Pollina / Sicily

Pollina (Sicilian Puòddina) over the sea

The picturesque municipality of Pollina is located about 90 km east of the capital Palermo and somewhat in the hinterland of the more famous, but also touristy Cefalù.

Pollina also has its own town by the sea, called Finale. Just before it, there is a prominent rock by the sea that has been converted into a resort hotel. Pollina is 900m high and lies on the same level as the Aeolian Islands, which, together with Vulcano, rise over 900m above the sea.

The islands are clearly visible on the horizon when the weather is good; they are between 80 and 100 km away.

The climate is very dry, which also means that water is a precious commodity. There are containers installed on roofs everywhere, like cisterns. The higher we go into the town, the narrower the streets and alleys become; but with a Cinquecento we can get through almost everywhere; with a bit of maneuvering if necessary. Right at the top is the Norman "Torre di Maurolico", which Franciscus Maurolicus, an important scholar of the 16th century, used as an observatory.

- In front of it is the excellent pizzeria. - To the southwest, over the natural amphitheatre, the Pietra Rosa stretches out, with a magnificent view of the valley to Castelbuono and the adjacent mountains, the Madonia. The neighboring towns, San Mauro and Geraci, are magnificently illuminated peaks, especially at night.

Pollina is also known for its manna production.

There, the bark and branches of the Manna ash are scratched, a sweet juice emerges and crystallizes in the air. The various sugars are used medicinally. Up until the 1960s, this was a significant part of the Pollinesi's income.

Now olives are grown wherever there is space.

The fig cacti that grow wild, with their sweet fruits, are a popular dessert, but feared because of their small thorns.

Inaugurated in 2014, the Salto del Ventimiglia is a panoramic view in the historic center, a few meters from the church of S. Giuliano, in the place where in 1338 Count Francesco I Ventimiglia died who, according to tradition, threw himself and his horse into the cliff to escape the royal troops of Peter II who were besieging Geraci.

The return trip on Saturday starts at 4 a.m., so unfortunately we can't see the beautiful coast from Pollina to Messina - it was still dark. When we arrive in Messina, just before sunrise, a wonderful light shines.

Back on the mainland in Calabria, we are greeted by a wonderful green, which surprises us after the dry weather in Sicily.

The autostrada is very well developed and after a good café, we continue quickly north through Basilicata into Campania.

The surrounding mountains are well over 1000 metres high; in contrast, Lazio, the hinterland of Rome, is very flat; there we see vegetable gardens that supply the capital. - Even from the motorway, Tuscany looks like a picture book.

We pass Florence and cross the Apennines and reach Bologna and thus Emilia Romagna. There we see the first traffic jam around Parma, but there are no accidents anywhere in sight. In the evening we find a comfortable, affordable hotel room with a hot shower in Fidenza, a small but very beautiful, sophisticated seaside resort.

Well fortified after a Sunday breakfast, with scrambled eggs of course, we drive on towards Milan and into the mountains. In Chiasso we enter Switzerland, where we still need the vignette on the window. The second traffic jam in front of the Gotthard tunnel makes us decide to drive over the pass instead of sitting in a traffic jam for hours, which turns out to be the right decision. The weather and the view are fantastic, the pass road is an El Dorado for bikers. On the saddle we even meet an old white BMW sidecar from Karlsruhe. - We cross Switzerland past Lake Lucerne and reach Germania again near Rheinfelden.