SCOPELLO:

A cliff that looks red in the east, overlooking the Gulf: here stands the ancient village of Scopello (from the Greek Skopelàs: rock) a few kilometers from the town of Castellammare del Golfo, near Trapani. A seventeenth-century beam (from the 'Arab Bahal: courtyard). surrounded by a few houses built, with a paved square, a stone abbaveratoio. High, the tower Bennistra (sixteenth century) overlooks the green valley. More up at the dizzying mountain Sparagio (1200mt), the wood of Scopello, once the home of deer, wolves and wild boars, recalls the hunting of Ferdinand III of Bourbon, who elected him to the rank of royal reserve.

RISERVA NATURALE ORIENTATA "ZINGARO",

Few hiking trails in Sicily offer the beauty of the trail along the Mediterranean Sea in Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve. Previously occupied by farmers and smugglers, Lo Zingaro was established as a Nature Reserve in 1981. It extends along the sea for 7 km connecting the fishing villages of Scopello and San Vito Lo Capo. The Nature Reserve extends inland from the sea rising to a height of 1,000 meters. The beautiful hiking trail along the sea connects both ends of Lo Zingaro. The hiking trail can be considered moderate difficulty, as it is well maintained but rocky in places and has many ups and downs. You should be in shape to handle the frequent increases and decreases in elevation along the hiking trail, although those in decent shape will not find it too difficult. About once every kilometer, there is a smaller trail extending from the main trail down to a cove or lagoon on the sea. These coves have sandy beaches and are relatively small. They are surrounded by rocks and can only be accessed by the small trail or by the sea. When the more popular beaches fill up in the summer, it will be well worth it to go hiking for a few kilometers into Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve and find yourself a small cove to have some privacy, sunbathe and swim in the Mediterranean. Depending on the time of day, you may even find yourself alone in one of these coves. There are other hiking trails in Lo Zingaro besides the one that runs along the Sea. Offshoot hiking trails connect to others that run farther up the mountain side. All of them offer spectacular views. Western Sicily is known for its sparse vegetation and desert-like environment. In Lo Zingaro you will find a variety of vegetation and wildlife, but it is not very dense. The trees are small and the plants are thin, which is why your view of the sea will never be obstructed. To reach Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve, you must drive west from Palermo for about one hour to reach the very quaint Sicilian town of Scopello. Scopello ranks as one of the most charming small towns in Sicily and it would be an excellent place to eat lunch or dinner before or after your hike. Scopello is actually inland and above the sea. The Tonnara di Scopello, which translates as the Tuna Fishery of Scopello, is very nearby and right on the water. It is also a very beautiful place for swimming and has towers built on top of rocks. You can also enter Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve from the San Vito Lo Capo side, although to reach this side you must drive an additional 45 minutes from Scopello. San Vito Lo Capo is a beautiful town that has an international couscous festival every year in September. Without stopping, the hike from one side of the hiking trail to the other will take about two hours. So you should plan at least four hours for a full round trip. But of course the best part of this hiking trail is to stop at one or more of the many coves and go swimming. There is also a large cave to explore and a few museums along the trail. You don't have to complete the entire hike. Just calculate how much time to want to spend in Lo Zingaro and hike in a certain distance, go swimming and come back. There are parking lots at either end of the trail. It costs three euros to enter the Nature Reserve and you can stay as long as you want up until closing time. Opening and closing times vary depending on sunrise and sunset. It's best to go in the morning before it gets too hot and ask the ticket booth attendant what time they close. Make sure to bring sunblock and apply it generously as the sun can be brutal and there aren't many opportunities for shade. Bring plenty of water and take short breaks during the hike to drink. If you decide to go swimming, bring a backpack with a towel. Be sure to dry yourself thoroughly before you hike back or use baby powder or else the hike back will be uncomfortable. Also, you might consider bringing aloe or something to treat jellyfish stings, as they are known to inhabit those waters on occasion.

If you are in Sicily and either love hiking or want to experience a private beach, Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve is the place to be.

SAN VITO LO CAPO:

 is a popular seaside resort, especially for its beautiful coast that opens in a beautiful bay and beach and crystal clear water that is tinged with shades from blue to green to clear deep blue .

ERICE

Towering over the west of Sicily at 751m above sea level and often covered in its own personal cloud, Erice is a wonderfully preserved Mediaeval town offering the most breathtaking views and a palpable sense of history.Originally an Elymian city (the Elymians were around before the Greeks ever set foot in Sicily) Erice, or Eryx as it was first called, was a town of no little importance and renown and is said to have attracted the likes Hercules and Aeneas.Like so many Sicilian towns, it passed from one invader to another as all the usual suspects came and went, leaving their architectural calling cards and their cultural footprints. The name changed from Eryx, to Erice to Gebel Hamed and Monte San Giuliano but its essential character remained, obstinately repelling any attempt to change its real identity.Amongst the most visited sites are the two castles, Pepoli Castle and Venus Castle. The former was built by the Arabs while the latter was a Norman construction with imposing towers that derived its name from the fact that it was built on the site of the ancient Temple of Venus, allegedly founded by Aeneas.Other attractions include the sixty (yes 60!) churches including the Gothic Chiesa Madre (1314) and the Mediaeval Church of Saint John the Baptist. Otherwise the maze of cobbled Mediaeval streets are a pleasure to wander around and the views are stunning. On a cloudless day, the Egadi Islands off the coast of Trapani are vividly visible, rising from the sea like giant, motionless whales while to the west the panorama takes in vast swathes of eastern Sicily, the Tyrrhenian Sea and the coastline towards San Vito Lo Capo, Monte Cofano and the Gulf of Castellammare.Our favourite way to get up to Erice is by the cable car from Trapani down below. which is a very picturesque medieval town with its cobbled and narrow streets and its rich artistic and architectural heritage, has been the capital of science since 1963, with the Ettore Majorana Centre, an institute founded by the scientist Antonio Zichichi from Trapani.In this institute of scientific culture, scientists from around the world are brought together to discuss major issues affecting the contemporary world. For this reason Erice is nicknamed "The city of Science".

