Thousands of small square doorways riddle the limestone cliffs above the Anapo and Calcinara valleys, like the windows of a vast abandoned apartment block. These are rock-cut tombs, some five thousand of them, carved by the people who lived at Pantalica between roughly the thirteenth and seventh centuries before Christ. Together with Syracuse, the necropolis is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it is one of the most evocative places in Sicily, in a gorge of the Hyblaean Mountains west of Syracuse, between the towns of Sortino and Ferla.
The settlement here was large and powerful before the Greeks arrived to found Syracuse, and the remains of a building often called the Anaktoron, the prince's palace, crown the plateau. Later, in the Byzantine period, some tombs were enlarged into small dwellings and chapels, a few with traces of frescoes. The gorge below is now a nature reserve, with a clear river, pools, plane trees and oleanders, and trails along the old railway line that once ran through the valley. In spring the slopes are bright with wildflowers and the air hums with bees.
The roads in are part of the pleasure. From Sortino, a narrow road winds down to the northern edge of the necropolis, while from Ferla another approaches from the west and ends at viewpoints over the gorge; the two do not connect by road, so choose your side or plan a long loop. Both are twisty, with patchy surfaces, sharp bends and occasional livestock. The wider Hyblaean plateau offers excellent riding, linking baroque towns such as Palazzolo Acreide, Noto and Modica on quiet back roads with stone walls and carob trees.
Sortino, a town of around eight and a half thousand, has fuel and basic services, and it is known for its honey, harvested from the thyme and orange blossom of the hills. Carry plenty of water, because summer heat is intense and the trails offer little shade. Then reward yourself with a granita or a cannolo in town, where pastry is taken almost as seriously as history.