Lipari is the largest island of the Aeolian archipelago. It’s located off the north coast of Sicily, in the Tyrrhenian Sea. With an aera of 37 km2, it is part of the Province of Messina.

As all the others Aeolian Islands, Lipari was created by volcanic eruptions; the chain of volcanoes that created the Aeolian Islands goes from the Vesuvius volcano to Mt.Etna.

We suggest you to watch this nice video of photos about Lipari that we found on Youtube.

Lipari is a popular destination for holidays in Sicily, and many travellers use it as an headquarter to explore the rest of the archipelago. The island of Lipari offers indeed a wide range of hotels, B&B, houses for rent to choose from. There are also many restaurants, bar and cafè, and during summer you can find also a nice events program, with concerts and shows taking place in the main village.

To reach Lipari, you will need to get a ferry; the easiest solution is to reach Milazzo, and then take a ferry with Siremar or Ustica Lines.

Here at Mizzica.com we try to discover and present you all the best Sicily has to offer: that’s why we’re happy to introduce you to Magma – International Short Film Festival.

Magma is an international short film festival that will celebrate its 9th edition this year, and will take place in Acireale (CT) from July 22 to July 25 in the beautiful scenario of the Chiostro ex Liceo Gulli e Pennisi, in the center of Acireale.

Organized by Scarti Cultural Association, it has been continuously growing in the last years and it is now considered among the most important movie festivals in Italy.

In recent editions, Magma has screened some of the best short movie coming from more than 50 different countries. Some of those, like the spanish 7:35 de la mañana , have been selected to compete for Hollywood Academy Awards.

This year Magma will host 31 movies coming from 16 countries. Movies are organized into four competitive categories: narratives, documentaries, experimentals, animations.

Check out Magma’s website to find the complete list of selected movies for the 2010 edition.

And enjoy Paseo, Magma 2009 winner.

Mt. Etna is the highst active volcano in Europe (3,328 m), and is for sure one of the most famous natural attractions of Sicily.
Etna often reveals all its power with impressive, beatiful eruptions; while these events are normally not dangerous for the population, they offer and incredible show.
So we decided to look for a series of videos of some of the most spectacular Etna’s eruptions.
Here we start with the 2007 Etna’s eruption: enjoy the video!

Today we want to present you another beautiful, almost unknown spot of  Sicily. This time, since it’s  summer and you could probably be thinking of a nice place for holidays and sea in Sicily, we will go on the coast and introduce you to the village of  Santa Maria La Scala.

Santa Maria La Scala is part of the majorship of Acireale, in the Catania Province of Sicily. It is located in the natural reserve of La Timpa, which extends from the village of Santa Maria Ammalati to the village of CapoMulini. Being the last spur of a complex system of step faults,  which begins from the central crater of Mt.Etna and plungs its lava in the sea, La Timpa offer beautiful scenarios of lava rocks, mediterranean vegetation which includes wild capers, prickly pears and more.

Santa Maria La Scala

Santa Maria La Scala lies at the seaside of La Timpa, in a stunning scenario of blue sea, black lava rocks, mediterranean vegetation. This place  has avoided being turned into a tourist trap, and still holds the fishermen village atmosphere that makes it real and beautiful to enjoy. Once arrived here, you can stop at the small central square, and if you’re looking for a good coffee, a great sicilian granita of superb fresh fish dishes, just enter the small restaurant in front of the church. If you’re going for a granita, our suggestion is to ask for an almond one with liquid, hot coffee.

Santa Maria La Scala is easy to reach from Acireale. If you driving, follow the coastal road to Pozzillo and turn right at the sign for Santa Maria La Scala. You can also use the public bus service which reaches the village from the Villa Belvedere in Acireale.

If you want to walk, you can enjoy the beauty of La Timpa natural reserve by walking the steps of Le Chiazzette, which was the only walk connecting Acireale and Santa Maria La Scala in the old times. From Acireale’s main square, Il Duomo, walk to the area of  I Morti, cross the bridge to Le Chiazzette and start your walk in the magic scenarios of La Timpa.

Le Chiazzette

For more informations on Santa Maria La Scala, visit:

Parks.it

Wikipedia (IT)

The 56th edition of the Taormina Film Festival started on Saturday in three dimensions, with Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 3″ becoming the first major 3D film to premiere in an outdoor venue, the festival’s famous greek Teatro Antico, and the film was well received by the enthusiastic sellout crowd.

The Taormina Film Festival Master Class hosted by actor Robert De Niro Sunday turned into an impromptu film pitching session. An insistent member of the audience interrupted a question-and-answer event with journalists to ask the two-time Oscar-winning actor if he would consider making a film about two family members murdered by the Sicilian Mafia.

The emotion-laden question came just as organizers were wrapping up the hour-long event. The questioner thrust a photo — ostensibly of his murdered cousins — into the startled De Niro’s hands. The actor did not reply and he left with the photo, while the questioner was escorted away by security.

While the questioner cast some unexpected light on the Sicilian region’s ongoing struggles against organized crime, it was also a scene-stealing conclusion to what had been an unusually informative session, following the screening of De Niro’s 2006 directorial effort “The Good Shepherd.”

Asked about his taste for directing more films in the future, the 66-year-old De Niro said he’d likely only direct “two or three” more films in his lifetime, including one or two sequels to “The Good Shepherd,” an intellectual spy thriller set during the early years of the Cold War. De Niro said he envisioned a second film starting in 1961, when “The Good Shepherd” ends and spanning until the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall. A third installment, he said, would start after the fall of the Berlin Wall and go forward to the present time.

