Gela - Italian comune

Gela is a medium-sized city on the south coast of Sicily, Italy. It is an ancient town, founded around 688 BC by colonists from Rhodes and Crete, and among the oldest continually inhabited settlements in southern Italy.

Understand

Climate

Gela has a semi-arid climate, with just enough precipitation to avoid being classified as a desert climate. It features hot summers and mild winters, although the summers are significantly milder than in other Sicilian locations. The winter months usually present mild to warm daytime temperatures and the weather is mostly sunny. Summer presents a pronounced aridity in which sunny conditions are virtually assured every day.

Get in

By bus

Buses run from Palermo, Agrigento, Catania, Caltanissetta, Caltagirone and Enna. A couple a day also come east along the coast from Ragusa, Noto, Modica and Syracuse. There are national and international bus routes connecting Gela with Naples, Bari, Rome, Milano and more destinations.

By train

Train services through Gela station are interrupted except for a couple of trains running to and from Syracuse and Modica (no service on Sundays).

• Gela railway station, Piazzale Stazione, 37.072600°, 14.259255°. 2019-06-30

By plane

Gela is served by the Comiso Airport (34 km away) or the Catania International Airport (95 km away).

Get around

The adjacent bus and train stations are about 15 minutes walk from the centre of town, although there are quite regular city buses.

See

• Regional Archaeological Museum of Gela (Museo archeologico regionale di Gela), Corso Vittorio Emanuele, 1, 37.063463°, 14.257744°. Has an important collection of attractive red and black painted Greek vases, coins, sarcophaguses, statues, and jewelry. 2019-06-30

• The Acropolis of the old Greek city close to the museum with ruins of buildings and three temples with the symbolic doric column

• The Greek fortifications have some impressive walls in an attractive setting by the beach. Nearby are the remains of the oldest Greek public baths in Italy

• The Chiesa Madre (cathedral) in the main square (Piazza Umberto) with a neoclassical facade

• The Castelluccio is a little medieval castle in the fields with a good panorama towards the town

• The Mànfria tower is a little 17th-century tower set on a hill top in front of the Mediterranean sea 8 km from the town

• The Villa Garibaldi is the main public garden in town with a lot of ancient trees and wonderful views to the coastline

Do

• A walking tour in central town around Corso Vittorio Emanuele, Piazza S.Agostino, Via Bresmes, Piazza Roma with old good looking churches, buildings and a lot of shops
• Go to the Gela beach resorts at Lungomare Federico II (promenade) for tanning, swimming and running in the morning and have some drink, dancing and relaxing at night
• Visit the natural park around Biviere Lake, 8 km off towards Scoglitti on the south coast
• Take some photo of a wonderful sunset by the little port (porto rifugio) or by the pier in central Gela
• Have fun in one of the town night hotspots with bar and pubs (Salandra and Roma squares, Macchitella Avenue and Lungomare).

Buy

Eat

• Gela is famous for a very good tasting bread, street-food and pizza. Also being a seafront town in Gela you can enjoy seafood plates, a very good ice-cream and pastries.
• About the Gelese rosticceria (local delicacies) ask for impanatas, arancine, sfogliatine, crocchè di patate and as dessert some cannoli, raviole, crispelle and cassatine.
• La Brace, via Palazzi. €8/15 pp 2016-05-21
• L'Arlecchino, via Manzoni. €8/15 pp 2016-05-21
• Ristorante Centrale Totó, Via Cascino Generale, 99, +39 0933 913104.

Drink

• Jackie'O, via Francia 25. 2016-05-21
• Piccadilly, via Palazzi. 2016-05-21
• Habana, via Palazzi. 2016-05-21
• Rossini's, via Rossini. 2016-05-21
• Mandragola, via Rossini. 2016-05-21
• La Capannina, viale Mazara del Vallo. 2016-05-21
• Controcorrente, Lungomare Federico II. 2016-05-21
• Re Nero, via Europa. 2016-05-21
• Peccati di gola, viale Cortemaggiore. 2016-05-21

Sleep

• B&B Antiche Mura, Spagna 1/a via Degli Appennini 1.
• Hotel Sole, Via Mare 32. Single €50, double €90
• Villa Keratea, C.da Settefarine SP81. Single €60, double €120
• Hotel Villa Peretti, strada statale 117 bis. Single €50, double €110 2016-05-21
• B&B 21, viale Indipendenza. Single €25, double €75 2016-05-21
• B&B Gorgone, Lungomare Federico II. 2016-05-21
• Aurora residence, via Agatocle. 2016-05-21
• B&B Santiago, via Garibaldi. 2016-05-21
• Sicily Guest House B&B, via sindaco Solito 143. 2016-05-21
• B&B la Villetta, via C. Dalla Chiesa. 2016-05-21
• B&B Villa Marinetti, via torre Manfria. 2016-05-21
• B&B Borgo Manfria, SS 115 Manfria. 2016-05-21
• Boomerang affittacamere, via dei Gerani, Manfria. 2016-05-21
• Il Veliero B&B, via delle Magnolie, Manfria. 2016-05-21
• Archéo Small Unique Hotel, viale Indipendenza, 7. 2016-05-21
• B&B Girasole, via Ducezio. 2016-05-21
• B&B Erasmus, corso S. Aldisio. 2016-05-21
• Country House Tenuta Grea, c.da Borgo Manfria. 2016-05-21
• Villa Giocolano B&B, c.da Spinasanta. 2016-05-21

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