Cardinali+Sicily


 * Sicily **



The Provinces: Agrigento   Caltanisetta Catania Enna  Messina  Palermo  Siracusa  Trapani  //It is the largest island of the Mediterranean sea, located in the south of Italy. // //It is well known for its natural beauty and it is very rich in history and // //unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature, cuisine, architecture and language. // //Along the northern coast are the mountain ranges of Madonie, Nebrodi, Peloritani and Appenines. // //Sicily and its small surrounding islands have highly active volcanoes such as Mount Etna, located in the east of mainland Sicily with a height of 3,320 m. // //Since Sicily is situated in the southern Mediterranean, no more than 100miles from the north African coast, it has the benefit of sunshine for much of the year. Even the winter months are mild in the coastal resorts with daytime temperatures in the low 60s, or 15-16˚C, but inland it can be quite cold and stormy, with sufficient snow for skiing and sledging on Mt Etna, and around Enna in January. The rest of the year is a delight, though the temperatures in July and August can be very hot and dusty if the Scirocco wind is blowing from the Sahara Sping, it is wonderful be there. The almond trees are in blossom in February and by mid March with daytime temperatures in the mid 60s F or 18-20 ˚C, and only occasional showery rain the countryside is carpeted by both spring and summer wild flowers, blooming together in profusion and everywhere is very green following the winter rains. So while the sea is no more than 15˚C and swimming is only for the really intrepid, there are lovely sunny days and sightseeing, walking and mid day sunbathing are all possible. //

//The climate in Sicily is typically mediterranean with very hot summers and short, mild winters. Nevertheless in recent years, as a result of global climate change, even Sicily has experienced periods of unstable weather which were unheard of prior to the 1980's. Today the weather appears to be becoming more tropical in nature characterized by brief downpours and a general increase in average temperatures, in particular during the spring and autumn. The weather also varies more from year to year which makes it difficult to produce accurate statistics based upon the temperature records of recent years. Despite this fact, Sicily has hot summers with relatively little rainfall and quite stable weather from the middle of June until the middle of September. During this period the average daytime temperature near to the coast ranges from 28 to 34 degrees centigrade, however, this can rise to between 38 and 40 degrees centigrade for brief periods when the Scirocco wind blows from North Africa. The Scirocco is, however, a very dry wind which makes the temperature feel slightly lower than it actually is. In the hilly and mountainous internal areas of the island the daytime temperature may be similar to or slightly higher than the temperature in the the coastal areas, however, at night the temperature in the internal areas is much lower than in the coastal areas which nevertheless normally benefit from a sea breeze. In some areas, often the houses located directly on the coast remain cool even in the height of summer as a result of the sea breeze. Generally some differences in temperature do exist according to the local area and in particular between the north and south and east and west of the island. Generally speaking, the north-east of the island is a little cooler than the north-west and south of the island where there is also less rainfall. In recent years a new phenomenon of very localised rainfall ("leopard spots") has been experienced whereby there may be very heavy rainfall in one area but, at the same time, another area only a few kilometres away is completely dry. The weather in winter is decidedly mild with minimum temperatures ranging from 8 to 12 degrees centigrade and maximum temperatures of between 16 and 20 degrees centigrade, excluding mountainous areas at an altitude of more than 800 to 1,000 metres which can experience snowfall (sometimes heavy) during the period from mid-December to mid-March. We have published details of average temperatures from 2000 to 2005 which are purely statistical in nature, however, by clicking on the link below you are able to obtain details of the weather in real-time. // //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Some typical wines in the Sicily are: to Trapani there are the Rapitalà, a wine with French origins, which was imported in Sicily by Count Huguesnde the Gatinais, produced in white, red and rosé varieties and the Marsala, to Messina there is Il Faro and the Cerasuolo, red wine is a very precious. But the wine most important is the Nero D’Avola. // //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">The traditional cuisine at its best in pasta with tomatoes, anchovies, capers or aubergines cooked in olive oil. // //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> The typical products are: // //<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">ricotta chees, shellfish, spiny lobster, the famous cake are Cassata, ice-cream strudded with candied fruit and Cannolo. //