The Bicycle Adventure Club - Come Ride With Us!

Sicily 2023

October 18th to October 31st

Ride Coordinator: Alma Worthington
Report by: Aaron Rosenthal

Sicily 2023

“To have seen Italy without having seen Sicily is not to have seen Italy at all, for Sicily is the clue to everything”  Wolfgang Goethe, Viaggio in Italia 1786-1788

The route design for the 13-day Sicily tour was divided evenly between the west and southeast sections of the Mediterranean’s largest island.  This provided participants a broader understanding of Sicily’s diversity.  Our group congregated in Palermo, Sicily’s most populous city, and promptly transported to Castellamare del Golfo, a much more favorable departure point.  Hike and Bike Italy was the commercial agency supporting our tour, and both Giovanni and Tony were forthright during our evening briefings about the challenges (road conditions, traffic etc.) and the opportunities along the next day’s route of things to see and do.  They did a wonderful job of supporting this trip.

Sicily, approximately the size of Massachusetts, has a rich history and culture directly tied to its proximity to Northern Africa and Southern Europe. During our time on the island’s west side, we visited Segesta’s temple dating to 430 BCE, the historic city of Erice, and the ruins of Selinunte 6th-4th century BCE with a wonderful guide.  For many, going to the Museum of the Dancing Satyr and learning the story of how this Bronze Age statue was recovered and restored provided an unforgettable link to the Island’s past and present.  While we had hills to climb and descend, we also had nice flat sections adjacent to the azure Tyrrhenian Sea area of the Med.

On day 7, we were transported 3 hours to Villa Romana del Casale, a UNESCO World Heritage Site dating to the 4th century, with one of the largest and most varied Roman mosaics in the world. Buried in the 12th century by a landslide, the mosaics were mostly preserved when excavations began in the later 19th century.  It was an amazing contrast to reflect on the enormity of the temples and ruins we’d seen on the Island’s west side, and then to look at the miniscule individual tiles and attention to detail required to create the mosaics. 

The remaining days of the tour brought us to the Baroque villages of Ragusa, Modica, Noto, and Siracusa, all UNESCO towns which are famous for their architecture and historical significance.  As a group we were appreciative of the better road conditions on this side of the island, but navigating the traffic as we entered and exited the towns was more challenging.  We all learned about the earthquake of 1693 that decimated the southeastern and eastern parts of Sicily and killed over 60,000 people.  These towns were essentially rebuilt in their same locations in the years and centuries following the earthquake, and the architecture reflects the period when this rebuilding took place.  A guided walking tour of Ragusa enhanced our understanding of the town’s history.  Modica is known for its chocolate, and a tour of one production facility concluded with each of us receiving a gift bag of different flavored chocolates.  During our extra day in Noto most of us rode to the town of Marzamemi and visited Torre Di Vendicari Nature Preserve on our way out or back. This was our only good opportunity to take a dip in the Ionian Sea portion of the Mediterranean and many of us took advantage.  Our final destination was Siracusa and specifically the small island of Ortigia.  Another guided walk took place prior to our celebratory last dinner.

The mid to late October dates of this trip proved ideal for weather.  Nearly every day of the trip had blue skies and temps in the mid 20’s Celsius.  It was also past the height of tourist season which has its typical advantages.  Finally, Sicily is renowned for its food. For most of us, some varieties of pasta were new.  Seafood was abundant and presented in numerous ways.  Many of the desserts were over the top good.  And to top it off, gelato was almost always available!  Don’t come to Sicily just for the riding, but also for the historical, cultural, and gastronomical delights.