Siculiana, Sicily shouldn't be missed on the way to the Turkish Steps

If you’ve ever searched for Sicily’s most spectacular coastline, chances are you’ve come across the dazzling white cliffs of Scala dei Turchi, or as we say in English, the Turkish Steps. But have you stopped off at Siculiana?

Every summer, thousands of visitors make the journey to admire the white marl staircase, hewn by centuries of wind and sand, rising from the Mediterranean. Azure blues meet brilliant whites. It really is quite spectacular. Even more so when you look at the bay and know that it used to be a haven for Saracen pirates in the fifteen and sixteenth centuries. However, many just park on the cliff face, take their photographs, admire the view, and continue on their way.

That’s exactly what we did.

Except Sicily, as I’ve learned, has a habit of rewarding detours. We had no sooner left our parking bay when we stumbled across a 2nd century roman villa built with direct access to the beach. From the size of the house, it had clearly belonged to a Roman nobleman of some importance. We stopped and were rewarded with marble and black and white mosaic floors with a marine theme still largely intact more than 2000 years later.

After deciding the summer midday heat was simply too oppressive to walk anywhere else we climbed back into the car looking for a spot for lunch. However, being Sunday the restaurants were already filling up and there was nowhere to park. A quick decision was made to drive home via Sciacca for lunch. We know the fishing port well and have several favourite restaurants there, so the decision seemed an easy one.

Then my eldest son casually mentioned that he had noticed a castle on the drive north. We had travelled this road many times and I had no idea that it was there. A few minutes later, as we approached the hilltop town of Siculiana, there it was. Perched above the surrounding countryside, this rather impressive fortress seemed to demand a closer look.

Curiosity won.

A castle watching over the sea

Siculiana Castle has dominated this hill for centuries. Although the building visible today largely dates from the Middle Ages, 1310 to be exact, the site itself has witnessed wave after wave of Sicily’s extraordinary history. Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards all passed through this part of the island, each leaving something of themselves behind.

Sadly for us, it was just after midday on a Sunday and the castle had already closed its doors.

That hardly mattered.

Some places are just as rewarding from the outside.

Standing beside its ancient walls, wonderfully preserved after all this time, the view stretches across rolling countryside towards the sea beyond. It is easy to understand why the castle has become one of Sicily’s most sought-after wedding venues. Brides now celebrate where soldiers once kept watch over the coast.

History has a wonderful habit of reinventing itself.

The village we never expected – Siculiana, Sicily

After wandering around the castle, we began exploring the narrow streets that tumble down the hillside.

Stone houses leaned gently towards one another, balconies overflowed with flowers and the afternoon had settled into that sleepy silence so typical of small Sicilian towns at lunch time.

Then we stumbled upon a tiny open square.

Calling it a piazza almost feels too grand.

It was little more than a widening in the street, yet it possessed an effortless charm. Wooden tables and chairs sat beside whitewashed walls, while old stone paving shimmered in the afternoon sun.

For a brief moment I could almost have believed I had crossed the Ionian Sea into a Greek taverna rather than wandered into an inland Sicilian village.

Naturally, we stopped.

Lunch worth taking the wrong road for

The restaurant was every bit as inviting inside as it had appeared from the street.

Colourful Sicilian textiles decorated the walls alongside vintage posters celebrating the island’s traditions. There was nothing pretentious about it. Just good food.

Excellent food, in fact.

It was also considerably less expensive than the busy restaurants overlooking the coast only a few kilometres away. Sometimes stepping away from the obvious tourist route has its rewards. We left already talking about returning.

A town overlooked by travellers

Perhaps that is what surprised me most about Siculiana. Most visitors know it only as a road sign on the way to somewhere else. They drive passed without realising there is a medieval castle above them, quiet alleyways waiting to be explored and restaurants serving some of the best food they will eat all holiday.

Tourism has a curious habit of creating magnets. Once one place becomes famous, everything around it is overlooked.

Yet those overlooked places often become the ones we remember longest.

Slow travel’s greatest lesson

Living in Sicily has slowly changed the way I travel. I no longer feel compelled to tick famous landmarks off a list. Instead, I have learned to pay attention when something unexpected appears—a blue door left ajar, a forgotten Roman villa, an old convent bakery or, in this case, a castle on a hill that wasn’t part of the day’s plan.

Those unscripted moments have given me some of my favourite memories of this island. The Turkish Steps were every bit as beautiful as I had imagined. But when I think back on that day, it won’t be the dazzling white cliffs I remember most.

It will be the unexpected turn towards Siculiana.

Sometimes the best destinations are the ones you never intended to visit.

Observations

Sicily has taught me that the most rewarding journeys rarely follow the itinerary. Leave room for detours, because the places you almost didn’t visit often become the ones you talk about long after the famous landmarks have faded from memory.