Transcript Central Sicily - Lonely Planet

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Central Sicily
¨¨Osteria al Canale (p216)
¨¨Coria (p225)
¨¨Il Locandiere (p224)
¨¨Ristorante Centro Storico
(p226)
Best Places to
Sleep
Road Distances (km)
Caltanissetta
85
Enna
60
30
Nicosia
100
65
50
Piazza Armerina
30
50
35
70
Nicosia
¨¨La Rustica (p215)
Sicily’s wild and empty interior is a beautiful, uncompromising land, a timeless landscape of silent, sunburnt peaks, grey
stone villages and forgotten valleys. Traditions live on and
life is lived at a gentle, rural pace. It’s an area that encourages the simple pleasures – long lunches of earthy country
food, meanders through hilltop towns, quiet contemplation
over undulating vistas. It’s also an area of surprising natural diversity – one minute you’re driving through rolling hills
reminiscent of Tuscany, the next through pockets of eucalypt
bush akin to Australia.
Scattered across these landscapes are the legacies of many
cultures and countless generations – windswept Greek shrines,
sunbaked Norman churches and the frescoed flourishes of the
baroque. It’s in Villa Romana del Casale that you’ll find the
world’s most important Roman mosaics; in tiny Morgantina,
a Hellenic statue that caused a modern tug-of-war; and in Caltagirone, some of Italy’s most coveted ceramics. Prepare to be
pleasantly surprised.
Enna
Best Places to Eat
Why Go?
Caltanissetta
Enna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
North of Enna. . . . . . . . 217
Calascibetta . . . . . . . . 217
Nicosia. . . . . . . . . . . . . 217
South of Enna. . . . . . . . 219
Piazza Armerina. . . . . 219
Villa Romana
del Casale . . . . . . . . . . 222
Caltagirone . . . . . . . . . 223
Caltanissetta. . . . . . . . 226
Caltagirone
Includes 
¨¨B&B Tre Metri Sopra Il
Cielo (p259)
¨¨Azienda Agrituristica
Gigliotto (p259)
¨¨Baglio Pollicarini (p258)
¨¨Baglio San Pietro (p259)
¨¨Suite d’Autore (p259)
0
e
# 0
À
8
À
8
SS290
À
8
21 3
10 km
5 miles
SS117
A19
#
\
Agira
#
Leonforte \
Necropoli
di Realmese
ä
#
#
\
6
Calascibetta #
#
\
À
8
5
#
#
]
A19
Enna
À
8
SS561
Lago di
Pergusa
#
]
Caltanissetta
Morgantina
ä
#
3
#
Á
9
SS117bis
Pietraperzia
Aidone
#
\
#
\
À
8
SS626
Piazza
4
#
#
\
\
Barrafranca #
Armerina
1
ä
#
C e ntr a l Si ci ly S
E i c i ly H i g h l i g h t s
Santa
Caterina
Villarmosa
Villa Romana
del Casale
Mirabella
#
\
#
\
À
8
Mazzarino
SS626
#
\
Á
9
SS117bis
San
Michele
À
8
SS124
2\
#
Caltagirone #
Central Sicily Highlights
1 Villa Romana del Casale
(p222) Admiring ancient artistry
at a decadent Roman villa,
home to the most extraordinary
Roman tile-work in existence.
3 Morgantina (p220)
5 Enna (p214) Exploring a
2 Caltagirone (p223)
4 Piazza Armerina (p219)
6 Calascibetta (p217)
Tackling Sicily’s most
spectacular staircase, then
stocking up on the town’s
nationally renowned ceramics.
Sitting your booty on the very
steps where ancient Greeks
once debated, conspired and
gossiped.
Losing yourself in a warren
of atmospheric streets and
eclectic local museums.
whimsical cathedral, scaling
a Lombard castle and soaking
up spectacular views in central
Sicily’s busiest town.
Enjoying a little downtime and
strolling through the nougatcoloured streets of a sleepy
Sicilian hilltop village.