Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Falconara
In WWII Sicily's southern coast was heavily defended against the threat of an Allied inva-
sion and still today abandoned pillbox defences litter the area around Gela. The best
beaches are to the west of town beyond the so-called Gela Riviera, and are wild and un-
spoilt. At Falconara, 20km west of Gela, you can lay your towel out at a superb sandy
beach overlooked by an impressive 14th-century castle, the
Castello di Falconara
. This is not
open to the public as it's privately owned by an aristocratic family, but you can stay by
booking through
I Castelli
(
095 779 30 97;
www.icastelli.net
)
.
WORTH A TRIP
LAMPEDUSA
Lampedusa, the largest of the three Pelagic Islands (the other two are
Linosa
and
Lampione
), lies about 200km
south of Sicily, closer to Tunisia than Italy. Surrounded by stunning aquamarine waters, it's a popular summer
holiday destination whose year-round population of 6100 more than trebles in July and August. In winter trans-
port connections are cut back and almost every hotel and restaurant shuts up shop.
The island's single main attraction is its beaches, which are strung along the 11km south coast. The most fam-
ous, and one of the Mediterranean's most beautiful, is
Spiaggia dei Conigli
(aka Rabbit Beach) at Isola dei Co-
nigli, a dreamy secluded bay lapped by shallow, turquoise waters. The beach is part of a unique nature reserve,
the only place in Italy where
Caretta caretta
(loggerhead sea turtles) lay their eggs (between July and August).
Other beaches include
Cala Francese
,
Cala Galera
and
CalaGreca
.
Siremar
( 89 21 23;
www.siremar.it
) runs year-round ferries to Lampedusa (€47.10, 9½ hours) from Porto
Empedocle. Between late June and early September, Ustica Lines (
Click here
) runs six weekly hydrofoils
(€55.40, 4¼ hours). You can fly directly to Lampedusa from Palermo and, in summer, from Rome.
TOP OF CHAPTER
Gela
POP 77,115
Despite a distinguished past as one of Sicily's great ancient cities, modern Gela is a disap-
pointment, a chaotic industrial city with a reputation as a mafia hot spot. Little remains of
its heyday as the economic engine room of the great Greek colony that eventually founded
Akragas, Eraclea Minoa and Selinunte. The city was sacked by Carthage in 405 BC and
then razed by forces from Agrigento in 282 BC. More recently it was the first Italian town
to be liberated by the Allies in WWII (in July 1943), but not before it had been bombed to
rubble in the build-up to the invasion. Post-war development saw the construction of the
