Directory A–Z - Sicily - page 631

Opening Hours
Shops Generally open from around 9.30am to 1.30pm and then from around 4pm to 7.30pm Monday to Saturday. Many
are closed on Monday morning and some smaller stores also close on Saturday afternoon. Some city department stores
and many supermarkets have continuous opening hours from 9am to 8pm Monday to Saturday, with some also opening
on Sunday morning, typically until 1pm.
Banks Open from 8.30am to 1.30pm and 2.45pm to 3.45pm Monday to Friday. They are closed on weekends, but it is
always possible to find an exchange office open in the larger cities and in major tourist areas.
Post offices Major branches open from 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday and also 8am to 12.30pm on Saturday. Smal-
ler post offices generally open from 8am to 1.30pm Monday to Friday and to 12.30pm on Saturday.
Pharmacies (Farmacie) Usually open 9am to 1pm and 3.30pm to 7.30pm. Most shut on Saturday afternoon, Sunday
and holidays but a handful remain open on a rotation basis (farmacie di turno) . Closed pharmacies display a list of the
nearest ones open.
Bars and cafes Generally open 7am to 8pm, although some stay open later and turn into pub-style watering holes. Res-
taurants typically open from noon to 3pm and 7.30pm to 11pm (later in summer).
Museums, galleries and archaeological sites Hours vary enormously, although many are closed on Monday.
Note also that Sicilian opening hours are not always observed with rigid precision, especially in small towns and outside
the busy summer months.
Post
Sicily's postal system, Poste ( 803 160; www.poste.it ) , is never going to win any awards for efficiency but sooner
or later letters generally arrive. Delivery is guaranteed to Europe within three days and to the rest of the world within
four to eight days.
Stamps (francobolli) are available at post offices and authorised tobacconists (look for the official tabacchi sign, a big
'T', often white on black), which you'll find in every town and village.
For more important items, use registered mail (raccomandato) or insured mail (assicurato); the cost depends on the
value of the object being sent.
Public Holidays
Most Sicilians take their annual holiday in August, deserting the cities for the cooler seaside or mountains. This means
that many businesses and shops close for at least part of the month, usually around the Feast of the Assumption (Ferra-
gosto) on 15 August. Easter is another busy period, with many resort hotels opening for the season the week before
Easter.
Italian schools close for three months in summer, from mid-June to mid-September, for two weeks at Christmas and
for a week at Easter.
Individual towns have public holidays to celebrate the feasts of their patron saints. National public holidays in Sicily
include the following: