Archive for 'Main Islands'

  

Rabbit Beach
Rabbit Beach, in Sicily, is the best beach in the world.

This is certainly true if you trust what was said by the voters and real-life travellers and normal tourists of travel website TripAdvisor in 2013. In fact, though it doesn't win every year, the beach is consistently voted by the website's users as one of the best beaches in the world. Visitors note its “crystal clear” water and “soft sand” as some of the main selling points and others note that it is “hard to believe you are not somewhere tropical”.

Located on the island of Lampedusa, next to the tiny Isola dei Conigli (or “Rabbit Island”), Rabbit Beach is set in the Mediterranean Sea and paints an exceptionally beautiful picture with the white sands being lapped by the azure water. If this sounds like your cup of tea (and why wouldn't it), just find a vacation rental in Sicily and pay a visit to this famous beach.     Read More

  

Casu Marzu
It's not as though it is difficult to find reasons to go on holidays to Sardinia. The landscape, culture, history and cuisine speak for themselves. However, some dishes shout louder than others. Casu Marzu is a traditional cheese from the island which has become notorious and well-known outside of Italy in recent years. The cheese was featured on the show, “Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern”. Made for the American television channel, The Travel Channel, the show introduced foods from around the world that might be perceived as bizarre, exotic or disgusting to an American audience. It became known internationally for the fact that it contained live larvae and the fact that the taste is so strong, it remains for several hours. This piqued the interest of foodies and the adventurous all over the globe. If you want to brave it yourself, or merely soak up the less dramatic aspects of Sardinian culture, find a luxury villa in Sardinia and enjoy this idyllic island.     Read More

  

Elephant Rock, Sardinia
One hardly needs any other reasons to visit Sardinia. Its beaches, people, climate, culture and beauty alone put at the top of many people's bucket lists. However, the beautiful coastal town of Castelsardo, in particular, is known for its charming streets, distinctive skyline and picturesque surroundings which are characterised by dramatic rock formations. One of the most interesting of these rock formations actually takes the shape of an elephant. Perched by the side of the road just outside the town, the Roccia dell'Elefante, or Elephant Rock, is a surprising little oddity that adds to the character of the town and adds to the heaped pile of reasons to visit. Just find a holiday rental in Sardinia and spend a day exploring this charming town and its unique surroundings.     Read More

  

Granita and brioche
We've already featured a recipe for granita, a Sicilian semi-frozen dessert but the dish itself is so rich in history and tradition that it seemed a waste not to discuss that at all. This delicious and refreshing dish is made from sugar, water and various flavourings and, while originally from Sicily, is now available all over Italy. It is somewhat like a sorbet or snow cone but has a coarser, more crystalline texture – though the degree of this changes from place to place. There are lots of different flavours but some common and traditional ones include lemon, mandarin orange, jasmine, coffee, almond, mint, strawberry and black mulberry. Chocolate is a particular tradition of the city of Catania.     Read More

  

Ear of Dionysius, interior
In the idyllic beauty of Sicily, you will find Syracuse, a historic and lush city and province. There are plenty of wonderful things to do to pass your time on a trip to Syracuse but one of the most distinctive sights in the area is the Ear of Dionysius, or Orecchio di Dionisio, a very particular cave set within the Stone Quarry of Paradise, or Latomia di Paradiso. The cave was named by the great, and troubled, Italian Master, Caravaggio and given due to the lingering presence of a ghost.     Read More