Seduced by Sicily: Discovering the real Italy below the boot (cooking lessons optional)
Only when the pan went up in flames did I suspect that something wasn't quite right with my Pasta Palermo. As smoke emanated from what should have been a classic Sicilian dish dominated by anchovies, raisins and wild fennel, my tutor, chef Salvatore Piccione, 26, clearly began to regret the offer of cookery lessons.
It is a special feature of the luxurious Palazzo Hedone in southern Sicily. But they must have wished for a bit more Jamie Oliver, a little less King Alfred.
Gloriously old: Mount Etna skulks in the distance behind the Sicilian outpost of Taormina
The hotel is run by two Parisians, Axel and Sylvain, who left their designer posts at Louis Vuitton and Sac Cartier to create a chic boutique rental property in the village of Scicli.
It has only 11 rooms and is tucked away against a hill in the Noto Valley, a Unesco world heritage site on the south-eastern tip of the island.
Although the original building is 18th century, modern additions include two heated pools, one with a sliding glass roof. And that was just as well, because it never stopped raining while we were there and we never made it to the beach, a 15-minute drive away.
Instead, armed with the excellent Think Sicily guidebook, we blitzed the Baroque towns that are all within a two-hour drive. Everyone raves about Taormina, the main tourist town on a distant spur of Mount Etna - not that we could tell: Taormina usually has picture-postcard views of the volcano, but thanks to the weather these were obscured by thick cloud.
We were compensated by Greek and Roman ruins, a medieval quarter and some great shops. And it was in Taormina that we discovered a souvenir of astonishingly bad taste - a plaster bust of Mussolini complete with glittering cape, perched next to a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Our favourite spot was Noto, a town dominated by crumbling Baroque palaces and churches. The magnificent Duomo has undergone major restoration, not least because its famous dome collapsed in 1996.
Siracusa, with its fascinating old town of Ortygia, boasts the magnificently preserved Parco Archeologico, a fifth-century BC theatre where Ancient Greek plays are still performed in summer. The plays are a wonderful spectacle even if, like us, you can't understand a word the actors are saying.
We also spent two nights on the other side of the island in Villa Il Cappero. Set amid the majestic Madonie Mountains, it's only an hour's drive from Sicily's capital Palermo and boasts gardens complete with swimming pool, mature olive trees and Mediterranean plants. The hosts were a delight.
Palermo is a challenge - especially on a Sunday in the rain. Even the churches were shut during the Sicilian Sunday siesta. They are big on St George in Palermo, although the cathedral statue of St George looked more like the work of interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen than a fearless dragon-slayer.
The Catacombe dei Cappuccini should be on everyone's tourist guide. It's home to hundreds of mummified corpses and skeletons, from bishops to judges, who were once the cream of Palermo society. They date from as far back as 1599 and as recently as 1922 - but, you know, I'm sure I'd seen one or two of the really grotesque ones shuffling around the House of Lords.
Wow factor: The Palazzo Hedone offers true luxury at the end of italy
One of the corpses was so scary, I feared his eyes would open at any moment, his spindly hands folding me in a deathly embrace.
I suspect some of the bodies ended up there after road accidents, even if the motor car must still have been in its infancy. Sicilian drivers follow their own rules, have seemingly never heard of indicators, and instead they rely on their horns. And beware if you are driving when the clock strikes noon. The car radio switches automatically to Radio Maria - complete with church bells, hymns and a homily that even in Italian sounds monotonous.
Back in authentic, charming Scicli there is not an English pub, curry house or Chinese takeaway anywhere. It's historic Sicily at its best - though forget shopping - with wonderful churches, bars and restaurants where you can eat for two, with wine, for under £40.
A phrasebook is essential. But 'prego' - Italian for 'you're welcome' among other things, gets you a long way.
As we were leaving Palazzo Hedone, Barbara Broccoli, the producer of the James Bond films, was arriving. We hung around to have a peek. Lucky lady to have stayed here - especially when my Pasta Palermo was off the menu.
Travel Facts
Il Cappero (www.thinksicily.com/Il-Cappero.aspx) from £2,540 for up to six guests and Palazzo Hedone (www.thinksicily.com/Palazzo-Hedone.aspx) sleeps 24 people and costs from £12,957 a week. Book online through Think Sicily or call 020 7377 8518.
Car hire from £22 a day from Palermo's Punta Raisi Airport, Italy, www.avis.co.uk.
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For 25 years now I've been summer time legging it solo through the Sicilian MADONIE (Palermo Province) and NEBRODI (Messina Province) mountains. Fantastic! Of course I'm ageing and becoming less agile but take it from me these two regions are truly beautiful and peaceful. Went there for much longer than 25 years but then went on foot and relatively speaking got well off the beaten track. Lovely memories endless wild flowers and butterlfies galore and beautiful forests.
- IAN CAMERON , LONDON. SW4, 07/3/2012 19:14
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