SEGESTA

It looks as if it were built yesterday. Segesta's ancient Greek temple can make a valid claim to being the best preserved in the world, and its amphitheatre boasts a hilltop position on Mount Barbaro second to none. The archeological site, about seventy kilometers southwest of Palermo, reflects the presence of several ancient civilizations, beginning with the elusive Elymians. While the magnificent Doric temple, though (strictly speaking) never completed - as the roof was never added and the pillars never fluted - is impressive, it is just the highlight of a large archeological park. For its remote rural setting, Segesta in springtime is a magical place, nothing like Agrigento, which lies at the edge of a modern city. And what of the Elymians? Truth be told, precious little is known of the Elymians (or Elymi), founders of the place initially called "Egesta." Originally from Asia Minor (possibly Anatolia), they arrived in Sicily to settle some of the island's western regions around 1200 BC (BCE), during more-or-less the same period that the Sicels, migrating from peninsular Italy, colonised the northeastern part of the island. Both coexisted with the indigenous Sicanians.

TRAPANI AND MARSALA

are famous for more than wine and seafood. Trapani, in particular, boasts some of Europe's oldest salt marshes, and is still home to some of the windmills once used to drain water from the basins (containing ponds). Drawing salt from water remains a slow process, similar to desalination, something talked about more and more with the serious water supply problems confronting Sicily. The evaporation procedure utilises the flat marshlands of Trapani's coast and the long, dry Sicilian summers.

MONREALE

Monreale and its cathedral developed more for political reasons than for spiritual. Sicily’s king, William II, created a new archbishopric during a power struggle with his former tutor, the English archbishop Walter of the Mill who was supported by the papacy. In 1174 William created a Benedictine monastery along with the cathedral; in doing this he made sure that his appointment of the abbot – who would automatically hold the rank of archbishop and not require an approval from the Pope or Sicilian bishops – would be sympathetic to his ambitions and plans. This explains why there are two cathedrals so close to each other – Once the cathedral opened up, we entered and were awed by the interior and the incredible mosaics that fill the nave.

PALERMO

Palermo, the regional capital of Sicily, is one of those cities with its own very distinct, almost tangible atmosphere, a place of mystery where reality often outperforms the traveller’s imagination and preconceived stereotypes. It is a buzzing Mediterranean centre whose 1 million inhabitants are a fascinating cocktail of apparently conflicting characteristics. Palermo’s history has been anything but stable as the town passed from one dominating power to another with remarkable frequency. Its strategic position in the middle of the Mediterranean brought wave upon wave of invaders including the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Greeks, the Romans, the Saracen Arabs, the Normans, the Swabians, the French and the Spanish Bourbons just to name the most influential. The result of this quilted history is evident today in the vast range of architectural styles, the intriguing fusion of ingredients used in many local dishes and in many place names which are obviously not of Italian origin. Visiting Palermo is still somewhat of an adventure in a world where so many places have become tourist-friendly to a fault. You won’t find many restaurants with menus translated into 5 different languages, you may have trouble communicating in English in many places, and some parts of the old town centre have remained untouched since they were bombed during the war. There are many back streets that have only just opened up to those from without and it is still often difficult to obtain any information worth having. However, this is also a stimulus to those who wish to embark on a little adventure, to discover things for themselves, to dig into the very fabric of the city and to try to understand what really makes Palermo (and its people) tick. The often faded grandeur of many of Palermo’s wonderful palaces and churches in the centre gives way to popular areas whose way of life doesn’t fully belong to the 21st Century. This is particularly true of the markets, whose Arabic origins are still evident today thanks to their noise, smells, colours, narrow labyrinthine streets, the splendid array of food and other goods on display and the general ‘souk’ atmosphere. Artistic delights abound at every corner, maybe most strikingly in the spectacular mosaics in the Palatine Chapel in Palermo and the Duomo of Monreale. In his book “The Normans in Sicily” John Julius Norwich described the former as follows: “It is in this building, with more stunning effect than anywhere else in Sicily, that we see the Siculo-Norman political miracle given visual expression - a seemingly effortless fusion of all that is most brilliant in the Latin, Byzantine and Islamic traditions into a single harmonious masterpiece.”

 ,..TRAPANI,...ISOLE MINORI,..MONREALE , ............