Fourteen ASURA members and friends travelled to Sicily in late March for a 16-day trip billed as “Sicily’s Ancient Landscapes and Timeless Traditions” – an incredible opportunity to experience a unique culture on an island with an incredible history. The company we used limits the numbers in each tour, so the fourteen of us were the entire group.

Our trip consisted of stays of three days in Palermo, Marsala, Ragusa, a one-night stay at an agriturismo near Piazza Armerina and a four-night stay in the Catania area. Although I fear I will miss something that one of my fellow travelers absolutely loved, a list of some of MY favorites included:

• the hilltop village of Castelbuono, Monreale Cathedral, 
• the sea salt ‘farm’ (complete with windmills) of Trapani, 
• the incredible Valley of the Temples near Agrigento, 
• the Villa Romana del Casale (spectacular mosaics), 
• an exhilarating ride in antique Fiat 500 cars on the narrow curvy streets of Modica (we are now official members of the Modican Club!), 
• the Greco-Roman Theater in Taomira and 
• an exploration part way up Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe. Note: the volcano was quiet the day we visited, but there was a ‘mini-eruption’ a few nights later (see photograph).

The success of any escorted trip lies in having a great trip leader. Gaetano Sciortino was not only excellent, but considerate, funny and a joy to be around. Gaetano never shied away from discussions on controversial topics (more in a minute) and was constantly finding alternate plans for those interested. We had the privilege of spending time with many native Sicilians through hosted meals and discussions. We had the opportunity to listen to and question two Sicilians intimately knowledgeable with the Mafia; I know what I learned will never leave me!

We learned that Sicily’s history is like a lasagna (we got a little tired of that comparison!); the original inhabitants were conquered by the Phoenicians around the 11^th Century B.C. followed by the Greeks (approx. 8^th Century B.C.), then the Romans (3^rd Century B.C.) who held the island until the fall of the Roman Empire. Several northern and Byzantine groups took over various parts of Sicily until the Muslim rule (approx. 8^th Century) who were conquered by the Normans who were conquered by Spain who were conquered by the Bourbons, then the British managed Sicily until Italian unification in 1860. Confused? I feel your pain, but what an incredible history that we knew very little about before this trip.

We had local guides that helped us learn about many of the towns/cities/sites and what ‘layer of the lasagna’ was responsible for most of the development. One day, we met a local farmer and learned about ancient stone wall construction and foraged a bit for wild asparagus that ended up in our lunch. And we ate. And ate. And ate. Many if not most meals contained products from the area (lots of olives, eggplant, seafood, lemons, etc.). No one went hungry.

It was a trip of a lifetime for me and I want to thank my fellow ASURA travelers for being great friends on this incredible experience. Many of us have already signed on for the Northern Spain and Portugal trip that will be happening next April, 2026 (if interested, contact ASURA member Joyce Hartman Daiz at jaysea2022@gmail.com who is organizing this for us).

Ciao!

Pictures and story by Jeff Bush