As of: 25 August 2026, 8:00am. This overview summarises the current situation in Sicily: travel and transport, nature and safety notices, the main cultural and festival dates of the coming two weeks, and tourism-relevant developments.<\/p>\n\n
On the connection between Porto Empedocle, Linosa and Lampedusa, the early hydrofoil sailing was cancelled on 24 August due to a technical fault. Around 200 travellers on Lampedusa waited several hours in some cases for a replacement solution. The vessel was cleared again after an inspection by the port authority and resumed service the same day. Anyone crossing to the Pelagie Islands in the coming days should check the departure status the evening before and on the morning of travel, and should not plan connecting flights or rental car returns too tightly.<\/p>\n\n
For the connections to the Aeolian and Egadi Islands, there are no weather-related restrictions this morning. Since hydrofoils are sensitive to wind and swell, it is still worth checking the timetable status on the day of travel, especially for day trips with a fixed return time.<\/p>\n\n
On the Palermo\u2013Agrigento rail line, the section between Roccapalumba-Alia and Agrigento Centrale remains suspended due to expansion and renovation works; regional trains continue to be replaced by buses there. According to the published construction schedule, the works are planned to continue until the end of September. The replacement buses take longer than the trains and offer less seating capacity \u2013 travellers heading to the Valley of the Temples should allow extra buffer time accordingly.<\/p>\n\n
No nationwide transport strikes are announced for the last days of August. For September, however, several notices have been issued, including a rail strike from the evening of 7 September to the evening of 8 September, a further stoppage in the infrastructure sector from 10 to 11 September, and a general strike on 26 September. Strike dates are changed, postponed or withdrawn right up until shortly before the date; anyone travelling during this period should check the status again at short notice.<\/p>\n\n
The August eruptive phase has officially ended. On 24 August, the aviation warning code was downgraded from orange to yellow, with the explicit note that the eruption has stopped and no more ash is being released. The last situation report on 23 August had already stated that all lava flows had cooled, the vent at 1,900 metres was no longer active, and only sporadic, weak ash emissions were occurring at the summit, dispersing quickly in the summit area. Volcanic tremor is at a moderate level, with sources located near the Northeast Crater between 2,000 and 2,500 metres. For the entire period from 7 to 17 August, the erupted lava volume is estimated at 5.6 to 7.6 million cubic metres from at least nine vents on the upper eastern flank.<\/p>\n\n
Important for planning: the downgraded warning code concerns air traffic, not automatically access to the mountain. As of today, the alert phase is still in effect, and the summit zone therefore remains closed. It covers the summit craters, the upper Valle del Bove up to around 1,700 metres, and, correspondingly, the areas above around 2,500 metres on the south, west and north flanks; lower-lying sections near active vents or lava flows may also be included if needed. Checkpoints are being set up at the access points on the south and north sides, and no guided high-altitude tours to the craters are taking place.<\/p>\n\n
Access to the base stations on the south and north flanks and hikes at lower elevations are not affected by the closure. Whether the cable car, off-road vehicles and guided tours operate on a given day additionally depends on the weather and short-notice directives. Since the responsible authorities can downgrade the operational phase and adjust the closure zone at any time as the eruption subsides, the status should be checked on the day of travel.<\/p>\n\n
For 25 August, an official notice on wildfire danger and heatwaves is in effect, issued for 24 hours from midnight. For Palermo and its surroundings, the highest warning level is set, with a maximum perceived temperature of around 42 degrees. Messina is one level lower at around 40 degrees perceived temperature, Catania at around 39 degrees. In the nationwide heat bulletin, Palermo is listed at the highest level through 26 August, meaning the strain continues beyond today. The city of Palermo has issued a full ban on horse-drawn carriages for 25 August to protect the animals.<\/p>\n\n
In practice this means: schedule visits to town centres and archaeological parks for the early morning hours where possible, postpone hikes without shade or water points in these conditions, and carry enough water. Open fires, barbecues and parking vehicles on dry vegetation are particularly risky under heightened wildfire danger and are prohibited in many places. Short-notice road closures due to vegetation fires are possible in this situation.<\/p>\n\n
Noto celebrates its patron saint, Corrado Confalonieri, a 14th-century hermit who lived near the town and whose relics are kept in a silver Arca in the cathedral. Alongside the main festival in February, there is the so-called August festival, prepared this year since 31 July with masses, pilgrimages and parish events. From 25 to 27 August, the three-day triduum runs with evening masses at 7pm, on 28 August a day of penance and fasting follows, and on the nights before 29 and 30 August groups of pilgrims walk to Noto from Pachino and from Rosolini. On Saturday, 29 August, masses are held at 5am, 7:30am and 7pm, followed by the solemn vespers at 8pm.<\/p>\n\n
The highlight is Sunday, 30 August: after the early masses for pilgrims, the floral tribute at the statue on Piazzale Adorno begins at 9am with a procession from the cathedral, followed by the solemn pontifical mass at 10:30am. At 7pm, the procession with the Arca moves through the alleys of the old town, with stops at the prison and at the Chiesa del Santissimo Crocifisso. It is carried by the Portatori, accompanied by the “cilii”, tall votive candle structures on wooden frames. From 31 August to 5 September, the Ottavario follows with evening masses at 7pm; on Sunday, 6 September, the festival ends with a gathering at 10am at the San Corrado fuori le Mura hermitage, high mass at 10:30am in the cathedral, and the return procession at 7pm.<\/p>\n\n
