First generation American visit to Italy/Sicily

Fly from Naples, which is near Sorrento, to Palermo with Volotea airlines. 4 days are not much for Sicily which is huge. Try to spend a week at a minimum. No direct flights from Sicily to US. Alitalia via Rome is probably the best option

Caltinissetta is pretty much the same distance from either Palermo or Catania so I would suggest figuring out which sights you're most interested in besides that one day trip and fly into the closest airport. Agree with Roberto that 4 days isn't enough to see much of Sicily so would pick one side or the other and not try to crisscross the island. Have been to both places and both are great but I loved Palermo.

Appreciate the information. Seriously considering by-passing Rome this time and adding 2 days to our time in Sicily. I've been reading other posts and several people have commented that "skipping" Rome the first time isn't such a bad idea. If our time is better spent in Sicily, it might be a good option.

Also, has anyone stayed at Farm Ruvitello in Sicily? We are really looking to make this trip about the culture,people, and food ( of course) of Italy so my husband has more of a connection to his family heritage. Any suggestions for friendly BBs or villas, or farms in the Tuscany, Sorrento, and/or Sicily areas would be very appreciated.

Are you planning to connect with any family members there? Think there could be lots of cousins. We skipped Rome for about ten years - no crime in that.

We are in the process of making those cousin connections in Sicily! We hope to have great info from them and perhaps stay somewhere near their homes. No family in the other areas we will be visiting.

Near Catania in a little town called Fummefreddo di Sicilia is an agritourismo called La Terre dei Sogni. Located in a citrus grove where you can pick as many lemons and oranges as you want, great view of Mt Etna (we watched lava spewing late one night before falling asleep),rooms are very nice but no TV or phone (do believe there was wifi though)and at very reasonable prices, very good breakfast buffet and the owner, Joe, speaks very good English and is very helpful with info for tourist sights. Close to Taormina/Castelmola and Catania and about an hour and a half from Syracusa. A little bit of a chore to find even with the GPS but just get additional info from the hotel and pay very close attention to the SMALL road signs. Not much to the town itself but had one of the best pizza's in all of Italy at il Padrino pizzeria.

Is flying into Milan mandatory for some reason? If your focus is Southern Italy and Sicilia, why not focus your limited time in the Sorrento area + Sicilia? You could spend 4 or 5 nights in Sorrento as there is much to see and do, then go to Sicilia for the balance of your time. "Cinque Terre/Tuscany" is large and the CT is really a bit of a trek from "Tuscany". 3 nights in the CT alone is a minimum stay, and Tuscany can take weeks. Why not skip the north and head south only for your first trip? That's where your heritage is it would seem.

Just noticed your day trip to Cosenza.....not sure if you realize it or not but that's about a 4 hour drive. A train may be quicker but wouldn't count on it.

Your original post generated several questions and comments:
1. How many days total will your vacation cover?
2. Are you aware that you must deduct 2-3 days off of your total days due to travel to and from Italy? Your last day will be totally dedicated to travel home.
3. Have you considered going to fewer places to eliminate time lost to travel from point A to point B?
4. Do you have any down time built in for jet lag?
5. Will you be traveling from Malpensa Airport to Cinque Terre after arrival? It will be a LONG day.

I was also going to mention that going from Sorrento to Cosenza is about 4 hours one way. Also, some parts of A3 become parking lots, especially around Lagonero and north of Cosenza.

My folks families come from Nicastro and Sambiase, farther south in Calabria and we have been there many times since 1980. The first time we went to Calabria to find the family we were there for about a week. We stayed with two aunts who lived in two different places. Every night loads of people/relatives would come over to meet us because we were the first ones to go back since 1939. It was an incredible adventure and experience. If you can establish contact with your husband's family maybe you would consider spending more time in Cosenza.

Every time you move from one place to another you will spend at least 1/2 day in transit. You must checkout then travel, then find the hotel or b&b is strange towns, and get settled. You have a lot of lost time due to all of the locations you plan to visit.

One last item to consider: Italy will seduce you while you are there and you will want to return. When you return you can visit the places you missed the time before.

Buon viaggio,

Incidentally, one of my father's sisters married a Farinella whose family came from Napoli. There is also a pizzeria chain in Milano called Farinella located near Castello Sforzesco in the centro storico.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187849-d1092855-r145057046-Farinella-Milan_Lombardy.html

Have to agree with the others. You won't see much with only 3 days for CT and Tuscany. CT is a lot like the Amalfi area. I prefer CT myself but if your focus is on the south it makes sense to fly into Naples and work your way south. You may find that once you make the family connections in Sicilia you have offers of a place to stay and if so you may even want to consider that as a home base and trip from there.

We have made contact with our Sicilian side of the family! We will be staying with them for about a week. We are thrilled!

Thank you for the advice about the northern leg of our trip. Our cousin, Pasquale will be helping plan that part of the trip. So, far, I would say he agrees with you seasoned travelers and we have tried to squeeze in too much.

Thanks for the information about the Farinella Pizzeria! RB....maybe we are related! :)

We found that when we went to Calabria the first time things I thought I thought were not correct. I knew about Nicastro but I did not know about Sambiase. Also, they did not exactly live in each of these cities, but they lived up on the mountain above each municipality. Some lived in Platania, some in Mercure, and the ones above Sambiase lived in another community. When we travel and meet new people we say we are from Pittsburgh, but we actually live out near the airport. They are the same in that they take their identity from the city nearest their home.

Also, Cosenza is a large city and spending a few days there might be worth the time if you want to find the other part of your family. They will be just as curious about you as you will be about them. My cousin Guiseppe #2 asked me questions about the USA from the time we arrived until we left.

Maybe we are related!

Buon viaggio,

Thanks RB. We are adjusting the itinerary completely! Everyone's suggestions and conversations with our cousin have indicated that we need to rethink what is most important to us this trip. Since we are taking our sons, we do want to do a couple of adventurous activities but all in all our focus is our family heritage. We have added 2 days to the Calabria/Cosenza part of the trip. And, as you stated, my husband discovered that his mother's family is somewhere between the two cities. An adventure awaits us for sure!