Sicily via planes, trains and autobuses

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This trip, it is fair to say, had its challenges. A little less rain and a slightly easier time would have been welcome but it made me realise that travel is an education, sometimes far from easy, and this is what makes it an adventure.

Noto

Noto, pronounced Notto, is where I chose to base my stay in Sicily. It is a Baroque city in the south east of Sicily, although sometimes called a town, which I would tend to agree with. In 1693 Noto, on Mount Alveria, was completely destroyed by an earthquake and then rebuilt on a new site nearly ten miles downhill from the original and towards the Ionian coast.

This is a very good looking city, making it perfect to roam the streets and take in the Sicilian charm of the place. You enter Noto through the Porta Reale (royal doorway), which is decorated with symbols originating from the Bourbon monarchy. These include a tower which denotes fortitude, a Cirneco (an ancient Sicilian breed of dog) as a symbol of loyalty, and a pelican symbolizing self-sacrifice. This arch was erected in 1838 to commemorate the visit of the Bourbon King Ferdinand II, and now serves as a gateway onto the main street of Corso Vittorio Emanuele.  It is along this street where you will discover three main squares: Piazza Immacolata, Piazza Municipio, and Piazza XVI Maggio.

Narrow cobbled streets with a vespa around every corner lead down to the main street and the great expanse of piazzas. This combined with the orange glow of the golden limestone on all the buildings, particularly at sunset, make Noto very memorable.

Don’t forget to look up for the beautiful buttresses on balconies adorned with cherubs, lions or grotesques, and often all together. It is not hard to see why Noto is a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with many other places in the region, such as Modica, Ragusa, Catania, Scicli, and Siracusa.

View from the Chiesa di San Carlo

View from the Palazzo Nicolaci

If you’re looking for some great views of the city try the church tower of the Chiesa di San Carlo for 2 Euros and the balconies of the Palazzo Nicolaci, which is worth a visit in its own right for an insight into how the Sicilian nobility lived in the eighteenth century. As well as offering views of the city, you can get an aerial view of the Via Nicolaci. This street is the primary host for the Infiorata, the annual flower festival each May, and the design remains on the street for you to see.

View what the street looks like during Infiorata

The Cattedrale di Noto stands imposingly opposite the Palazzo Ducezio (the City Hall) in Piazza Municipio. The large staircase leading up to the Cathedral adds drama to this vision, while offering a place to sit and catch some rays, gelato in-hand. The interior is still in the process of being decorated after the dome collapsed in 1996, as a delayed result of another earthquake in 1990.

The palace facing it, certainly gives a grand and regal impression from the outside with the series of arches, decorated columns and upper floor balconies. However, if you do decide to pay the 2 Euros to venture in I will warn you that it is really one main room that you can view, and on travel websites it has been described as an impressive hall of mirrors ( “Sala degli Specchi”) with 19^th century frescoes. By hall of mirrors, all it means is that there are two large mirrors opposite each other, creating the illusion that the room continues infinitely. I didn’t find this too exciting. The artwork on the ceiling is fitting for a palace and the cherubs are painted to look as though they are 3d frescoes.  I would have been content with looking at the exterior but I suppose it is not a fortune to pay, it’s just that you will be finished in a few minutes.  For 4 euros you can visit two other attractions, the Teatro Communale and the Museo Civico Galleria D’Arte along with the palace, so that may be an idea for a rainy day.

The Church of San Domenico is opposite the Teatro Communale in the Piazza XVI Miaggio, and is a fine baroque building to behold but on entering I was stopped from exploring the church by being directed straight to the donation box. I thought donation was a voluntary thing and so I have to say this encouraged me to turn around and go out again, it didn’t look spectacular anyway.

The gastronomy is one thing that I think makes Noto worth staying in rather than just a day trip, although you would get the flavour from that.  From arancini to scaccia and granita to gelato, this is a very good place to try them. Scaccia is a flatbread: a speciality of Sicily made with a thin layer of dough folded on itself up to four times and stuffed with a filling such as cheese and onion or tomato. I can recommend the Panificio Maiida bakery on Via Duchezio but get there before the end of lunch time or it may be gone.

Sicilian granita is a semi frozen yet dessert, not unlike sorbet with a creamy consistency despite its lack of dairy. You can find this available in lots of flavours at Caffé Sicilia on Corso Vittorio Emmanuele, which is internationally renowned for its granita and gelato. Established in 1892, the flavours of gelato here are anything but traditional, Saffron, almond and lemon being my choice. The cannoli looked pretty good too: another Sicilian speciality, comprising of a cylinder of pastry usually filled with ricotta and sometimes other additions such as pistachios.