To read more, check the complete article at hollywoodreporter.com

Probably not among the most famous Sicilian cities, Ragusa is one the destination we would suggest not to miss to everyone that wants to come to spent holidays in Sicily and see the real island.

Ragusa is indeed a beautiful city, still full of a sincere, real Sicilian lifestyle, and it is listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Located in the south corner of the island, it has a very ancient history;  the first inhabitants of the area that today is called Ragusa, the Sicels, established their settlements around the 2nd millennium BC.  Many different people lived in the area, making Ragusa a rich place in history and culture: Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans all conquered the city in different historical periods, influencing its architecture and culture.

Nowadays Ragusa is divided in two parts: Ragusa Superiore (Upper Ragusa) and Ragusa Ibla. The upper part has some interesting architecture to show, like the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista.

Ragusa Ibla

But, in our opinion, is Ragusa Ibla the one every visitor should not missi. This baroque jewel, surrounded by sweet hills covered with olives trees, can really make you feel blessed and willing not to live. If you get there, enjoy a walk in the streets and magnificent squares of the city, and make sure not to miss these places:

• the Cathedral of San Giorgio; the facade is characterized by a flight of 250 steps and by massive ornate columns
• the Church of Santa Maria delle Scale, which was badly damaged in the earthquake of 1693; half of thiechurch was rebuilt in Baroque style, while the surviving half was kept in the original Gothic style
• the church of Sant’Antonino, a very nice example of Norman architecture
• the Hiblea Garden

Once in Ragusa, you can also enjoy very nice sandy beaches like Sampieri, Marina di Ragusa, Marina di Modica.

If you are planning your holidays in Sicily and want to reach Ragusa, you can fly to Catania Airport and then take a bus, train, or drive south – the trip normally takes around 2 hours.

This song is a tribute to Sicily by Pino Daniele, a very important songwriter and musician from Naples.
The video contains beautiful images of the island, and together with Pino Daniele’s music gives you an intriguing view of our island. Enjoy!

Favignana is the biggest of the Aegadian Islands (the archipelago also includes the islands of Levanzo and Marettimo, and two uninhabited rocks, Formica and Maraone), and it is located 7km west of the coast of Sicily, in front of the city of Trapani.  The island has been not famous among tourists for a long time, with most of the visitors being people from the main island.

Aegadian Islands – Map

Favignana is actually one of the most beautiful corners of  Sicily, for many reasons. Its relaxed, traditional atmosphere shows that the island has not been spoiled by tourism, and while local people are very friendly and happy to welcome guests, you can still find an authentic environment in which people will welcome you but still continue with their normal, daily life.

Fishing is a very important part of the island life, and Favignana is still famous for the ancient fishing technique of tonnara, which has Arabs origins. Tuna is indeed one of the most important product of Favignana, and if you love good food you won’t miss the many variations of tuna that are available here: among those, we would advice you to try the delicious “tuna sausage” that small restaurants in the village of Favignana will serve you.

The island has a “butterfly shape”, and as all the other Aegadian Islands is part of a natural reserve. You will simply get shocked by the beauty of many corners and beaches of Favignana: stunning Cala Rossa (Red Cove), so called  from the bloodshed caused by a major naval battle that was fought on 10 March 241 BC, a short distance offshore, between Rome and Carthage, will leave you speachless. And for sure you will enjoy a great swim here.

Cala Rossa – Favignana

There also many other great spots for swimming, and also for diving: Cala Azzurra is one of them, and has clear blue waters and a beautiful location. Lido Burrone is a nice sandy beach, very easy to enjoy.

Favignana features also a lot of caves of sandstone rock (“tufo”): most of these caves are now transformed into gardens (“giardini ipogei), and in some part of the island you can walk through the caves to reach the sea; this is the case of  “Bue Marino”, a great rocky beach surrounded by yellow caves.

Bue Marino – Favignana

Favignana offers a wide choice of accomodation solutions: B&B (prices around 30/45 euros), hotels, houses for rent.

It’s easy to reach the island: the closest airport is Trapani, which is now connected with many European cities by Ryanair. From Trapani, you can then easily reach Favignana by ferry with Siremar and Ustica Lines.

Some other useful links:

Aegadian Natural Reserve

Comune di Favignana

Days are getting warmer as we approach sumer, so today we want to talk about Sicilian granita. While you could probably find something called “granita” in different parts of Italy, the original recipe is from Sicily, and even here you can get very different versions of the same product depending on the province or the town. This is due to the different freezing techniques that are being used: the smoother types are produced in a gelato machine, while the coarser varieties are frozen with only occasional agitation and then scraped to produce separated crystals (so the granita is more similar to ice).

In our opinion, the real (!) granita si the one from the Acireale and Catania area, on the east coast of the island. This granita is smooth as a sorbet, and is normally served with a brioche (better if a warm one). It is wonderful for breakfast, but during the hot season you can enjoy it all day long. Most pasticcerie and bar will offer you quite a wide range of different tastes, from fruit (peach, lemon, strawberry, black mulberry, almond) to chocolate, pistache and coffee. For every bar you visit in Acireale, you can find a special taste: don’t miss Condorelli‘s almond, or Cipriani‘s pistache.

Our special advise for a great granita: try a mandorla granita with liquid, hot coffee on top and a brioche. Simply delicious.

Today we want to remember Peppino (Giuseppe) Impastato. Born in Cinisi in 1948, he was killed by Mafia on May 9, 1978.

Peppino is a very peculiar figure in Sicily’s AntiMafia movements; born in a Mafia family, he managed to start a cultural revolution that made him fight Mafia in a difficult environment such as the one of a small town in the ’70s, building a cultural and social revolution together with his brother and many friends.

The movie “I cento passi” tells the story of his life and death.