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Writer's pictureMaria Savidis Markatos

Trapani | Flamingos and Baroque Architecture | Traveling in Sicily

Updated: Mar 23, 2024

If you want to get in touch with nature, specifically if you want to see hundreds if not thousands of Great Flamingos from various distances, a few days in Trapani is warranted, And even if you have no interest in seeing birds, the architecture of the old town is definitely worth a visit. Of course, there are Greek and Roman ruins to see as well.


In antiquity, Sicily was part of Greece which was like a win/win for me. I got to see ancient Greek archeological sites while being in Italy. So, it did not count as a trip to Greece, which we take about every couple of years.


Trapani was our second Sicilian destination and while enroute to our lodgings we visited the Parco Acheologico di Segesta. This is a “must see” if you are in the region.



View of Mount Babaro from the Segesta Theater
View of Mount Babaro from the Segesta Theater

Stone stacking is a time honored tradition anywhere there are stones. It is also one that makes national park rangers crazy as it is hard to differentiate stones stacked for recreational purposes from the cairns that are used to mark trails. In the case above, they did not mark a trail and were stacked just because.

Stone Stacking by Stadium
Stone Stacking by Stadium

This is Sicily, not Greece, who woulda known.


Temple of Segesta
Temple of Segesta

Another view of the Temple of Segesta
Another view of the Temple of Segesta

These beautiful ancient buildings are an example of what you see when traveling in Sicily.

The Doric Temple of Segesta
The Doric Temple of Segesta

The next day we headed for the Trapani Salt Pans and went on interesting paths towards abandoned windmills.


A Great Number of Greater Flamingos
A Great Number of Greater Flamingos
Windmill  in Salt Pan
Windmill in Salt Pan
Flamingo flying past Visitors Center
Flamingo flying past Visitors Center

Salt Crystals
Salt Crystals

While at the Salt Pans we noticed a windmill attached to a restaurant which was where ebird listed sightings of many birds. We parked but could not gain entry, why, a movie was being filmed here and the cast and production crew were having a catered event. I still don’t know what was being filmed but if anyone knows please enter the information into the comment section.


Catered Event for Film
Catered Event for Film

We did see quite a few Flamingos and several from up-close. The Greater Flamingo of Southern Europe is a beautiful species, don’t you agree?

Greater Flamingo
Greater Flamingo

After photographing Flamingos and other avian residents of the saltpans, we headed back into town where we had dinner and watched the sun set, or maybe it was the other way around.


Trapani Sunset
Trapani Sunset

Phone Capture
Phone Capture


The town of Trapani has some beautiful Baroque architecture.



Here is my husband holding up a shot he just took with his phone of a Baroque Arch. He was in the process of questioning why it often takes me so much time to actually snap a photo.














Baroque Door
Baroque Door










I don’t know why but I tend to photo-collect certain things and doors are one of them.











An evening stroll through the town of Trapani
An evening stroll through the town of Trapani

One of the things that we noticed in Sicily was the proliferation of “Candy Lisa” stores with their superheroes. I snapped this because I thought it was kinda fun and later realized that all of the towns we would stop in had one. If you see another Candy Lisa photo in a different segment it is not this specific store.

 Candy Lisa Store and Superman
Candy Lisa Store and Superman

We hope you enjoyed your virtual tour of Trapani.


To see more photographs of Sicily, please visit:


To see more photographs of the Trapani area: https://mariamarkatos.smugmug.com/Italy/Sicily/Trapani


To continue reading about our recent trip to Sicily by way of Rome please look for our next segment - On to Agrigento with a Stop at the Royal Palace of Ficuzza


If you missed Sicily by Way of Rome please click on the link below


If you missed Palermo | A Cultural Melting Pot, please click on the link below


For Packing Suggestions (Even though Sicily hasn't been a part of Greece since ancient times) https://www.photographybymariasavidis-blog.com/post/how-to-pack-lightly-for-greece-in-the-spring-summer


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