I just got back from a weeklong vacation in Sicily. Fortunately, my husband is comfortable driving a rental car pretty much everywhere we go because that opens us up to a lot of places we wouldn’t be able to access otherwise. We stayed at three different spots across the island that were all very different - Baglio Spano, Ragusa Ibla, and Ortigia/Siracusa. I’ll only cover the first stop in this post.
Driving from Catania to the west side, we stopped in Borgo Parrini for some street arancini and were blown away by the open air art museum. Coming straight off a red eye, I was too exhausted to take photos so please note this picture is from the Get Your Guide website.
I wanted to do one traditional agriturismo after I saw Anthony Bourdain talking about them. These are historic, rural, walled estates. I chose Baglio Spano because of its remote location on the west side of the island.
After driving through fields of grape vines and a large stone arch, the house opened up to multiple courtyards full of greenery. Baglio Spano is rustic and grand at the same time. We ate breakfast daily in a private orange grove with a swimming pool and aggressively friendly kitten named Robertino. Two of our three nights we chose to have dinner on the estate, which consisted of all home-cooked local specialities, pastas, and seafood dishes.
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| Visited by the estate cat at breakfast in the orange grove |
Having a car really helped, but if you are stranded at Baglio Spano there is plenty to do. It’s right by the sea, they have a swimming pool, rooms and courtyards to lounge around, and available bicycles. This part of the trip felt incredibly peaceful and relaxing. We did upgrade to a room with a sea view and I think it was so worth it as we kept the windows open the whole time.
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| The view out my window |
Marsala and another town called Mazara del Vallo were nearby, as well as the Segesta archaeological park, so there were lots of incredible day trips nearby.
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| The Temple at Segesta is so well-preserved |
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| Ancient amphitheater with a view of the island |
Marsala was a bit fancier and reminded me of Malaga, while Mazara del Vallo was a more low-key city with a gorgeous old town and a nicely labelled free self-guided walking tour with helpful signs around the city.
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| Indulged in my first aperol spritz of the trip in Marsala |
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| The Norman Arch in Mazara del Vallo, with a sea view |
One disappointing observation is the amount of trash along all the roads in Sicily. Many areas are quite poor and probably don’t have great public services. The scenic views are all a bit tarnished by garbage strewn about.
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| Views of garbage along the roads |
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