5 stunning unusual places you could not believe are in Sicily

Last Updated on July 28, 2023 by

Oh Sicily, my beloved motherland. The one place where I’m never tired to return and the one I miss during the long cold British winters. Although Sicily is no longer my “home” since the far 2011, I learnt how to adjust my vision of it to my new “expat life”. I started seeing her more as a holiday destination to discover with my “new eyes” rather than the place were I was stuck for the first 21 years of my life.

So, every time I have the opportunity to return, I catch the occasion to discover a new piece of it. To go where I never thought to go during my residency. Ergo, I present you here not only some of the best places to visit in Sicily but also the results of my last two explorations in my beautiful home country. Discover 5 unusual places to visit in Sicily for an off the beaten trip in southern Italy!

10 Things to know before visiting Sicily

1. Sicily is an Italian REGION like Lombardy or Tuscany. Sorry for specifying this, but not much time ago I’ve seen an article talking about Sicily as a generic “Italian island” and this made me realise that people don’t know much of Sicily. Yes Sicily it’s also an island but, like Sardinia, it has a major administrative role in Italy compared to smaller Italian islands like Elba, Lipari or Lampedusa.
2. Sicily’s capital city is Palermo but the second largest city is Catania (where I am from!). Both cities are beautiful and worth visiting for different reasons. If you are planning a trip to Sicily, it’s a good idea to visit both.
3. Please ignore everything people tell you about mafia. It happened to me very frequently (sadly more frequently than I wished) that foreign people (and even some Italians from the north) were scared or concerned about visiting Sicily because of what they heard about mafia. I could write an entire article about this, but for the moment, let me tell you that people in Sicily don’t go around with guns and shooting everyone on their way (yes someone asked me also this). Sicily is generally very safe. Yes mafia is still present in certain parts of the island but it’s not something a common tourist or even a common Sicilian inhabitant will experience. Most of the news people hear about mafia are related to corruption in public institutions or pizzo (money asked to people in exchange of “protection”) asked to certain shopkeepers. Many of these shopkeepers are actively fighting mafia and, in this regard, I invite you to watch the episode Antony Bourdain did about Sicily especially when he talks about the movement addiopizzo (goodbye pizzo).
4. You will need a car to go around Sicily. Yes we do have public transport but, as a Sicilian, I would not rely on that unless you have plenty of time to loose. Public transport in Sicily is very slow and most tourist areas are not even connected to the main cities. So, it’s better to get a car.
5. Except highways and main city roads, countryside roads are pretty rough to drive. Be prepared to some bumps along dusty roads.
6. Food is exceptionally good in Sicily! It’s very rare to find a place that is not good. However, if you are vegetarian/vegan or you are allergic to gluten pay attention to the menus. If you are insecure, don’t be afraid of being direct and ask what you want. Some people, especially the older ones, are still not familiar with the terms “vegan” “vegetarian”. It’s better to say “I don’t eat meat”.
7. Pay attention to scams. If you are asking yourself why in Egypt I was totally fine with “the scam thing”, it’s because Sicily it’s quite the same. I was already used to this approach. Tourists (sometimes even residents) are frequently scammed for restaurant bills, car rentals, shopping or even their hotels. I’m not proud of this, but it do happens. Of course, not all the people are the same and most Sicilians are honest and kind people but if something smells you wrong, probably it is.
8. Abusive valet. Small and big cities in Sicily are unfortunately affected by the plague of “abusive valets”. People who want money to “keep your car safe” on the street when is parked. While these people are endlessly persecuted by the police, they continue to appear here and there especially in big cities like Catania and Palermo. If it happens to meet one, try to not give him money. When is possible, try to use official parking spaces or the one called “blu stripes –strisce blu” where you can pay the time you stay at a designated machine.
9. Don’t leave your personal belongings unattended. Small thefts are particularly frequent, especially in tourist areas. Never ever leave your stuff alone. Especially in bars, beaches, cars etc. it’s unfortunately very likely that you won’t find it anymore.
10. The sun is quite strong all year round. Temperatures in Sicily are warmly high for most of the year, even in winter. It might happen that around January-February temperatures go a little lower (6-15°) but most of the times they stay around 15-23°. Summer are roasting hot and it is better to have with you a good sun protection.

