{"id":1114,"date":"2021-02-15T20:27:04","date_gmt":"2021-02-15T20:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/curiositycat.co.uk\/?p=1114"},"modified":"2021-02-15T20:27:04","modified_gmt":"2021-02-15T20:27:04","slug":"virtual-vacation-sicily-island-of-the-sun-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/curiositycat.co.uk\/index.php\/2021\/02\/15\/virtual-vacation-sicily-island-of-the-sun-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Virtual Vacation \u2013 Sicily \u2013 Island of the Sun (3)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Welcome to the last leg of our Sicily trip! <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So far, we’ve enjoyed the vibrant colours of Palermo, from heavenly cathedral interiors to earthy street markets and from rustic carretti siciliani <\/em>to lavish palazzos. We’ve soaked up Sicily\u2019s equally colourful past going all the way back to the first human settlers, been enchanted by the magic of Sicily’s traditional puppets at Siracuse and perplexed by the kingdom of stone heads at Sciacca. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, we’ll get to experience the beauty and otherworldliness of some of Sicily’s unique natural landscape from the home of a Cyclops to the gorgeous Alcantara gorges and finally come face to face with that unpredictable mistress herself – \u2018Mama Etna\u2019\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit a Swabian Castle<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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Catania<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First of all, we head to Catania<\/a>, where we take a tour<\/a> of Ursino Castle<\/strong>, built as a fortress by the great emperor,\u00a0Frederick II of Swabia,\u00a0around 800 years ago, between 1239 and 1250. The castle moved in the 17th century when the lava flow from a major volcanic eruption separated it from the sea and in losing its key position it also lost its military function. The devastation wrought by Etna at that time is memorialised in a fresco by Giacinto Platania, which can still be seen in the castle today. You can also see some of the art treasures of the castle in the Civic Museum of Ursino Castle<\/a> [click here<\/a> for 3D representations of the treasures and the inner courtyard].<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Delve Into Gammazita’s Well<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
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