You will find pistachios and almonds in many dishes and sweet treats. One example is the delicious dessert I had at Crocifisso, pistachio cake with pistachio gelato and a pear soaked in the local Nero d’Avola wine. Crocifisso is the restaurant of Marco Baglieri, who apparently is a celebrity chef in Italy. The restaurant is also named in the Michelin Guide and the prestigious L’Espresso Guide. As the saying goes though, the proof is in the pudding and it definitely was.

I think I had fish every night and that is probably because you can’t go wrong with seafood in Noto. The popular Ristorante Damusso on Via Roco Pirri is primarily a seafood restaurant with a pleasant atmosphere under a stone vaulted ceiling.

Il Cantuccio on Via Benso Cavour is somewhat hidden away in the courtyard of the former Casteluccio Palace. If you’re a fan of the vaulted ceiling you’ll be once again delighted by this distinctive space. There is also a summer garden for those warm nights. I opted for the swordfish with cherry tomatoes, and though I’m not normally a fan of tomato as a pairing with fish, this was perfectly cooked and complimented by the fresh tomatoes.

A word of warning, don’t assume if you’re here out of season, as I was, and in a relatively small place with an abundance of restaurants, that you won’t need to book a table. The Italians and Sicilians tend to eat quite late, so there are often two sittings, an early sitting from 7.30pm and a late sitting from 9pm.

Nearby places to visit

A lesson learned for me is to hire a car if you want to visit other places in Sicily. Knowing that trains and buses exist here along with a fear of windy roads and scary Italian driving led me away from this. On reflection I don’t think the roads were too bad and it would have given more flexibility when wanting to visit places not reachable by public transport, such as the Vendicari Reserve , which has a number of beaches including Calamosche. This is considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Italy, and is about twenty minutes’ drive from Noto. Taxi was an option of course but unfortunately there wasn’t enough dry weather during the week I was in Noto to risk a wasted taxi journey. Another place I missed out on was the Riserva Naturale Orientata Cavagrande del Cassibile: a large nature reserve around a canyon with beautiful lakes and waterfalls. This is a thirty minute drive from Noto but be prepared to do almost an hour of walking to the lakes and bring comfortable shoes.

Scicili (pronounced (shi-kli ) is definitely worth a visit and because it is such as small place, the train station isn’t too far from the centre unlike other towns (fifteen to twenty minute walk). If you prefer this to the buses, which are frequently late and seem to take longer, then you can get to Scicli in under an hour. This town is used regularly as a filming location for the Inspector Montalbano series on BBC Four, but it is small enough not to feel touristy.

Palazzo Beneventano

Elegant baroque buildings lie at the base of a valley, the ridge of which is dominated by the abandoned church of San Matteo, overlooking the town.

Palazzo Spadaro

Palazzo Comunale

Along Via Francesco Mormino Penna you will find the majority of the attractions. The Palazzo Spadaro is used as offices within episodes of Montalbano and the Palazzo Comunale (town hall), which houses the Mayor’s office, features as the police station.

The, Farmacia Antica (old pharmacy) is also shown within the programme, which is a nineteenth century pharmacy complete with antique apothecary jars and cash register.

For a gelato visit the award winning Nivera, where I chose the amaretti flavour complete with pieces of almond biscuit.

Modica is approximately an hour and three quarters bus ride from Noto. Set amongst many other baroque buildings is the Duomo di San Giorgio, known as the best looking building in Modica and it makes an appearance in the Montalbano series.  Adjacent is the Bar Del Duomo, which is also a café and has tables out on a terrace with a view over Modica. It is open all day and that is much appreciated when you’re not in sync with the siesta times.

In the 16th century Sicily was ruled by the Spanish and the conquistadors travelled to Mexico, bringing back Cacao to Modica. Aztec inspired recipes are still used to make the chocolate here, resulting in a grainy and crunchy texture, that I have to say isn’t my taste but is not unpleasant. There are many flavours to choose from, including red and white wine on the plus side. The 19th century Antica Dolceria Bonajuto shop on Corso Umberto is the most famous chocolate producer in Modica, and here you can both try samples and watch the chocolate being made. The Sicilians also claim chocolate (specifically dark) helps weight loss due to its ability to regulate blood sugar and help turn off hunger. Happy days!

