May 21, 2004

We continued our counter-clockwise tour of Sicily by retracing the route we had taken to Agrigento in an effort to get to our next stop, the Roman Villa at Casale with its famous mosaics (see photo above). The scenery along the route was breathtaking - wildflowers bloomed in vibrant colors and huge, bright red poppy fields were all around us. Other hillsides bore bright yellow sunflowers. Lots of browns and greens. Cactus everywhere. And so many palm trees. It felt like we were in Los Angeles.

Earlier in the morning, we got up early and said goodbye to our friends at Baglio San Vincezo. One of the men who worked there, Teoduscz, a Pole who grew up 100 miles from my grandmother’s family near Krakow, had taken a liking to Emily and during the brief time we were there, he went out of his way to make sure that she was comfortable. His wife worked there as well and they were very sweet and friendly.

We headed to Enna, which was supposed to be an attractive, medieval town located high on a mountain range. Somewhere around the time before we got to the A19 (the main highway that cuts a swathe through the center of the island connecting Catania and Palermo), we got hopelessly lost. The highway became a small paved road. Another turn and we were suddenly on a dirt path with very deep ruts and holes. We later learned that we were traveling through the poorest area of Sicily, an area much unchanged from hundreds of years ago. Many of the homes in the area did not have electricity or running water. People looked surprised as we pulled up to them to ask for directions. After about an hour of driving in a zigzag fashion trying to find our way, we finally got on the correct road to Piazza Armerina.

Piazza Armerina is the name of the town closest to the Roman Villa of Casale, the site of a wealthy Roman patrician’s home that dates to 350AD. The site houses the largest collection of Roman mosaics under one roof in the world. Depicting scenes from daily life, such as hunting, fishing and dancing, the mosaics are as remarkable for their sociological value as for their artistry. One of these mosaics, showing women clad in two-piece swimsuits (actually underwear) exercising with barbells, could well describe a scene typical of American life today.

The Roman Villa is one of the most visited places on the island and the number of tourist buses that greeted us made Segesta feel like a small, roadside attraction. We parked in the parking lot and paid our $5 and then did a lot of looking down. Throughout the villa, there were raised walkways, which gave excellent vantage to the mosaics. Apparently, there are over 3500 square meters of mosaics on the villa's floors, and some surviving wall paintings. While the art itself is absolutely impressive, the actual size of the villa, whose architectural style differs markedly from that of urban dwellings such as those of Pompeii, was awesome. The villa's buildings are arranged in sections, with an impressive entrance and numerous rooms of various dimensions, some quite large.

We had made reservations to sleep the night in the town of Ragusa but we wanted to get lunch so we decided to stop in Caltagirone. The town is famous for its ceramics that have been produced there for over one thousand years. According to Lonely Planet, “it was only with the arrival of the Arabs in 10C that the ceramics industry took off. They gave the town it’s name (‘kalat’ meaning castle and ‘gerun’ meaning cave’) as well as introduced the wide array of glazed polychromatic colors – especially yellow and blue – that have distinguished the ceramics here.”

We arrived after lunchtime. (In Sicily, lunch typically lasts until 2:30pm.) The only bite we could get was a quick sandwich and a Coca Cola Light (Diet Coke) from a “tavola calda”, the ubiquitous Sicilian quick service place. In this same snack-shop, they also had several automated kids’ rides – the type you see in front of American supermarkets. I don’t remember seeing many of these on mainland Italy but they are all over Sicily. One of the horse rides entertained Emily for a while and a nearby pizza shop next to the famous Scalineta (steps) di Santa Maria del Monte finally did the trick. During and after the pizza, I took a quick visit to the steps, which were quite beautiful. Each of the 142 steps was decorated with hand-painted ceramics. No two were the same. Stephanie, meanwhile, went on a shopping spree amongst the dozens of ceramics shops in the town and picked up some gifts for her family.

View image of Caltagirone

We left Caltagirone and planned to stop next in Grammichele which Frommers had labeled one of the Top 10 prettiest towns on the island, but we decided to get to Ragusa by nightfall. This was a wise decision as it was a long day and getting into Ragusa Ibla (the old part of town) turned out to be its own challenge.

