The language of Sicily
The official language of Sicily is Italian; but the mother tongue of the Sicilians is Sicilian, called u sicilianu. This language is spoken not only in Sicily, but throughout the Meridionale, which is called the southern Italian territory historically associated with Sicily. Now you might be thinking: Do you mean dialect and not language? But linguists actually regard Sicilian as an independent language because it differs very much from Italian.
Sicilians are thus bilingual. This is also to say that those who know Italian must rely on not being able to understand everything that is said. Especially old people out in the small villages can be hard to understand. We know it from home, where it is not always easy to understand the old, West Jutland fisherman who contacts us when we walk on the harbor.
Sicily Airport
Palermo International Airport is located in Punta Raisa, 35 km northwest of Palermo. Most flights from the airport, which is simply Italy’s seventh largest, are domestic flights and the majority go to and from Rome; but there are also many to Milan’s two airports. A small number of flights go to Bologna, Venice and Naples. International flights to London, Paris, Cologne, Stuttgart, Munich and Brussels.
Accommodation in Sicily
There are a limited number of accommodation options on Sicily travel. Our hotels are carefully selected in order to avoid mass tourism and charter hotels. We know the owners and know that you will not find similar to the original Sicily elsewhere. Experience Sicily far from the usual destinations in original cities and cozy accommodations. Common to the accommodations is that they can not be categorized within the normal star system.
We have made a virtue out of finding small glorious places where the experiences are of quite a unique and special nature. In other words, you get to some of the lesser known places in Sicily and thus get an even greater cultural experience than at an international hotel. It is agriturismo and must therefore be categorized as charming “inns” in world class – and there are a myriad of combination possibilities. The unique accommodations and Sicily hotels provide a fantastic Sicily vacation. See all our accommodation in Sicily here.
Sicily’s best beaches
There are so many great beaches in Sicily – some you will naturally pass by, others may be worth driving for. Here a small selection of famous and well-visited beaches, but also more unknown and less visited of Sicily’s beaches
- San Vito lo Capo in the far northwest
- Mondello near Palermo
- Castellammare Del Golfo between Palermo and Scopello
- Cefalu on the north coast
- Marinello on the north coast at Oliveri
- Torre Salsa near Agrigento on the south coast
- Lo Zingaros small coves at Scopello
- San Lorenzo in southeastern Sicily
- Calamosche in Vendicari National Park in southeastern Sicily
- Licata on the south coast
- Sampieri on the south coast just south of Modica
- The whole Taormina area with not least Isola Bella
Want to know more about Sicily
We have gathered a lot of in-depth information about the amazing island of Sicily. Sicily holiday, offers both captivating history, exquisite dining and hidden culture treasures. Dig deep into the city and get inspired for your next vacation.
A little about Sicily
For those interested in history, Sicily is a must with a background completely different from the rest of Italy. Some turbulent millennia have left their mark in the form of numerous notable buildings scattered scattered across the island. The Greeks found Sicily early on, as evidenced by the breathtaking temples and theaters – some of the best-preserved buildings in the entire Mediterranean. In the centuries around the beginning of our era, the Romans gained power over Sicily. And there are plenty of historic Roman buildings – perhaps most impressive in the form of the imperial villa at Piazza Armerina. Later, most colonial powers took turns having power over Sicily, which has left its mark in the form of a very diverse architecture. It was not until 1860 that Sicily was incorporated into Italy.
The various occupying powers had plenty of internal problems, which resulted in power-hungry and cynics having almost free rein. The “small” in society quickly learned to address these “large” unscrupulous in society. It created fertile ground for the so infamous Sicilian mafia. The Mafia is nowadays almost unnoticed – apart from a romantic thrill of being in Palermo or being in the places where big mafia movies like “The Godfather” were shot.
The language
The official language of Sicily is Italian; but the mother tongue of the Sicilians is Sicilian, called u sicilianu. This language is spoken not only in Sicily, but throughout the Meridionale, which is called the southern Italian territory historically associated with Sicily. Now you might be thinking: Do you mean dialect and not language? But linguists actually regard Sicilian as an independent language because it differs very much from Italian. The Sicilians are therefore bilingual. This is also to say that those who know Italian must rely on not being able to understand everything that is said. Especially old people out in the small villages can be hard to understand. We know it from home, where it is not always easy to understand the old, West Jutland fisherman who contacts us when we walk on the harbor.
