How we work
When the sources disagree, we say so.
This site is written by people who live in Capo d'Orlando. That alone is not a reason to trust it, so here is how we verify what we publish — and what we do when we can't.
01
We declare conflicts instead of picking one
The sanctuary steps are 230 according to some sources, «over three hundred» according to others, 304 according to a third. A ticket to Taormina's Ancient Theatre costs €14 on one page of the Archaeological Park's website and €12 on another page of the same site. We have no way of telling which is current, and in those cases we don't choose the figure that sounds best: we print both and say they disagree. The same goes for the amphitheatre at Scafa, the name of the Roman road at Capo Calavà, the area of the Filicudi reserve and the date Zucco Grande was abandoned.
02
Trail figures are measured, or absent
The heights, ascents and timings on our trail pages come from GPS tracks actually walked — the Salina traverse, Punta del Corvo on Panarea, the climb up Stromboli. Where we haven't measured them, we don't invent them: on the mule track to Zucco Grande on Filicudi, the sources online range from one hour to four, and our page says so instead of choosing. We prefer a gap to a plausible number.
03
We write the awkward things too
That the Goletta path is closed by brambles in some seasons. That the sanctuary is often shut and more than one visitor has complained. That the Capo Calavà car park holds three or four cars. That the currents below the Rocca are strong. That there is no natural shade on the beaches here. A site that tells you only the good parts contradicts itself on the first day of your holiday.
04
No scores, no rankings
On the restaurants page we give the names, grouped by kitchen, but no scores and no league tables. For two reasons: we live here and the restaurateurs are our neighbours, and the ratings you find online change every week and describe last year. When we draw on someone else's listings — Tripadvisor, TheFork — we say so on the page, and we take only the names, never the scores.
05
The photographs are ours
We don't use images found online, not even with a disclaimer: a disclaimer does not create a licence. The photographs of the rooms, the rooftop, the trails and the villages are ours or used with permission, and where an image carries a free licence the attribution appears beneath it. The two terrace images are retouched, and we say so here.
06
We don't freeze prices
There are no room rates on this site, because a rate written into a static page ages and becomes a lie. Availability and the price for your dates are live on the booking engine. Where we publish third-party prices — tolls, car parks, cable cars, excursions — we always state the date they refer to and where they come from.
07
What we do when we get it wrong
We correct it, and where the correction matters we say so on the page. It has already happened: we had written that Lampedusa wrote «much of» The Leopard at Villa Piccolo, when the truth is that he wrote part of it there — most of it was written in Palermo. If you find a mistake, tell us: it's the most useful thing you can do for this site.
Found an error, or something that has changed since?