Sicily

Messina, over which there rises green Aspromonte, the precious seven "pearls" of the Aeolian archipelago, Capo Milazzo, stretched out in the Tyrrhenian, the massive structure of Etna, the Nebrodi Mountains, the Erei Mountains and the Iblei Mountains and, also, a large part of the inland areas of Sicily. But of course there are so many other opportunities that these wild mountains can afford: the climb, amid luxuriant woods and expanses of ferns, to Monte Scuderi, to Monte Polverello, to the soaring Rock of Novara, to Monte Kalfa, to the splendid Malabotta beech wood, in the area where the Nebrodi and the Peloritani meet. These are all excursions not to be missed, both for the magnificent landscapes that they afford, and for the major natural interest.

Montalbano Elicona Woods of the places themselves.

Lastly, a note for birdwatchers: the air currents that form between the mountains of Calabria and those of Sicily make the Peloritani Mountains an important reference point for flocks of migratory birds. So peregrine falcons, goshawks, buzzards, kites, honey buzzards and Egyptian vultures during their passage offer an exciting natural spectacle that is unique in Sicily.

Signs of stones and waters, dense sierras, tangles of bushes, flat panoramas of rocks and stones, successions of low walls going off towards the sea and superb carobs and olive trees: the Iblei plateau, very beautiful grey limestone rock from which there bloom stones and stony towns. An island within the island, as Bufalino defined it, unknown, as in the Long journey by Sciascia, this rugged and b land is a source of continual surprises: because of its mutability - the landscape changes so much between the basaltic Monte Lauro and the gilded sea coast, between the two rivers, the Dirillo to the west and the Tellaro to the east - and because of the big quantity of its natural beauties unfolding under that sky with a rare quality.

To the visitor that wants to immerse himself or herself in the primitive and unspoilt nature of Sicily - amid rocks and lights, amid flowers of stone and lawns overflowing with fleshy orchids and sanguine poppies - we offer this Iblei land, most beautiful Arcadia.

A trip between Monte Lauro, the pivot of the Hyblaeis colles, and the sandy shore: an itinerary on the terraces that slope down to the sea where the lowlands of Vittoria softly spread out, and Pachino, Syracuse, Augusta and Lentini, through unspoilt environments, sometimes unique ones, with remarkable natural, landscape, historical, archaeological features, like the "gullies", the deep canyons dug out by the numerous rivers that furrow all the Iblei area.

The boat seems to be suspended in the air and our gaze plunges unhindered right down to the seafloor; on which we can distinguish every single feature, the white sand alternating with black scales of outcropping rock and the various kinds of seaweed that adorn it, forming here and there a kind of undersea prairie grazed upon by all the living creatures that inhabit it.

From the heights of Monteleone I dropped my gaze at ran don onto the peninsula and the sea..

The dying sun gilded the waves and mountains, the sea breeze carried to me the scents of orange-groves and jasmine. The nightingales were singing in the woods, and Stromboli, which stood before me, was smoking amidst the waves. Its bluish cone soon mingled into the vaporous hues of the sunset, and the twilight gradually enveloped and darkened the whole scene. The atmosphere was soft and clear. Everything was

-As we left this magnificent chestnut grove, there suddenly appeared before us, as if by magic, a view so marvellous that we cried out with surprise and admiration. The straits that separate Calabria from Sicily it really is an extraordinary sight.

The colossal mass of Etna, which fertilizes and devastates Sicily, completes this underscribably fascinating scene.

Later on the moon rose, and as it sailed amongst the majestically lighted clouds it revealed the white breakers rolling on the shore. Each time the train stopped I could hear the music of the sea, which seemed now to echo a verse of Homer, now the calm meters of Theocritus.