Sicilian Costa

Some morning snaps from our farm stay:





We enjoyed breakfast and headed west about 30 minutes to Agrigento which apparently has been named the Italian capital of culture for 2025.

However, our goal was to visit the Valley of the Temples or the Valle dei Templi which is one of the main attractions of Sicily and one of the largest archaeological parks in Europe. It’s not really in a valley, but located on a ridge and surrounded by valleys.

We parked at the east entrance and we’re pretty sure the man behind us in the ticket line sat next to us at dinner on Ortigia Island in Siracusa.

The first temple was the Temple of Giunone dedicated to Juno or Hera:









Here’s our Temple selfie:



The tourist route is quite linear and you walk along the ridge viewing the valley and ocean while walking through some tree groves. You also see various niches in walls and on the ground used as catacombs:







The highlight was definitely the Temple of Concordia which is incredibly intact:















And here’s our Temple selfie:



The last major temple was the Temple of Ercole or Heracles:





There were more ruins and a villa built by a British soldier, but as the route was linear, we decided to head back to the east entrance. I overheard a tour guide explaining how the tour buses will meet them at the west exit, so they didn’t have to double back. We offered for Mama Kim to rest at the west exit while we returned to retrieve the rental car and drive around, but she wanted to walk back with us - she was a real trooper.

As we neared the parking lot, we heard a car with a honking horn playing the Godfather theme song. I later learned Justin recorded a video as he went ahead to pay for parking and had asked them to play it again. He remarked to me “how do you tell me you’re in Sicily without telling me?” We had a good chuckle.

We then drive about 20 minutes west and down to the beach. We parked on a hill and navigated some steep steps. The water was so blue and we enjoyed some refreshments, snacks, and of course an arancini ball at a shack:







Our goal here was to see the Scala dei Turchi or “Turkish Steps”. This too was apparently in the show “Inspector Montalbano”, but also is very Instagrammable. However, we opted not to climb the steps for the pure white background.





As I explained our itinerary and possibilities the day before, the family said they definitely wanted to see the temple at Selinunte which is on the coast. I told them I thought they’d be temple-d out and I was right. So instead of stopping on the way to our next farm stay, we headed straight there which took less than two hours. A picture from the drive:



We were given explicit instructions on how to find our next farm stay and had to drive through a vineyard for about 20 minutes after the main road. It’s called Agriturismo Tenute Pispisa Segesta and according to the lovely Miriam who took care of us, has been in their family for hundreds of years. The restaurant started first and they later added the lodging.

They grow wine, olive oil, and various vegetables. She also said it’s popular with locals as proven by the very large first communion party that was being held upon our arrival. There were many young children running around, one of whom I think was asking me if I was going into the pool, but I responded I couldn’t speak Italian. Some photos of the property:







The WiFi is a little spotty, so my mom and I headed out to see if we could enjoy the Segestan thermal baths (also called Polle del Crimiso). They are natural hydrothermal springs and the sulfur is supposed to be very healing. We found the fancy club that pipes in the water into the concrete pool, but you have to pay €18 per person which my mom did not want to do for the less than 30 minutes we planned to be there. But we were really in search of the natural rock pools where the locals go for free.

Although Miriam tried to explain to me as well as an Italian man we saw, I managed to find myself in the middle of a farm. But I routed back and figured out the “off the beaten path” parking as we saw several campers and people changing out of their bathing suits on the road. My mom and I ventured a little bit, but when we learned it was about another ten more minutes, we decided to head back because we had dinner reservations at the farm. What an adventure though and I now know how to get there if I ever return.

For dinner, we enjoyed various crostini, eggplant caponata, busiata pastas, Sicilian meat rolls, and salad. All very fresh and delicious:



We enjoyed chatting with Miriam some more as she explained she learned her English by interacting with guests and was impressed that Justin only studied one year of Italian in college. I manage to end up speaking Spanish to folks who don’t speak English, but we’re definitely getting by!

Sicilian Campagna

After breakfast in our beautiful hotel, we packed up and headed to Ragusa which took less than an hour. Ragusa is probably the most well-known and popular of the Valley of Noto towns - the others are Modica and Noto. Apparently, it has also gotten popular due to an Italian show that’s filmed in Ragusa called “Inspector Montalbano”. Here’s a picture as we approached the hilltop town:



The town is split into two parts - the older town is called Ragusa Ibla, and the newer and higher part is Ragusa Superiore (Upper Town). The two halves are separated by the Valle dei Ponti, a deep ravine. Apparently there’s a church called Purgatory of Souls that is positioned in between and the town is known for its baroque architecture.

After meandering through the town, we parked and headed up the steep incline in Ragusa Ibla to the Cathedral or Duomo di San Giorgio. There were bikers going up and down the hills, so thought it was fun to include them in the picture:







After descending the staircase and walking through the piazza, we stopped into a café to rest. I ordered a latte while my family indulged in chocolate and mango gelato as it was quite sunny and warm. We then walked to the Portale di San Giorgio which is an ancient door from a destroyed church. Many of the buildings had been affected by the Sicilian earthquake of 1693. Here you can see Saint George killing the dragon over the doorway:



The door was right next to the Garden Ibleo where we enjoyed the weather and a flutist playing Star Wars and other music:





It also had nice views of the valley:



Then we walked back to our car. In Siracusa, we learned white lines mean free, blue means paid parking, and yellow means residents only - we confirmed the system was the same here with a local. The street where we parked for free:



As we were leaving, you can see steps - there were steps everywhere - there’s even a church called Saint Mary of the Steps! Kudos to Mama Kim who was a trooper and whom I had to convince to bring a hiking pole:



We then drove two hours generally west to Villa Romana del Casale, near the town of Piazza Armerina known for its impressive mosaics - it’s considered one of the most extensive in the world and the site continues to be excavated. Upon arriving at the parking lot, there was a tourist plaza and we enjoyed an arancini ball and a hot dog for a midday snack. We then walked up to the over 4,000 square foot villa, potentially of a Roman aristocrat:





The mosaics….From the Great Hunt mosaic which shows animals being captured and shipped off, potentially from North Africa as you see animals like elephants, tigers, and etc:







Nicknamed the “bikini girls”, these are women competing in various sports:



The Giants:



Exploring the basilica:



After the villa, we continued to drive through the sunny Sicilian countryside:







After a detour due to a closed road, we arrived at our farm stay at Agriturismo Baglio San Nicola. Here, we’re entering through the gate and up the hill lined with olive trees:



The reception area doubles as the restaurant and right next door is a courtyard of rooms or baglio (meaning courtyard in a fortified farm). Our room is on the right and is named “limone”:



Our view out our window:



Before the sunset, Mama Kim and I walked around in the windy weather to check out the pool and surroundings:





The farm offered us dinner for €30 per person and we opted in. There was no menu where we could choose, but the meal was homey. The starter included ham, chickpea fritters, couscous, and crostini; the pasta with a light tomato sauce and bread crumbs; pork scallopini Sicilian style (with tomatoes, raisins, capers, pine nuts) and potatoes, and a cannoli for dessert. Collage below:



Today was our longest drive day for a total of about 4 hours - 1 hour from Siracusa to Ragusa, 2 hours to the Villa Romana, and then another 1 hour to San Nicola. We definitely soaked in the Sicilian countryside or “campagna”!