Palazzolo Acreide, Sicily – Our Hunt for a New Home
We stumbled on Palazzolo Acreide purely by accident after finding several property listings in the South-East region of Sicily. We opted for a two-story apartment that’s centrally located, so we could access neighbouring towns within an hour, such as Noto, Canicattini Bagni, and the popular beach town, Syracuse.
We had a month-long stay in Palazzolo Acreide and the town had this feeling of busyness (except during the afternoon siesta time) despite its small size, with a population of less than 9000 people.
We enjoyed getting lost in the labyrinth of streets on foot while strolling through the community garden, picking up our fresh produce at a family-owned market, stopping for a coffee at Caprice, indulging in the not-so-surprising pizza scene in town, cooling off in the outdoor swimming pool, and admiring many of the UNESCO World Heritage sites.
During one of our daily walks, we stumbled on the town’s community garden. Sidewalks are nearly non-existent in most of the town, so it was a safe and relaxing place to walk car-free. The long pathways were lined with palm trees and photo-worthy gardens.
There was a seasonal ice cream truck on site to satisfy my sweet tooth, a popular pizzeria that was ideal for people watching, a playground for kids to explore, as well as carnival rides and games in full swing in the evening. With some ‘sharp’ shooting, I won a mini unicorn keychain at one of the carnival games to add to my collection.
Although it was quieter during the day, the park was lively in the evening as it filled with people of all ages: Teenagers walking hand in hand, cute old ladies sitting on a bench chatting among friends, and entire families gathered together enjoying the warm summer nights. Lacking the big city activities, like shopping malls and movie theaters, it was ‘the’ place to be among friends and family.
What Palazzolo Acreide lacks in mainstream attractions, it makes up for with plenty of affordable restaurants. There were fewer food options available for breakfast and lunch, but as the nights grew nearer, the streets would fill with the sounds of chatter and scooters as they zipped around the narrow bends searching for their next best meal. Pizzerias and gelaterias were in abundance, often with outdoor seating areas. It was easy to find something to satisfy our cravings!
Sicily is known for top quality ingredients, so we were delighted to find a quaint market, Oasi Della Frutta, near our Airbnb. The son’s owner, Gabrielle, went above and beyond to help serve us and essentially became our personal shopper. We always left with carefully selected fresh produce, and some cheese/smoked meat products that were some added bonuses sold in the store.
After every visit, Gabrielle refused to accept our tip as a thank you, and asked us to pick out a drink in exchange. He was truly an example of exceptional customer service and I feel grateful that we met.
With a fridge full of food, our No.1 place to hang out was Caprice. They have delicious coffee, a variety of gelato flavours and desserts, freshly ground coffee available to bring home, and readily made lunches. It was one of the few places that seemed to stay open all the time (even during afternoon siestas), so we were frequent customers.
As much as we enjoyed the quick meal options at Caprice, we were eager to dive deeper into the food scene in town.
I’ve had a soft spot for cured meats since I was a kid, so I was pleased to find the traditional Palazzolo sausage throughout town. Aside from my own high praise, the Palazzolo sausage has been around for centuries and is protected by the ‘Slow Food Presidia’, so I had it again, and again, and again (to help preserve the tradition, of course!). Restaurants in town commonly had a ‘Palazzolese’ pizza offering on their menu with the traditional sausage, so that quickly became my go-to meal in town.
As I’m sure I’m not in the minority here, food is a source of love for me. With all of the delicious Italian food I was eating, I wanted to find ways to keep active too. After reading about a local swimming pool, Paul and I went on a mission to track it down. Unfortunately, the outside was boarded up and no sign of reopening anytime soon.
We weren’t ready to give up on our search for a swimming pool yet. We asked some construction workers if they knew about another place to swim (aside from the beach), and they directed us to a place called Village Tower.
Located only a few kilometers out of town, Village Tower is surrounded by lush greenery with some shaded parking spots (which came in handy gearing up for the motorcycle). One of the owners was friendly and eager to chat, and happily offered us a handful of fresh figs from the trees on the property.
After several visits, we noticed the swimming area was never overly busy, so it felt like a mini retreat to hang out there for the afternoon. There are multiple swimming pools, lounge chairs and umbrellas by the pool, hammocks swaying in the trees, a diving board for silly video stunts, and drinks/food available for purchase. There’s also an adjacent building (where the bathroom is located) that opened later in the day for dinner.
The Village Tower is also where we met our Norwegian friends. They are a family of four, a husband and wife duo with two kids, and they decided to take the plunge and bought a massive 600m² (6400ft²!) property to renovate in Palazzolo Acreide.
The couple, Alex (@jester_gatas) and Marianne (@sweet_n_pfeffer), are multi-talented, ‘a Jack and Jill of all trades’, and the combined work they’ve done is impressive. They’re living dual lives split between Norway and Sicily, and have managed to raise two very well behaved kids. I’m looking forward to returning to Palazzolo Acreide one day to reconnect with them and see the transformation of their home.
Alex and Marianne’s property is one of many historical buildings in town. We ran into the owner of the Village Tower near our Airbnb one day, and he was full of excitement about a balcony on the main street. We couldn’t figure out why it was so special.
Unbeknownst to us, our Airbnb was a stone’s throw away from the longest balcony (30m) in Europe dating back to the 18th century. Following the full length of it, there are 27 stone faces with comical expressions.
We visited some other historical landmarks, including the ancient Greek theatre ‘Teatro di Akrai’ dating back to the 3rd century, the Castello Medievale (which had a certain spook factor during our late night visit), and the Basilica di San Sebastiano (the center stage of the festival in August).
During our final days in Palazzolo, we watched the town transform as its preparations for the Festa di San Sebastiano were in full swing for the grand finale a couple days after our departure.
Our Airbnb was already booked for those days unfortunately, but our Norwegian friends captured an amazing drone video of it, and I could feel the energy of the town like I was still there.
We had a special dinner at Éstro Restaurant to finish off our stay in Palazzolo Acreide.
It was a unique experience from the minute we walked through their door with the sun setting in the valley, the beautiful hand-drawn designs on their menu, and their tasty food that was presented as a work of art.
Their menu is always changing, so you’re bound to have a new sensory experience each time.
As much as we enjoyed our visit in Palazzolo Acreide, we realized somewhere along the way that we hadn’t found what we were looking for in our new ‘home’.
So, our search continues to a mountainous area of Sicily in the Parco delle Madonie: Castelbuono, Sicily!
