Which is the Real Sicily?

Which is the real Sicily?

To visit the Valley of the Temples, we stayed a couple of nights in Agrigento... we thought it was going to be Agrigento... but turned out to be 3 kms outside Favara... some 15 kms from Agrigento. Favara has missed out on the tourist boom that has kept Agrigento maintained... kerbed and guttered... with citizens prosperous enough to buy a tin of paint ever decade. The town of Favara looks third-world... it has the narrow steep streets of medieval towns... but with lots of dust and lots of rubbish littered beside the road. The citizens appear friendly and happy... just poor... and untidy.

Yesterday, we moved to the mountains at the back of Cefalu... on the north coast. Our villa was initially constructed in the 15th century... no doubt with so many renovations that little of the original structure remains visible. One feature that I've asked Joye to include in the next renovation of our Sydney home... is the provision of a chapel in the top floor of the building... here, the chapel adjoins all the bedrooms. This is most convenient... just imagine having a sleepless night... your last cup of coffee for the day may have been too strong... what better time to nip out into an adjoining room and go through your rosary beads... or recite some verses of the Koran... or chant a few Hari Krishna mantras. 

Our Landlady said that going back through all available records... the property had been retained by her husband's family right from the 15th century. The size of the block of land connected to the house we are in, appears  to be about 2 hectares... surrounded by mountain forests. The place is isolated... 20 minutes drive up the mountain from Cefalu... and when that road just about runs out, take a right turn and go another 500 metres... just to make sure no one interrupts you. Peace, space, green and tidy... this place is everything that Favara is not. Why do people here pick up their rubbish... while the lovely citizens of Favara choose to litter at every opportunity.

Which is the real Italy... the litterer... or the fastidious tidy-upperer? For the sake of the future of the Italian tourist industry... I hope the tidy-upperer wins out. (You have, no doubt, figured out that the Cefalu property demands a higher rent.)