2021’s dark and desperately funny HBO hit The White Lotus has shifted its gaze from Hawaii to Sicily’s Slim Aarons-worthy coastline in Taormina for season two. Serving up the same satirical take on the gilded and often grim lives of the tone-deaf elite as Succession (just with marginally fewer private jets and expletives), the cult series returned on October 31, just as we began longing for sun-doused coastlines… and more drama. One episode in, and we can confirm that the Sicilian setting has plenty of both.
Against the menacing backdrop of a snow-capped Mount Etna, Taormina’s sprawling San Domenico Palace, A Four Seasons Hotel strikes a rather splendid note as the setting for the hotly anticipated season. Counting royals, literary legends, and silver screen fixtures such as Audrey Hepburn among its past guests, the grand hotel clings to Amalfi-style cliffs, with knockout views of the Ionian Sea. Inside, grand arches, gargoyles, and antiques, honoring the building’s previous life as a medieval convent, converse fluidly with sharp modern furniture and contemporary art. The resulting blend of old-world Italian glamour and modern luxuries sets the ultimate stage for the self-destructive capers of a privileged few.
Spectacular though it is, the hotel and the historic town in which it’s set are not the only must-see attractions in Sicily. Here, find our insider guide of seven other under-the-radar cultural spots to make a beeline for on the island.
Lesser-known Palermo
In Palermo, a honey-hued maze of churches and crumbling palazzos bears the scars of frequent invasion and conquest in its layered architecture, food, and the trinkets lining the tables of antique markets. A scruffy sensibility of loose telephone wires, flapping sheets, and mottled stone settles into the once splendid bones of this ancient city, whose rhythms are dictated by tradition. Mornings are sweet—head to Prestipino Café for brioche con il gelato and granita, or dive into the animated Mercato del Capo, the city’s lesser-known market where locals go and where irresistible wafts of zucchini fritti, panelle, and arancini greet clued-up wanderers. Like most of Palermo, the loveliest spots remain hidden, including I Segreti del Chiostro—a fervently traditional cake and pastry shop in the Santa Caterina convent courtyard, known for its cannoli (try the pistachio topping)—and Camera delle Meraviglie, a recently discovered secret chamber with beautiful Arabic inscriptions and art lining the walls.
Folk, Catania
The city of Catania, a disheveled beauty of dark volcanic stone and faded palaces, has, in recent years, become something of an incubator for foodies and artisans. Native boutique owner Magda Masano, founder of Folk, is one of them. The third-generation artisan fashions decorative home pieces from lava stone, marble, and ceramics, all of which (like Magda) are deeply connected to the island, whispering stories of its tumultuous past and showcasing a rich heritage of craftsmanship. Come here for pudding plates honoring Minnuzze di Sant’Agata (sweet cakes prepared each February by Catanians as a symbol of fertility), glazed lava stone chess sets, and the Testa di Moro (a ubiquitous Sicilian symbol), as well as pastel-hued bummulu jugs nodding to a history of Arabic influence.
Rosso Cinabro, Ragusa Ibla
Unlike Sicily’s other baroque towns (Noto or Scicli), Ragusa Ibla has a medieval Brothers Grimm flamboyancy to it, where shutters are ritually flung open at sunrise and pastel-painted cafés, palazzos, and workshops, such as Rosso Cinabro, line the cobbled streets. Here, Damiano Rotella and Biagio Castilletti proudly present their craft, not in a gallery but in action. It’s within this cave-like bottega that this remarkable duo carve, chip, and paint various wooden marvels, most famously the traditional Sicilian cart, preserving centuries of Sicilian craft tradition. You’d think that, having been commissioned by Dolce & Gabbana to create bespoke carts and paint various kitsch appliances in traditional Sicilian strokes, they’d have moved to the city for more high-fashion hobnobbing. But here they are, doing what they do best and—crucially for Sicilians—what they love.
Galleria Lo Magno, Modica
Yes, Modica is all about chocolate—a relic of three centuries of Spanish rule, where they pinched Aztec chocolate-making nous and concentrated it in the honeyed and church-heavy town, with its striking Hyblean backdrop. But amid its chocolate cachet, and imposing and impossibly lovely churches (see: St Peter’s pastel ceiling), the baroque town is a petri dish of creativity, where a burgeoning modern art and design scene is afoot. For a tangible sense of it, head to Galleria Lo Magno, where curations support young, emerging artists as well as showcasing the works of a more established coterie. Works on display include Francesco Balsamo’s juxtaposed prints and verse, and Rossana Taormina’s exploration of memory through an intriguing mix of photography and embroidery. Even the culture snobs pay Sicily’s oldest chocolate factory, Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, a visit, where the odd queue is worth it for wildly delicious bars of “cold” crumbly chocolate and cannoli.
Sergio Fiorentino, Noto
Known as the “cradle of Sicilian Baroque,” Noto never fails to stir a whole raft of emotions with its imposing limestone architecture and resplendent (and truly enormous) Roman Catholic cathedral. The sand-hued beauty stole the heart of Catanian artist Sergio Fiorentino, who now lives and works in a reimagined refectory of an 18th-century convent right in the heart of Noto. His paintings evoke a contemporary classicism, featuring religious-inspired portraiture with splashes of abstract-style color, then scratched and buffered to create a weathered effect. The choreography of his studio and living space personifies Sicily’s old-meets-new appeal—where a contemporary mobile structure, mid-century furniture, and touches of minimalism inhabit the grand bones of a historical building. Email Sergio well in advance for a viewing.
Vendicari beaches
Google is awash with secret guides to Sicilian beaches, but, once you smugly pull up at one, towel in hand, you’ll soon discover that the secret is well and truly out. Venture to the southeastern coast, however, and the car-free Vendicari Reserve spanning the island’s tip from Noto to Marzamemi is a protected paradise of secluded coves and glorious blonde beaches. The wildlife rises to this extraordinary setting of endless dunes, glassy water, and saline lagoons, with migratory birds and pink flamingos filling the sky in spring and autumn. Marianelli, with its bath-warm shallows, and Calamosche’s wild stretch of beach are both a little tricky to reach—but the best things in life usually are.
Sanbartolomeo Casa e Putia, Scicli
Dwarfed by its namesake church, Sanbartolomeo Casa e Putia is a guesthouse with the spirit of an artists’ residency and the design choreography of a committed aesthete. The owners pulled the plug on city life in Milan and mobilized their dreams of breathing new, contemporary life into historical buildings, while honoring local craft and traditional materials. Minimalist, modern rooms with concrete flooring and white-washed walls are layered with traditional mahogany furniture, wrought iron chandeliers, and elaborate lace bed toppers—a consummate marriage of classical Catholicism and modern restraint. A balcony lined in joyful Sicilian tiles is the front-row seat at breakfast for a knockout view of San Bartolomeo and the town’s comings and goings below. Even if you don’t stay here, pop into the owner’s antique store directly underneath (you won’t find it listed anywhere online), where lace toppers, brass figurines, and costume jewelry recall Sicily’s golden age.