SICILY,ITALY
The pocket-sized beach at Tonnarella dell’Uzzo, in western Sicily’s Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro
PHOTOGRAPH: ANTONIO BARTUCCIO/SIME/4CORNERS
WHILE LEAVES ARE TURNING in Turin’s parks and autumnal fog blows across the Venetian Lagoon, the island at the foot of Italy stays decidedly balmy this time of year. The drop of a few degrees is a small price to pay to have some parts of Sicily all to yourself. There is nowhere better to enjoy a sublime Sicilian sunset than the Riserva Naturale dello Zingaro – a wild strip of the island’s western coast with scrubby slopes, pebbly beaches and hidden coves where the water still retains some lingering summer warmth. Work up an appetite stomping its trails before heading to the nearby town of San Vito Lo Capo, which celebrates its 10-day couscous festival with cook-offs, culinary demonstrations and live music performances on the shores of the Mediterranean. For more on Sicily’s historic appeal, turn to p123.