Sicily's many splendours

THINK of Italy, and most people will immediately call up a mental slideshow of Rome, Florence and Milan with their crowded cityscapes, jostling mobs of camera-toting tourists all peering up at the statue of David, or hustling from one set of grand 2000-year-old ruins to the next, or, worse, scrambling for pole position in the Bottega Veneta atelier. And yet, curiously, just an hour or so south, the island of Sicily floats calmly in glorious sunshine and the balmy breeze of the Mediterranean, still every bit as Italian as the mainland and with just as much history.

Perhaps the lingering whiff of its Cosa Nostra past has had something to do with why Sicily remains a little off the beaten tourist path, but even that is quickly subsumed by a general mood of bonhomie.

And why not? The island's appeal is many splendoured and relatively timeless. Even during the low season - such as around Christmas - the days remain considerably warmer than the north and tourism is noticeably less feverish.