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Start your walk at Piazza Garibaldi, beginning at Corso Ruggiero, where the church of Santa Maria della Catena is built on top of the 5th-century BC town walls. Walking down the Corso, on the left at the corner of via Amendola is one of the only extant parts of Norman Cefalù, besides the cathedral, the Palazzo Osterio Magno. Pass the flower-filled piazzetta in front of the Chiesa del Purgatorio on your way to Piazza Duomo, which opens up to the right. Inside the cathedral (see Cathedral, Cefalù) admire the mosaics, but don’t miss the exterior view of the apse around the back. Sit out in the piazza at Bar Duomo with a cappuccino and enjoy the cathedral façade and the church bells marking the hour.

Continue down the Corso to the end, take a left on via Bordonaro and a right into Piazza Crispi with views of the Greek walls later absorbed by Spanish fortifications. Follow via Bordonaro down to Piazza Marina with the small port below. Off to the left, down the via Vittorio Emanuele, a staircase leads to lavatoi (washbasins), the sole remnant of Arab domination.

Before lunch, enjoy a wander around the “real” Cefalù, where fishermen repair boats and women pause from their laundry to chat.

Have lunch in the garden at L’Antica Corte (Cortile Pepe 7 0921 423 228) or pick up picnic supplies from Alimentari e Salumeria Gatta Gaetano (Corso Ruggero 152).

Since 1926 this shop has offered the best of local wild fruits and greens, cheese, bread, pistachios, mushrooms, marmalade and wine.

The menu offers Sicilian dishes eaten in a garden of orange trees or in the quaint arched dining room.

The islands were declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in recognition of the ongoing evolution of the volcanic forms that creates their spectacular scenery. The islands remain an important study area for vulcanologists (see Aeolian Islands).

The Alcantara River runs at the bottom of a 20-m (65-ft) deep basalt gorge. From the car park, with waders for rent, walk down the steps or take the lift to the bottom, where you can hike between the narrow walls and over waterfalls.

Sicily’s second largest city has had its unhappy share of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, and although Catania is rich in monuments dating back to its Greek foundations, the city seen today was built mostly after the massive 1693 earthquake. The rebuilding was largely carried out in the elaborate Baroque style, utilizing the workable local black lava stone. The most important monuments are grouped around the Piazza Duomo with the 1736 Elephant Fountain, the Duomo itself, dedicated to Sant’ Agata and retaining its original Norman apses, the Fish Market in via Garibaldi (see Catania), the Roman theatre, the castle (see Castello di Donnafugata), via Cruciferi with its Baroque palaces, and via Etnea with its shops and cafés.

Signore Managò’s Sicilian ceramics include traditional designs from Caltagirone and Santo Stefano di Camastra.

This shop produces examples of Santo Stefano’s famous orange-and-yellow ceramics.