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Petralia Soprana (1149m) is the highest town in Sicily - easily topping Erice (751m) and Enna (931m). Some guidebooks claim Troina as the tops - but it's a mere 1120m! As you'd expect for somewhere higher than Snowdon, it is marvellously cool in summer - and very cold in winter. You feel that the whole interior of Sicily is spread out in front of you; I was told you could even see Etna on a clear day (it was too hazy on this September day in 2000). It is a delightful place - like Erice without the tourists. I arrived at lunchtime - and, miraculously, there was, tucked away in a tiny square, a fine unpretentious restaurant for a memorable pranzo.
The pictures of the soft grey stone buildings speak for themselves:
Along the road on either side of Petralia (apart from Petralia Sottana on a slightly lower hill opposite - also well worth a visit) are: to the east Gangi (a formerly notorious Mafia stronghold), and the delightful Polizzi Generosa - birthplace of Domenico Dolce (of Dolce & Gabbana), and ancestral home of the Scorsese family.
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Gangi (left) and Polizzi Generosa (right) |
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