Shabby Chic Scicli, Sicilia

May 25, 2010

Can you say that five times, fast?

Pronounced chic-ly, Scicli is not at all chic, though I suppose you could call it shabby chic. It’s got that vintage, distressed look—complete with a baroque voluptuousness, flakey paint, and mottled sandstone walls.

Windows in Scicli, Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

Go if you like out-of-the-way little gems.

It was a Moorish town a millennium ago, later a Norman one, and was rebuilt in the Baroque style after the 1693 quake. Then Time forgot little Scicli until it was declared a World Heritage Site in 2002. It is slowly waking up from a long torpid slumber.

Church in Scicil, Sicily, Copyright Jann Huizenga

It has its share of ogres, meant to keep foreigners and evil spirits at bay.

Ogres in Scicli, Sicily, Copyright Jann Huizenga

Hike up to the decaying Church of San Matteo if you dare. You’ll be amply rewarded with stunning views: a sapphire sea on your left and a town that looks like a stage set at your feet.

Church of San Matteo, Scicli, Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

Enrico Guglioto of Pomodoro restaurant, Scicli, Sicily, copyright Jann Huizenga

xxx

The best place in town for lunch is Pomodoro, owned by Enrico Gugliotto (pictured here) and his brother Giuseppe (in the kitchen). It’s about a five minute walk from the baroque heart of Scicli (Corso Garibaldi 46, closed Tuesday, 0932.931.444).

And check out the gorgeous Scicli cemetery if you’re into stone cherubs and angels. It’s just outside of town.

[gmap]

Click to leave a comment.

Click to subscribe.

Readers, can you help me? Will you consider voting for my Sicily photograph in the Islands poll? Here’s the link. The link will bring you to a photo I shot of a Sicilian woman in Capo Passero (in the extreme southeast corner of Sicily). You can vote by clicking on *My Favorite* underneath the photo. (I could win a photography course and you could win a camera!) GRAZIE MILLE! (To see thumbnails of all 22 photos in the competition, click this link.)

Site Meter BlogItalia.it - La directory italiana dei blog