After taking the bus to Modica and knowing the journey to Ragusa would be even longer I decided to attempt the train.  I knew it would take forty minutes to walk all the way into the old town but I decided I preferred to get there sooner and to be walking, and the train journey would only be an hour and a half. Perhaps this wasn’t the best call as it was heavy rain that day and I don’t think the Sicilian railway lines cope well with the rain. Hence the journey took three hours. The forty minute walk of course did not seem so easy then, and in the rain. In spite of the relentless steps down to Ragusa Ibla (the old town) there are areas to stop, have a rest, and admire the architecture or the impressive vista that also features in Montalbano.

Montalbano often includes panoramic views over Sicilian towns and cities in its opening credits, serving as a promotional campaign for the region and leading to the creation of the Montalbano Tour; a 3 to 4 day itinerary following in the inspector’s footsteps. There are also single day tours available.

In Ibla you will find La Rusticana (known as Trattoria San Calogero in the Montalbano series), which looks to be a very pleasant place but of course after the difficult journey I arrived at it during siesta time. Apparently, if you do venture in, you will find that the cast have signed the walls.

Further down the street from is the public park (Giardino Ibleo), which is pleasant to walk around and you may recognise it as a hospital garden in the TV series.

In my opinion I didn’t feel that Modica and possibly even Ragusa were worth the long or difficult bus and train journeys from Noto. Although the weather obviously tainted my view a little as on the way back from Ragusa the train only got me back as far as Modica. Myself and other passengers then had to take part in a  walking bus to a main road and wait for a rail replacement bus for nearly an hour.  If you were in a car then you could just stop off at these places without having to do several journeys.

I think you can tell that this trip was not perfect to say the least but I have learned a few things.  This is always valuable because I have the opportunity to pass them on to you and it makes me appreciate the good, which was that I was glad I chose to stay in Noto.

What I’ve learned

• Hire a car (a small one as streets are often narrow), and from Catania. I don’t think it is possible to hire a car once in Noto. This has got to be the most effective way to see Sicily but I think you will need a travel buddy to share the driving.
• Ask the right questions. As friendly as the Sicilians are, I didn’t find them particularly forthcoming with information. If you ask a question, you get an answer to that and that alone, no extras that might be helpful in decision-making. Don’t worry though, you get to know that you need to ask more than one question at a time.
• If you do go on the bus, you can purchase tickets in Noto near the bus terminal at Hotel Flora and the café across the way on Viale Principe di Piemonte. It might be helpful to know that this bus terminal looks just like any other bus stop. Buses often arrive late and seem to take a while to get to the destination but it might be preferable to the train where the train station is not in the centre or if it is raining hard and the train lines are hampered.
• If you do decide to take the train, the unmanned station is a twenty minute walk from the centre and is without ticket machines. I bought tickets online with Trenitalia, which the conductor then scanned from my phone on the train. The trains are punctual, unless there is heavy rain of course.  Both days I went to the station there was a friendly local who chatted to me, undeterred by the fact that I spoke little Italian and he spoke no English. He would be there when I returned as well, and rather than some sort of a stalker, he became this friendly face who obviously just liked hanging out at the train station. Whatever floats your boat (or train) I suppose.
• Restaurants and shops are mostly on siesta from 1-5pm so plan for this, but cafés will usually be open.

• Our hotel (La Dépendance) was a delightful place with friendly staff, but perhaps not the most efficient. Breakfast sums it up with options behind a counter as if you were in a bakery. When I asked for cereal, I was given cornflakes in a tea cup and tea spoon, and without any milk until I asked. I honestly wish I had taken a photo of this. I understand the Italians and Sicilians don’t have much for breakfast but knowing that the hotel are catering for tourists, they could improve on this. If you book this hotel using a package site, I would first check with the hotel that the rate and room match what they actually offer as I was caught out by this and the hotel certainly was not at great pains to put it right. There are lots of B&Bs in Noto and some with rooftop views but I booked quite late so there was little availability. If you hire a car you may even wish to stay outside Noto in the countryside at an agriturismo (farmhouse) or the nearer to the coast. That said, it was very convenient being in the centre with the many restaurants in such close proximity.

So now you have read this blog you can go off and do my trip, but better.

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Noto is approximately an hour and a half from Catania. If you are not hiring a car I would recommend travelling by bus as you can do this straight from the airport by Interbus or AST. Check their timetables online before you book your flights so you know how they line up with your arrival, and I would recommend flying on a week day as there seem to be more buses.