5 Unusual Places to visit in Sicily

La Scala dei Turchi – The Turkish Staircase

The Turkish Staircase (Scala dei Turchi) is almost surreal when kissed by the first morning lights. You need just a minute walk on this immense white chalk rock to no longer understand where the sea ends and the sky starts. It’s like a giant sea foam that crystallised before vanishing forever between the sea and the air. I feel a bit disappointed that is regarded just as one of the many “instagrammable spots” of the island. Who knows how many waves have broken into this rock and how many stories this rock has to tell.

The Scala dei Turchi, translated as Turkish Staircase became a top destination in Sicily during the last few years. Its unusual layout and the contrast of the white stone with the blue of the sea make it one of the most unique places in Sicily.

A legend for a name

The peculiar name comes from a popular Sicilian legend. This narrates that the location was used by Turkish pirates as a hideout during their invasions in Sicily.

Best time to visit the Turkish Staircase

If you visited the Turkish Staircase just a few years ago, you could stay there, swim and enjoy a day out without any particular problem. Nevertheless, because of its recent and sudden popularity, this has now become impossible. People start flocking on the staircase since the earliest hours of the morning to grab a small space on the shining white rock, because now it’s “fashionable”. This means that at 8 in the morning you won’t see even a inch of the rock because of the crowd.

To avoid the crowd I’ve decided to wake up at 5 and head straight for the sunrise. It was the best decision ever. Although I was not the only one! As I said, people start arriving since the earliest hour of the day to grab a spot, so you may find a little crowd but manageable to avoid in the pictures. If you want to be sure to be alone, the best time to go is in lower season like November-March.

How to get to the Turkish Staircase

The Turkish staircase is located in a little town called Realmonte. This is far about 16 Km from Agrigento and will be about 22 minutes by car. If you come from Agrigento, you have to take the route SS115 that will lead you directly to the place. If you travel from Catania, you have to travel via the routes A19 and SS240 for 2h and 18 minutes. From Palermo, you should take the routes SS624 and SS115 (travel time: 2h and 8 mins circa).

The Turkish Staircase doesn’t have its own dedicated entrance. You can access to it via the beach or one of the nearby lidos on the beach and walk till the cliff. The entrance to the beach if FREE. More info here.

Scala dei Turchi (Turkish Staircase) Map

Below you can find a navigable map showing you the location of the Turkish Staircase.

Note: The Turkish staircase is a protected environment. Most of it is accessible to visitors, but some areas are restricted. Please, respect these limits and don’t trespass the fences to take pictures in the forbidden part!

Il Labirinto di Arianna – Arianna’s Labyrinth

The first time I saw this labyrinth on a newspaper I thought “wow, finally something that people would go and visit! It’s so cool!”. But the true is that, since its first opening in 1990, the labyrinth didn’t have such popularity and it was abandoned for more than a decade before being renewed.

Built on the top of a hill in an almost forgotten area of Sicily, the Arianna’s Labyrinth is strangely fascinating. It emerges from nowhere in a giant circular shape surrounded only by nature.

An open Air Exhibition

The Arianna’s Labyrinth is a work part of an open air exhibition called “Fiumara d’arte”. This exhibition features different artworks around this area of Sicily. The labyrinth, in particular, was made by the Italian artist Italo Lanfredini. It represents the “belly” of a mother and the mystery of the human being on Earth (and yes, the entrance resemble a giant vagina!).

How to reach the Arianna’s Labyrinth

The Arianna’s Labyrinth is located in the countryside of a little town called Castel di Lucio (part of the city of Messina). I would say that is easy to reach it from Catania but is not! The road take about 2h30, but the problem is that after taking the motorway A19, for about 6km you will be directed in countryside roads (SS117, SS120, SP60 and SP176). Most of them unpaved. Believe me, the breathtaking panorama will be the only thing you will thanks for. In fact, your car will not be happy about bumping for more than 2h.

From Messina, you should take the A20/E90 for 2h circa. While from Palermo you should go via E90/A20 for 1h57 circa. Because I went from Catania, I can’t give you impressions about these other two roads.

Arianna’s Labyrinth Map

Tips for visiting the Arianna’s Labyrinth

To be honest with you, if you want to come here just for the labyrinth, please don’t! Is not worthy. The roads are terrible, is far from any restoration or touristic point and it is kept in very bad conditions (see the spikes on the floor of the labyrinth!). However, if you insert it as a point of a wider road trip for a quick stop, it can be a nice diversion. For example, we inserted it in a longer road trip going to Castel di Tusa and Cefalù that are at about 1h from the labyrinth.

