Walking in Sicily. Gillian Price

      Rifugio at Piano Battaglia

      The main tourist offices in Sicily supply excellent booklets, updated yearly, listing all the accommodation (camping grounds included), with prices and opening periods, for the relevant province. It’s advisable to stock up with these handy booklets in the towns as little information is available in the hinterland. Prices are generally lowered at off-peak times and may be negotiable.

      Though advance reservation is only really necessary in high season (essentially Easter and late July–August), it’s a good idea to call ahead to small hotels or private rooms to give them advance warning of your arrival. English is not widely spoken outside the main tourist cities or resorts, making a sprinkling of Italian highly desirable.

Telephones

      When phoning in Italy remember to use the full area code including the zero, even for local calls. Exceptions are mobiles (cellulare), that commence with ‘3’, and toll-free numbers that begin with ‘800’ or ‘840’. Calls to Italy from overseas must likewise include the zero of the area code.

      Mobile phones can be extremely useful when travelling around the island, for booking accommodation for instance, however coverage is by no means comprehensive.

      Note: many toll-free numbers for information services cannot be called from a mobile.

      Public phones are generally easy to find in small towns and villages, either in the main piazza or the at the bar/coffee shop. Coins are rarely accepted these days it’s a good idea to purchase a pre-paid phone card, carta telefonica, available from tobacconists, cafés and paper shops. Note:the corner with the dotted line needs to be removed before the card can be used.

Food and Drink

      One legacy of Sicily’s colourful history is the unique combination of ingredients, spices and herbs that have been grafted onto the simple fare of the peasant people. The Arabs are credited with the majority of imports, from couscous to pasta, and from fish preservation techniques to sorbets and confectionery. The fertile land and hard-working inhabitants mean a vast range of fruit and vegetables is grown on Sicily, with a large measure of success.

      All attempts to speak Italian will endear you to the locals. Say ‘Pronto’ to start a phone call, then try with these:

      Buon giorno (Buona sera). Cerco una camera matrimoniale (singola)con (senza) bagno per una notte (due notti) da oggi (domani).

      Good morning (evening). I’m looking for a double (single) room with (without) bathroom for one night (two nights) as from today (tomorrow).

      Avete un lettino per un bambino?

      Do you have a small bed for a child?

      Avete qualcosa di più grande (economico)?

      Do you have anything larger (cheaper)?

      To familiarise themselves with the raw materials, visitors can do no better than wander around a fresh-produce market. The strictly regional nature of Sicilian food, and its relative lack of sophistication compared to what is usually expected of Italian cuisine, means delicious surprises can be expected by adventurous eaters.

      The snack front is dominated by the arancino, a luscious ball of moist rice around an inner core of meat and tomato sauce (ragù), crumbed, fried and eaten warm. Those served on board the ferries that cross the Strait of Messina are legendary! Another snack found prevalently around Palermo is panelle, squares of chick pea pastry, battered and fried and served on its own or as a roll filling, preferably accompanied by fried eggplant. Schiacciata and focaccia, types of pizza-like bread, are good lunch fare and found in all bakeries. A modest restaurant or trattoria may not always have a menu, however by asking ‘Che cosa avete oggi?’ (What’s on today?) or ‘Quale sono le vostre specialità?’ (What are your specialities?) something unfailingly interesting is guaranteed.

      Antipasti (starters) are usually in a mouth-watering display to be served at room temperature, and could easily constitute a meal on their own. You may find sarde alla beccaficco, fresh sardines stuffed with capers and breadcrumbs and lightly fried (the name alludes to the serving manner, as the fish is arranged to resemble a prized game bird, the garden warbler). The eggplant (melanzana) is omnipresent, mostly the light mauve bulbous type. Lightly salted and left so the bitter juices drain away, it has a deep, rich taste enhanced by light frying, before serving with a splash of tomato purée and oregano. In combination with celery and capers it also features in the rich caponata stew. Alla parmigianasees it layered with tomato and melted parmesan cheese. Mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and an infinity of olives are usually on offer as well.

      Primo piatto or first courseinevitably means pasta, thought to have been invented in Sicily, if not brought in by the Arabs. In any case, a 12th-century account of the island by the geographer al-Idrisi made mention of busy pasta factories near Palermo where vermicelli and macaroni were produced for exportation to both Muslim provinces and Christian countries. Noteworthy present-day dishes include pasta alla Norma (a reference to the opera by Vincenzo Bellini, who hailed from Catania), the sauce a delicious combination of stewed eggplant and tomato. In the Trapani area you’ll come across pasta with pesto trapanese, a fragrant cold sauce of fresh tomatoes with crushed garlic, almonds, parmesan cheese and basil, or pasta con le sarde, topped with fresh sardines combined with tangy wild fennel and pine nuts, not to mention cuscus, the dish of north African origin of steamed semolina served with a spicy fish-based sauce. In contrast the Nebrodi mountain villages specialise in fresh maccheroni, long hollow tubes smothered in a rich meat sauce (sugo), while the Monti Iblei district offers home-made ravioli di ricotta flavoured with a pungent tomato and pork sauce and cavatelle, generous fresh pasta coils.