Seniors Visit The Ancient wonders Of Sicily

This senior has a friend at the gym who hails from Sicily. My senior friend tells me that Sicily is beautiful and that I should go there for a visit. So I invite you to come along…let’s get our coffee and be on our way.

Sicily, the largest Mediterranean island (pop. 5 million), lies off the “toe” of Italy’s “boot.” Its rich history is reflected in multiple sites like the Valley of the Temples, the well-preserved ruins of 7 monumental Doric-style Greek temples, and in the Byzantine mosaics at the Cappella Palatina, a former royal chapel in its capital city Palermo.

On Sicily’s eastern edge is Mount Etna, one of Europe’s highest and most active volcanoes that is continually smoking and occasionally belching fire and lava bombs. My travel hero Rick Steves’ video“The Best of Sicily” is a another of his marvels and provides an excellent overview of the area.

Seniors Enjoy The Wonders Of Sicily

Nature seems to have endowed all its wonders to Sicily: mountains, hills and above all the sea, with its incredible variation of colors, its crystal-clear water and the beauty of its seabed.

Lonely Planet notes that the “Eternal crossroads of the Mediterranean, the gorgeous island of Sicily, continues to seduce visitors with its dazzling diversity of landscapes and cultural treasures.”

”TripAdvisor has put together a series of must see sites for senior visitors. I am a huge fan of World Heritage Sites and Piazza Armerina is a Roman villa with a wealth of mosaics and has been under excavation since the 19th century.

The earliest archaeological evidence of human activity on the island dates from as early as 12,000 BC.

By around 750 BC, Sicily had three Phoenician and a dozen Greek colonies and, for the next 600 years, it was the site of the Sicilian Wars and the Punic Wars, which ended with the Roman Republic’s destruction of Carthage at the battle of Carthage (c. 149 BC).

 Tiny Islands, Lemon Trees and Volcanoes

Senior visitors will discover an ever present scent of lemon trees, the volcanoes, the beautiful black-sand beaches, and tasty desserts to satisfy a demanding palate.

Ancient Akragas rivaled Athens in its splendor in the ancient world. The Valley of the Temples is where the ancient world comes most vividly alive on Sicily.

Historically Sicily was the home of Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, French and Spanish. The ruins of the ancient Phoenician city of Motya is a site not to be missed.

The Temple of Hera at Selinunte is a well preserved look alike of the Acropolis in Athens. The Greco-Roman theatre at Taormina reminds me of a similar huge structure I saw with my family in the city of Orange in France.

Seniors, spend some quality time on this scenic and historic island.   -jeb