Photographing the labyrinth can be a problem as well. In fact, unless you jump into its walls, you can’t see much from the ground. The walls are more than 2mt high and to climb them we used some big stones we found around and our arms strength. Is not sure you will find them too. So, if you are sure you are going to visit this place, and want cool photos, bring a portable staircase with you!

Sicily’s Nusa Penida and the Montechiaro Castle

You know when something happens and you don’t understand if it happened for real or not? This happened to me (us) when we bumped into this place during a road trip in the Agrigento area.

The Norman Castle on the road

While we were driving with our families in this area of Sicily, I spotted a castle from the road. As you can imagine, I started screaming to stop and in less then 30 seconds I was already running up the hill to check it out! I immediately recognised the typical Norman architecture already seen in Sicily and I couldn’t miss the opportunity to visit a mysterious castle appeared from the road!

The castle looked totally abandoned but the main gate was open. So, against the advise of the rest of the family, I entered through (with my family running behind). I was babbling something about the Normans when a old man appeared from nowhere freaking out the whole family. For a second, I thought it was a ghost but giving that everyone was seeing him, it soon turned out that he was the guardian of the castle.

The Guardian of the Castle

A Guardian??? In the middle of nowhere?? Alone??? Yeah, some of the questions that rolled into my head while this man was getting closer to me and I was thinking what to say instead of “hey, I broke into your property! While I am here, can I give it a look?”. He looked calm and nice so, the second option on my list of phrases to say was “hey! I am a historian”. Great, it can’t be stranger than “I am the guardian of the castle”. I said that. It worked. He asked us if we wanted to take a tour of the castle and we happily accepted.

The Montechiaro Castle Story

He shown us all the visitable areas of the castle. This beauty at the top of the cliff is standing there since 1353. Once belonged to the Chiaramonte family and it is the last surviving castle built by the this family in Sicily. It was used to fight the attacks of pirates from the coast, it was the residence of many Sicilian noble families, seen countless of events and now it’s crumbling and slowly vanishing from the coast because of a total negligence from the local administration.

The guardian told us that even when the local council attempted some renovation, it actually caused more damage to the structure because of incompetence and ignorance on how to treat medieval architecture. One of the major damaged caused was the destruction of the original medieval staircase connecting various castle floors. Instead, they built a brand new one in terracotta bricks (same technique was applied to the castle windows). Who does that??? Who was in charge of that shameful restoration?? Now the castle is even worse than before and won’t last longer unless something will change.

Helping the castle

A way to avoid this to happen is visiting this place and help the guardian to collect signatures to receive funding for the castle. In fact, the administration told the guardian that unless he is able to demonstrate that the castle is visited by people, they will not assign any funding to it. Signatures are a vital way to show that people visited the castle. So, go and visit!!

Cala Vincenzina, the Nusa Penida – style coast of Sicily

Another reason why you should pop into this area of Sicily is Cala Vincenzina. This little still unknown oasis resemble in all the ways the beautiful and famous coast of Nusa Penida in Bali, but without the Istangramers. The beach you can see from the picture, is called by locals as “beach of the castle” or “buca“. Buca in Italian means “hole”. Reaching this place is quite difficult. This is one of the reasons why it isn’t much crowded. However, you will be rewarded with crystalline waters and one of the most unusual and unique Sicilian scenery.

Getting to the Montechiaro Castle and Cala Vincenzina

If you want to reach Cala Vincenzina, you have to follow the direction for the Montechiaro Castle as they are very close. If you come from Catania, this is a 2h 28 mins drive via the motorway A19 and SP84 (follow the directions on the map below).

From Palermo you have to follow the route SS624 and SS115 for 2h and 48 mins. From Agrigento the Castle is far 25 km. You have to reach it via the SS115. Once you are at the castle you can reach the beach. The only way to access it is a small side road going down the hill. I won’t recommend you to use the car. Some people do but is not a good road.

At the end of the road, you will find a small wooden/sandy staircase going down to the beach. This is very damaged after the bad weather conditions of Sicily during the last winter months. It’s quite slippery and I don’t recommend you to go with children, unless they are used to these type of “adventures”. The beach is very quiet and mostly used by local people. It’s a sort “secret location” for them. Therefore, they might not be happy to seeing you around (especially if you go and don’t stop taking pictures/videos). So, be discrete and respect their environment.

The carved town of Sperlinga

I have a gift. I’m able to spot amazing locations while travelling! Have you ever heard of a town called Sperlinga? Me neither until we literally bumped into it on a warm day of August, this summer!

