Zaffarena/Milo - Day Six

 We arrived at our hotel - the Primavera dell'Etna - the evening before.  We chose this hotel because it was on the road to Rifugio Sapienza (top of Etna) and close to downtown Zafferana.  It is a large hotel, well positioned and with incredible views out over the coastline.  A bit more of a traditional tourist hotel, large enough to accommodate large groups but fortunately we were one of the few rooms occupied.

Milo

From Zafferana we drove to Milo, another small town just up the mountain from Zafferana with a nice view of Etna.  We walked through Milo and found that, like a number of other small mountain towns we'd eventually explore, we wished we had more time to spend there.

Vineyards in Milo

Etna View from Milo

Winery

From Milo we drove to a planned winery tour at a winery called Barone Beneventano.  This is an old vineyard, easily over two hundred years old, recently acquired by PierLuca Beneventano.  He offered to host our tour.

Barone Beneventano Winery


We walked through the vineyard while he told us about the soil, the placement of the vineyard and his techniques.  His passion for the vineyard was obvious.  After walking through the vineyard, he took us into an old wine press building which he has refurbished and offered us tastings of two reds and two whites, along with a light lunch of cheeses and sliced sausages.  The wines were excellent, great examples of Sicilian reds and whites.

Antique Wine Press



Zafferana

Later that day we spent time walking through Zafferana.  We found that a lot of shops and restaurants will shut down for the siesta in the mid-afternoon, and some restaurants will close for the months of January and February which is the lowest tourist season.  We did enjoy walking through the small town.

Zafferana square and cathedral with Etna background


This evening we went to a small pub for dinner, to have some pizza.  The pub/restaurant is called Caracajada and it's been in business in Zafferana for over 20 years.  The pizza was delicious - highly recommended.



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