The Madonie Mountains :: Sicily's finest landscapes Ma-do-ni-e: four syllables not three, the final two vowels being pronounced as separate syllables: ee-ay. Or in Sicilian it is somewhat simpler: they are known as the Li Marunìi. But whichever version you prefer, the name is derived from the …
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Matera – Southern Italy’s natural film set
The province of Basilicata is generally considered to the be the poorest of all Italy’s provinces and until recently there has been little reason for visitors to go there. It is also known by it’s ancient name of Lucania, derived from the name of a tribe of people (the Lucanians) - a Samnite tribe - …
Armenia – A Place of legends
Armenia is one of those places that is not easy to get to. There are very few direct international flights to this small landlocked country and two of its four land borders are closed. Of its four neighbours, it has good relations with two: Iran and Georgia, a soured past relationship with Turkey …
Sicilian wine
Most of the Sicilian wine that finds its ways to the shelves of British supermarkets comes from the Trapani or Melfi areas of the island, but this is only a very small sample of a great variety of Sicilian wine. As the largest wine producing area of Italy and with such a variety of topography and …
Cooking in Cappadocia
Our first thoughts of Turkish cooking are of a late-night doner kebab grabbed on the way home after and evening's drinking, but closer reflection will remind us that Turkish cuisine is widely regarded as one of the great cuisines of the world. As well as sharing much in common with other cuisines of …
Suffolk villages – Lavenham
Throughout July, Esplora are running day trips from Cambridge to the villages of Suffolk. One of the villages we visit is Lavenham. The Cloth Industry Lavenham's fortunes were very much built on the wool industry and a little understanding of this industry goes a long way to explaining the …
Among the mountains of Georgia
How many times have we filled out a form and, being asked to declare our ethnic origin we come across the term “white/caucasian”. Doesn’t it seem a puzzling label? The term was first introduced in early biological anthropology and was coined by the German philosopher Cristoph Meiners in 1795. He …
Easter Sunday in Piana degli Albanesi
Without a doubt, one of the most colourful and joyful spectacles in Sicily takes place on Easter Sunday in Piana degli Albanesi. Ethnically and linguistically of Albanian origin and identifying themselves as Arbëreshë, the people of Piana degli Albanesi migrated to Sicily in the fifteenth century …
Start of a New Season – 2015
Here at Esplora, we are looking forward to a new season for 2015. We kicked off on April 1st with blue skies and sunshine to accompany the start of our Easter tour. Pictured above is driver, Carmelo, at the service station on the way to pick up our first guests of the year. …
The town of Gangi, Sicily
The town of Gangi in Sicily recently made international headlines when the story broke that properties were being sold there for the price of a euro (and the proviso that the property had to be done up within a year). The previous year, Gangi had already won the prestigious title "Borgo più bello …
A Bourbon hunting lodge in the heart of Sicily
About thirty miles drive south from Palermo, on the road towards Corleone, the road makes a sharp right turn and an easily-missable side road to the left leads to the village of Ficuzza. The centre of the village is dominated by a fine, handsome sandstone building - the Palazzina Reale built in …
Museo Cultura e Musica Popolare dei Peloritani
Museum of Sicilian Folk music These photos are of an interesting museum of Sicilian folk music and folklore in Gesso, the province of Messina. The museum has an assorted collection of instruments - including bagpipes, flutes, accordions and mandolins - as well as a small collection of implements …
Milazzo Castle
After a period of several years' closure for restoration, the castle in Milazzo is open once again. Many visitors to Milazzo are just passing through on their way to the Aeolian islands and don't pause to look at what the town has to offer, but as one of the largest castles in Europe, the castle is …
Abies Nebrodensis – A rare Sicilian Fir tree
This is one of just twenty one surviving Abies Nebrodensis. Despite its name (which might suggest it is found in the Nebrodi mountains) this extremely rare species of fir tree is found only in the Vallone Madonna degli Angeli in the Madonie mountains in Sicily. This highly endangered …
Petralia Sottana and Petralia Soprana
The two towns of Petralia - Petralia Soprana and Petralia Sottana - are among the most charming and well-preserved of the whole of the interior of Sicily. Largely untouched by modern building, and dating back to at least pre-Roman times, they provide an insight into what life was like in Sicily's …
Walking at the Capo Milazzo
A few photographs of the footpath around the Capo Milazzo to the Torre Palombaro - a 16th Century watchtower. …
Our new logo
We now have a new logo: The design comes from the mosaics on the wall of the so-called "throne room" of Roger II in the Palazzo dei Normanni in Palermo and depicts two leopards facing each other under an orange tree. The mosaics in the Palazzo dei Normanni are usually attributed …
Le Macine, Filicudi
At Le Macine in Filicudi we have a poignant reminder of the industrial past. Up until the beginning of the twentieth century, mill stones were quarried and carved here, then loaded directly onto ships to be taken to mills in Palermo, Naples. With the mass emigration from the Aeolian Islands at the …
Sperlinga
Sperlinga is a small town in the province of Enna not far from the North coast of Sicily and situated almost midway between the Nebrodi and Madonie mountains. It is known and visited both for its handsome castle and for its troglodyte-dwellings, inhabited until even very recently and these rough …
Badiazza (Santa Maria della Valle), Messina
Badiazza is a splendid example of a fortified church from the Norman period in Sicily. Though difficult to reach without your own transport, it is well worth the effort. It is tucked away in one of the most beautiful of locations - in the valley of the river San Michele at the foot of the …
