May 19, 2004

We arrived at the ruins of Segesta by 11AM. The temple dates from the 5th Century BC and is situated on a mountainside in the middle of wide-open space. The temple is huge. The Doric columns are massive. The temple is considered to be one of the most perfectly preserved Antiquity-era sites in Sicily. Segesta was founded by a group called the Elimi and were aligned with the Greeks. Don’t give this site a miss - it is only an hour’s drive (75 km) from Palermo.

We were going to drive immediately south and head to Selinunte (a Greek temple complex) next; however, we had been warned by Daniele, a Sicilian living in Ragusa, whom we had recently met over the Internet, that it might have been overkill to visit both sites in one day. If we had been especially interested in archeology we had been told, then Selinunte might have been more of an interesting site as it was much larger than Segesta. Our not being archeologists and having just seen an amazing and awesome Temple helped us decide to skip Selinunte and head east to the area around Corleone. We had heard that the area was picturesque, slow-paced and distinctly “Sicilian”. We wanted to quickly immerse ourselves in Sicilian life and this seemed like a good idea – especially since the first thing we had seen within a few hours of getting out of the airport was a very crowded tourist location complete with tourist buses, food stalls and souvenir stands.

We drove east into the little-visited town of Gibellina Nuovo. The town was the most unattractive town of our trip – by far. It sounded like an interesting place. An earthquake had destroyed the original town in 1968 and about 500 of the city’s 5000 residents died. The government then set up a new town nearby and decided to fill it with modern sculptures created by Italians. The sculptures are not particularly attractive or interesting and the town looked exactly how the Lonely Planet described it: “a lifeless American suburb”.

We took the advice of the Eyewitness Guidebook and next visited Poggioreale. Like Gibellina, the town was destroyed by the 1968 earthquake and a new town was built nearby. The Old Town of Poggioreale is a true ghost town. One guidebook accurately described it as being something out of a Sergio Leone western. In one area, some apartment buildings still stand and curtains fly in the wind - a spooky and disconcerting sight. The buildings looked like they had been abandoned overnight. It was precisely for this reason that Tornatore used it as one of the locations in his 1995 movie “The Star Maker”, a film that takes place in the aftermath of WWII. We noticed that they have built some sort of monument above the town on a hillside. The monument looks like a huge carpet of poured concrete. About 6 feet high, the carpet is several acres and covers an entire, large mountainside. An empty, reflective place. A place we needed to leave quickly to see a little “life”.

View image of Poggioreale

What better way to see “life” than by driving to a lively, vibrant town. After getting a bit lost, we finally drove into Corleone, the town made famous in “The Godfather” movies. It’s interesting to note that many Sicilians and a couple guidebooks we read mentioned that Corleone was not particularly worthy of a visit. In fact, the Michelin guidebook didn’t mention the town anywhere in its book. We strongly disagree with the way Corleone was treated in the guidebooks. Corleone was a place that immediately jarred us into feeling like we were in Sicily. The narrow alleys. The drying laundry outside the windows. The old men in suits and caps sitting on park benches and chatting. The city felt alive and real and wonderful. Certainly the fact that we arrived at dusk didn’t hurt the town’s appearance either. The town was awash in burnt yellows and reds. The facades, although dilapidated, were beautiful and picturesque. We arrived at the time of day when families took their evening strolls. We couldn’t have been happier. Certainly we could have found this in most other towns in Sicily, but perhaps because this was the first one we visited, we really liked it. We had dinner at a restaurant whose pizzas were excellent - half the town was there lined up for them.

View image of Corleone

While eating, Stephanie and I started to talk about where we were going to spend the night. It was already getting dark. When we were researching the trip back in the U.S., we had decided that we were either going to spend either our first one or two nights in Sciacca or Menfi so that we’d be close to some wineries and Agrigento. (I had wanted to visit the Planeta winery in the area but this never worked out.)

Someone had recommended to me a place called B&B Verdetecnica. It was supposed to be well equipped and owned by a nice French/Italian couple (www.verdetecnica.com). When I called, however, they said they were full. I had also heard of another place called Carrubo Country in Sciacca but they were full as well. I had two other places Daniele had recommended. The first was called Azienda Agrituristica Augello (Via Tripoli 11, Bruca, +39 0925-23146 or +39 3494-769072). The second place was called Montalbano (Località Scunchipani, +39 0925-80154). An Italian friend had recommended Villa Ravida (+39 0925-71109). My Italian friend said that this place was fantastic. The reason I had available so many places to stay is that my philosophy when traveling is to concentrate on the first night only. It’s always possible to get advice once “on the ground”.

I was going to get in touch with the three places mentioned above but first I called a place called Baglio San Vincenzo. (I had seen this place online at www.bagliosanvincenzo.com. As often happens when traveling, serendipidity stepped in. Baglio San Vincenzo turned out to be the nicest hotel of all the hotels on our trip. The hotel is actually part of a working farm and winery. In fact, they are in the midst of building additional rooms as well as a wine tasting center. Stephanie and I were led on a tour of the place and were very impressed. The wine tasting center is very large with several underground wine vaults. The name of the winery is Lanzara but they market several wines under the Baglio San Vincenzo banner. The place consists of a large, pebbled courtyard that is surrounded by a two-story, rustic yet elegant accommodation and a restaurant. The place stands on a hill in the middle of an olive grove several kilometers northeast of Menfi. (If you are arriving by car, try to arrive during the daylight. It is a 15-minute drive from Menfi along a narrow dirt road and there are several turns that require a careful lookout for signposts.) Prices are extremely moderate with rooms available from about $75.

View image of Baglio San Vincenzo