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Click here to find property for sale in Sicily
Sicily, Italy’s largest island, offers superb almost year-round sunshine, pristine sandy beaches and magnificent cities of art and history. Little wonder that there is great demand for property in Sicily.
Many investors keen on property for sale in Sicily are drawn to its north-east coast, home to alluring beach resorts such as Messina, Catania, Taormina and Giardini Naxos. Taormina is possibly the most famous resort in Sicily and prices here can reflect this.
But if your Italy real estate search brings you to Sicily, or even if you are just visiting the island, it would be a shame not to visit Taormina. Its Roman amphitheatre, cobbled roads and breathtaking view of the crystal blue sea form an alluring contrast with the dry hinterland, with its cacti, fig plants, lemon trees and bougainvillea.
Catania is a city of music and theatre and its famous Teatro Massimo Bellini opera venue is named after the locally born 19th century composer Vincenzo Bellini. Big names to have graced its stage include Luciano Pavarotti and Riccardo Muti. This is a thoroughly modern city with antique buildings, houses and other properties that constantly remind you of its Roman and Baroque past. Don’t miss the Ursino Castle, built in the first half of the 13th century.
Towering over Catania is the 10,922ft Mt Etna, Italy’s largest active volcano and a truly breathtaking sight if you are lucky enough to witness one of its frequent eruptions. Tourists can visit the summit and in winter the mountain is a great ski resort. Just outside Catania, the fishing villages of Acireale and Acicastello are perfect examples of old-time Sicily; here one can buy fresh catch off fishermen’s boats.
People who look for a property in Sicily in the south of the island will find a completely different, although no less dramatic, landscape. The area of Agrigento was once a main Greek town and tall and magnificent Greek temples still stand among its olive groves. The coastline around the city has beautiful sandy beaches with crystal clear waters and white cliffs. For instance in Realmonte, west of Agrigento, there is the strikingly white La Scala dei Turchi (“The Turks’ staircase”), so called because Saracen pirates once overran the city by climbing this cliff.
The valley of Noto – south-east of the island between the coastal town of Siracusa and the inland town of Ragusa – is also a great place to visit as well as look for property for sale in Sicily.
One of its most notable features is the picturesque Baroque town of Modica – “ the town of 100 bells and 100 churches”. Modica, once called the Venice of the South thanks its many bridges, is hewn from the rock. And its amber-coloured buildings and narrow streets and alleys make it a charming destination for visitors, who can also sample the culinary delights and chocolate that the town is also famous for. The villages on the coast and gulf of Siracusa – another great spot for real estate in Sicily – are well-known summer resorts, especially popular with holiday-makers from nearby Malta.
Palermo, Sicily’s capital, lies on the north coast. As expected from the island’s main conurbation, it is crowded and busy. But it also boasts great beauty, notably in its Norman palazzos of Norman origin, Baroque churches and Greek monuments. The 18th century poet Wolfgang Goethe was so moved he described Palermo and Sicily as “a land unutterably beautiful”.
To the west of Palermo is the charming bay of Castellammare, made up of old fishing towns and picturesque villages. They include Scopello, which developed around a 17th century farm.
But Sicily is not just its mainland, it also includes sun-drenched islands. The most popular with tourists is Pantelleria, off the south-west coast. Facing Messina on the north coast are the seven Aeolian islands that include Stromboli and Vulcano. Off the western coast lie the Egadi islands. And the Pelagie Islands off the south coast are actually closer to north Africa than Sicily.
If you are interested in property in Sicily you may also wish to look at:
Amalfi coast real estate | Basilicata property | Calabria property | Puglia property | Sardinia property
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