Ragusa is off the beaten path. This lends the town tranquility. Added to this is the fact that many consider this area of Sicily the most authentically “Sicilian” of the island's nine provinces. Ragusa is really two towns combined into one. Lower Ragusa (Ragusa Ibla) or simply "Ibla," was the ancient city, rebuilt after suffering heavy damage after a 1693 earthquake. Upper Ragusa (Ragusa Superiore) is the main part of the new city built on the ridge across from Ibla. As Ragusa was built in the early 1700s, most of its churches and buildings were constructed in the Baroque and Neo-Classical Styles.

View image of Ragusa Ibla

Daniele, our new Sicilian friend and travel guru, who lives in Ragusa, recommended a pensione that just opened in April, 2004 called Le Fiorere. The place was perfectly located, right off the Piazza del Duomo. The price was $75 a night. There was a little kitchen with a fridge and a stove, which was a nice touch. There was also parking in a private courtyard, which was amazing considering that a parking space in Ragusa Ibla is impossible to find. Breakfast was provided. The owner made arrangements to get us fresh pastries and breads and the espressos were fantastic. There was even a little market next door.

Because Le Fiorere has just 2 rooms and because I hadn’t made reservations, I had also come prepared with a list of other places to stay in and around Ragusa. Daniele recommended three places in the countryside around Ragusa: Al Casale, an old farm near the sea at $40/night; Villa Teresa, another old farm, 6 kms from Modica and easy to get to by car on the 115 at $50/night and Giardino di pietra at $60/night. One additional place that Daniele had also recommended in Ragusa Ibla is Casa del Belvedere. This places costs about $60 per night. I’d try this place if Le Fiorere is full.

One of the reasons we had come to Ragusa was to eat at a restaurant called “Il Duomo”. According to Frommers, “Il Duomo is generally considered the finest restaurant in Sicily outside Palermo. Inside, a quintet of small rooms is outfitted like private parlors in a 19th-century country-Victorian style, some with views that sweep over the dry, scrub-covered hillsides. Come here for the intensely patriotic cuisine of Ciccio Sultana, a native Ragusano who commits himself passionately to Sicilian traditions every evening. Many of the dishes here make ample use of such local products as cherry tomatoes, pistachios, bitter almonds, wild fennel, and mint.” Open Tues-Sun, noon-2:30pm; Tues-Sat 7-11pm.

I stopped by in person to make a reservation and met Angelo DeStefano, a good friend of a friend of mine from Los Angeles. This LA friend is the chef at the most important Italian restaurant in Los Angeles – a place called Valentino. Valentino’s owner, Piero Salvaggio, is widely known in food circles throughout Sicily and merely mentioning his name opens up doors.

When we arrived to the restaurant later that night, we were seated in an unoccupied dining room (next to the main dining room) that we had to ourselves for the entire meal. This was a good thing as Emily got progressively more rambunctious as the evening wore on. Ciccio, the chef, went way out of his way to make sure that we were comfortable. We each ordered a four course set meal (although I counted more than 4 courses). I also asked for matching wines to be paired with each plate. The food was insanely fantastic. Most of the menu consisted of seafood but the pairings of seafood and vegetables and pastas was unconventional, interesting and downright orgasmic - the kind of food where after each bite was eaten, grins and audible “mmm’s” followed close behind. The $160 bill was entirely reasonable and we both remarked that the meal would have cost double in Los Angeles. Because Emily was overtired and refused to sit still, Stephanie and I had to take turns walking her outside. At one point, when Emily was playing on the stairs outside the restaurant, she tumbled onto the street. This caused a small bump to appear on Emily’s forehead. Luckily, we had made plans with Daniele to show up for dessert. He and Claudia (his wife) and Andreas (his 2-year-old son) showed up just as our last course arrived. Their son provided enough entertainment to keep Emily occupied for the rest of the meal. She had a new Italian boyfriend! Anyone heading anywhere near Ragusa should strongly consider “Il Duomo”. It was a highlight of our trip.

Later, I took an evening walk (passagiatta) with Daniele and his family around the Piazza and through some of Ragusa Ibla. We tried the local gelato and visited a sight where Tornatore’s “The Starmaker” had been filmed. Stephanie was exhausted and turned in earlier with Emily.

Before ending the day’s chapter however, I must mention that there is one other noteworthy restaurant in Ragusa called Locanda Don Serafino. It is located in the cellars of a 17th-century palace in a labyrinth of intricately vaulted cellars. Established in 2000, it's a relative newcomer to Ragusa, but already one that's enormously respected throughout the region. Also, supposedly, according to my chef friend, the pizza at this place is amongst the best in Sicily. We’ll have to return to test his opinion.