Guide

Concerts in the square, open-air cinema, food festivals and author nights: from July to September the town's official programme — the Estate Orlandina — turns Capo d'Orlando into an open-air stage. The full calendar.

The Aeolians are the reason many people choose this coast. Day trips work — provided you pick the right island and the right timetable.

86,000 hectares of beech forest, lakes and pastures, with mountain roads that climb from sea level to 1,300 metres in an hour. It's the other half of the holiday, and almost nobody uses it.

Between coast and mountains everything changes in half an hour's drive: bluefish and citrus below, cheeses and meat above. A short guide to what to look for, in the right season.

Two nights are enough for a real taste of the archipelago — if you pick one base and don't chase everything.