby islands. The food is great!
Taormina is the jewel of Sicily. The Greek amphitheater and upscale shopping in the old city and one of the most beautiful beaches in Sicily dominate the city which deserves a few days.
Catania is a vibrant city with wonderful architecture and fish market that is unrivalled. Don’t miss it.
Careful about visiting Sicily in July or August. Its temperatures range from 30 Celsius or 86 Fahrenheit to 42 Celsius or 107 Fahrenheit. We strongly recommend that you visit in late September or October or April and May.
The Amalfi coast deserves four or five days. The two main coasts are dominated by the cities of Sorrento and the other is Positano. But there small beautiful towns everywhere. You can save money if you stay in them and take easy to use local buses or water taxis. At the end of the coast is the island of Capri. Capri is stunning but very busy.
The beauty of the Amalfi coast is unmatched. Take a boat to see it and be prepared to for endless photos and fast swims off the boat to cool down.
The highlight of any trip to Amalfi or Naples has to be Pompeii. It’s like travelling back in history and having an ability to breathe, touch and touch way of life of 200 BC to 150 AD. At 40 excavated acres, be prepared to spend up to four hours. Getting tour from an Archeologists is highly recommended. If you have any love of history then Pompeii is a MUST SEE. If you have any like of history then Pompeii is MUST SEE. Be prepared for an experience of a lifetime
Here are some Pictures.