Me and Alessio were driving in Sicily, in the middle of nowhere (searching actually for the Arianna’s Labyrinth above) when I saw a sign on the road saying “Medieval Castle on the left”. I felt an immediate need of stopping as the castle was calling me from the hill. So we found this town called Sperlinga. A name that both in its Greek and Latin versions means “Grotto”.

In fact, Sperlinga looks a bit like a forgotten Matera of the very south with its small doors carved into the rocks, its staircases difficult to climb and its charm typical of Italian rural towns.

The Medieval Castle of Sperlinga

The castle of Sperlinga dominates the town landscape since 1082, mentioned already in the records left by Count Roger I. This is carved from a unique piece of monolithic rock that include temples used more than 4.000 years ago!! The castle is one of the rarest examples of its genre still surviving today. It belonged initially to a certain  Petro de Lemanno but since 1324 it passed to the Ventimiglia family, who owned it for more than two centuries. The council of Sperlinga acquired from the last owner in 1973.

What not to miss in the castle

Some of the unmissable things you have to check out in the castle are the 4,000 years old grottoes. During the Middle Ages these were used partially as a horse stable and partially as a prison. Moreover, don’t forget to climb the original medieval staircase leading to the highest point of the castle, the observation deck. Here you can have a great view not only of the town, but also of the surrounding countryside. Perfect to spot enemies! Other nice things to see are the inside church (still used by local people) and the “traveller’s room” featuring diaries of travellers who have visited the castle in the past.

Admission to the castle and opening times

The castle of Sperlinga is open Monday to Friday from 9.00 am to 7.30 pm. The entrance ticket is €5 per person. There is no need to arrive early for taking pictures. The affluence is unfortunately very low. We arrived at 12 pm and we were completely alone.

How to get to Sperlinga

Sperlinga is located between the Nebrodi and Madonie Mountains. Getting here is not difficult. In fact, from Catania is just a 1h 47 mins drive via the A19 (take the exit to Mulinello and proceed to SS120/121 towards Sperlinga). From Palermo, is a 2h and 20 mins drive via the E90 and A19. Unfortunately, there is no public transport going to Sperlinga. Therefore, you should go by car. However, there is plenty of parking in town and it is completely free.

Sperlinga on the Map

I Faraglioni di Ciriga – The Ciriga Rocks

Secretly hidden in one of the most incredible corners on the coast of Ragusa, the Cirica Rocks are one of the most well-kept hidden gems of Sicily. Two big standing-alone rock formations that will make ask yourself if you are still in Sicily or in a James Bond movie. I would be proud to say I discovered this gem by myself. However, this time the merit goes to Alessio’s mum. She has the adventurous gene too and sometimes she search for unusual places where to bring us when we return in Sicily.

This time she found out this place! I remember when she told us to have found an incredible “private-like beach” where nobody was going. I was initially sceptical. An empty beach in Sicily? in August? Naah. But the truth is that this place is a real forgotten paradise where nobody goes! The reason for this is because of its accessibility. In fact, you can reach it only via the sea.

Getting to the Ciriga Rocks

The Ciriga Rocks are located in the Canal of Malta, near the town of Ispica (Ragusa). These are visible from the above road but not reachable via the beach. In fact, the only way to reach the rocks (and the secluded beach nearby) is via sea. With “via sea” I mean that you have literally to swim in open deep waters with possibility of strong riptides. Therefore, if you can’t swim please don’t risk your life. I swim (for a period also professionally) since I was 5 years old and I am an ex water-polo player. So, I know what to do. However, I insist you don’t take stupid risks.

Having said so, if you want to visit, you should search for the beach of Punta di Ciriga or the Cirica Beach. Memorise the position of the rocks when you see them from the street.

After that, follow the beach until the path ends and there you have to proceed via sea. It’s a good 15/20 minutes swimming (according to your pace). Initially, you will walk in low waters but then the water becomes deep and you must swim. Don’t stop until you see the first rock. You can’t be wrong, they are more than 15 mt tall, so it’s impossible not to see them. Once you see the first, the water will start to be low again and you can proceed by walking till the near beach.

You can stay on the beach as long as you want but don’t forget about the high tide on the evening! This might give you hard times in coming back. So, it’s better to return not later than 3/4 pm.

Conclusions

That’s all for today! I hope you got inspired to visit some unusual locations in Sicily for your next trip! As always, if you have any questions, DM me!

Do you want to explore more places in Sicily? Read my Taormina guide here!

Plan your trip to Sicily

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