For travellers, this means: on 30 August and 6 September, Noto’s old town is largely unusable for traffic for hours from late afternoon onwards, and parking spaces at the edge of the old town fill up early. Anyone wanting to see the procession should arrive well before 7pm and plan their visit for the early afternoon; anyone visiting Noto primarily for its baroque architecture is better off going in the morning on these two days. Access to the services and the procession is free \u2013 this is a religious festival, not a tourist event, so visitors should behave with corresponding restraint in the cathedral and during the procession. Binding times and any programme changes are announced by the municipality and the parish.<\/p>\n\n
In Milo, on the eastern flank of Etna, the 46th edition of ViniMilo begins on 27 August \u2013 the island’s oldest wine festival held before the harvest. Milo is the only place where Etna Bianco Superiore DOC may be produced from the Carricante grape variety; the terraced vineyards lie at around 700 to 900 metres altitude. The event has two parts: the first phase focuses on tastings, masterclasses, expert talks and cultural events, while the first two weekends of September bring the street festival in the town centre with stalls from the producers. The event opens on 27 August at 10:30am with a press conference at one of the town’s historic wineries.<\/p>\n\n
In practice: Milo is a small mountain town with narrow streets and little parking; on festival weekends the access roads fill up quickly, and the return trip to Catania or Taormina runs along winding roads that are demanding at night. Anyone tasting wine should plan the return journey without their own car from the outset. The specialist events are in some cases by registration and paid, the street festival is freely accessible, with tastings there run through glasses and tokens. The full programme is published by the organisers and the municipality.<\/p>\n\n
In Mistretta in the Nebrodi, the Feast of the Madonna della Luce is celebrated on 7 and 8 September. Its special feature is two larger-than-life figures, Kronos with a drawn sword and Mithia with ears of wheat and wildflowers, who accompany the procession while performing a kind of dance \u2013 a tradition linked to older stories from the town’s history. On 7 September, the statue of the Madonna is brought from the sanctuary into the town at around 6pm, where it meets the two figures. On 8 September, the solemn procession moves through the streets from around 6pm; the return to the sanctuary takes place by torchlight and ends with a fire and the closing dance of the giants on the square in front.<\/p>\n\n
Mistretta lies at a good 900 metres altitude, about one and a half to two hours’ drive from Palermo and around two hours from Messina; the town is barely reachable by public transport in the evening, making a rental car practically essential. The historic town centre is closed during the procession, with parking on the outskirts. Evenings at this altitude are noticeably cooler than on the coast, even in early September. The exact programme times are announced by the municipality each year shortly beforehand.<\/p>\n\n
Smaller events are also taking place alongside these: on 26 August, Milo holds the third edition of a one-day wine, music and food festival that precedes the main wine festival. For the second half of September, the Couscous Festival is announced in San Vito Lo Capo, for which accommodation tends to fill up early. In several wine towns on Etna and in the southeast, harvest festivals begin from early September.<\/p>\n\n
According to available data, the summer season is running noticeably stronger than last year: for the period from mid-June to mid-September, occupancy of accommodation offered through the major booking platforms in Sicily is put at around 63 percent, compared with just under 59 percent for the Italian average. In the first half of the year, arrivals were around 2.8 percent and overnight stays around 6 percent above the previous year, and the increase continued in July.<\/p>\n\n
For planning purposes, this mainly means: the low season from mid-September onwards remains the more reliable time for touring, hiking and city visits. Anyone still travelling during the peak summer period should book as early as possible for coastal towns with limited infrastructure, for island connections and for rental cars, and should allow realistic travel times.<\/p>\n\n
Note: All information as of 25 August 2026, 8:00am. Before travelling, please check current timetables, opening hours, event dates, and weather and safety warnings again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A compact overview of the current situation in Sicily on 25 August 2026: the Etna eruption has officially been declared over and the aviation warning code downgraded, though the summit zone remains closed; a red warning level for heat and wildfire danger in the Palermo area until 26 August; a hydrofoil cancellation to the Pelagie Islands, plus the San Corrado patronal festival in Noto and the start of ViniMilo.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4026,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38,35,37,40,36,39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4054","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events-culture","category-general-tourism","category-nature-safety","category-sicily-radar","category-travel-ferries","category-weather-storms"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4054","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4054"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4054\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4055,"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4054\/revisions\/4055"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4026"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.treffpunkt-sizilien.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}