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Sicily sizzles whatever the season: Its cities are wonderfully chaotic. But this sublime

admin — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 06:08:53 +0000

Crunching my way through a forest of pine and eucalyptus trees towards grassy dunes and a vast, sandy beach, I look out towards a horizonless sea. There is no other sign of life, apart from the eagles and peregrines soaring above me.

It is the sort of wild, untouched beauty you’d expect to find in South Africa or Australia. But here we are in Sicily, the southern Italian island better known for its crazy, crowded cities, clanking costume jewellery and cocktails the colour of the lava that sputters sporadically from Mount Etna. But the summer crowds have disappeared and the island’s tranquillity has returned, even though I’m on the coast, only an hour south of the capital Palermo.

Until recently there were few properly lovely places to stay in this region, set between the towns of Sciacca and Agrigento and largely made up of wind-battered fishing villages and industrial ports. Last year that changed, with the opening of Adler Sicilia.

Slotted discretely into a hillside above a five-mile stretch of beach, the resort sits on the edge of the Torre Salsa Nature Reserve, a sanctuary for nesting sea turtles and migratory birds, including purple herons, honey buzzards, peregrine falcons and flamingos.

Guests are encouraged to make the most of this precious pocket, with organised treks through the reserve and into the hinterland on e-bikes. Or, like me, you can take the easy option and grab one of the hotel beach bags – containing a towel, sunbed mattress and water – and walk down to the beach.

On her visit to Sicily, Fiona McIntosh explores the colourful fishing port of Sciacca (pictured), with its narrow, colourful streets, seafood restaurants and ceramics shops

As the Adler group is known for its plush alpine spa hotels, the same Germanic rigour has been applied to fitting out the extraordinary spa in its Sicilian outpost. All stone and wood and super high-tech, it’s such a vast, bamboozling playground of wellness you don’t quite know where to start.

Should I laze by the indoor/outdoor pool or pound up and down the lap pool? Join a yoga or pilates class, or book one of 40 different massages in the labyrinth of treatment rooms? End the day supine in a sauna, a steam room fragranced with Sicilian herbs or in the bubbling thalasso pool overlooking the sea?

When you’ve finished filling your boots with wellness, you might just make it to the restaurant in time for the all-inclusive buffet, a description which rather underplays the bacchanalian vision that greets you every evening. For example, on Seafood Night, slivers of raw Sicilian tuna, red prawns, langoustines, clams, oysters and sea urchin were laid out so beautifully on their icy bed it looked like a piece of installation art.

Fiona stays at the Adler Sicilia, which she says is ‘such a vast, bamboozling playground of wellness you don’t quite know where to start’

Adler Sicilia sits on the edge of the Torre Salsa Nature Reserve (above), where visitors might spot birds such as purple herons, honey buzzards, peregrine falcons and flamingos

Wonderful wildlife: The Torre Salsa Nature Reserve is a sanctuary for nesting sea turtles (stock photo)

Beyond the hotel, the area is full of delights. Half an hour’s drive east is Agrigento and the Valley Of The Temples Archaeological Park, a collection of ancient Greek temples said to be the best-preserved examples of their kind in the world. An hour’s drive west, near the town of Menfi, is the Planeta Ulmo wine estate, where you can book a tasting and lunch.

Also worth visiting is the fishing port of Sciacca, with its narrow, colourful streets, seafood restaurants and ceramics shops.

After a few days exploring the coast I took a 90-minute journey inland, through orange and olive groves, past silent hill towns and abandoned farms into the agricultural heart of Sicily.

At the end of a bumpy, unmade road, surrounded by hills carpeted with wheat fields and wild flowers, sits the Susafa estate which was once one of the many masserias – farming communities – that had fallen into disrepair. Then, in the early 2000s, Manfredi Rizzuto and his family began a renovation project to restore the cluster of farm buildings and turn the estate into a unique hotel.

In Sicilian dialect, Susafa means ‘it can be done’, and that has been taken as a sort of mission statement by the family to return the estate to its self-sufficient roots.

Ancient: Above are the ruins of the Temple of Juno in the Valley Of The Temples in Agrigento

TRAVEL FACTS

Double rooms at Adler Sicilia start from £308 per night half-board, with use of the spa (adler-resorts.com). B&B double rooms at Susafa from £368 per night (susafa.com). Return flights from London to Palermo from £74 with easyJet (easyjet.com).

Wheat and grains from the surrounding fields are used to make breads and pasta (you can join a class to learn how to make them). Cherries, apricots, oranges and strawberries grown on the farm are used in jams and tarts. Lamb, chicken and beef from the estate ends up on the evening menu with fresh fava beans, carrots and courgettes picked from the garden that day.

But although there’s a back-to-nature philosophy here, there’s nothing basic about the accommodation. From the outside it may look weather-worn, but on the inside Susafa has all the style, charm and comfort of a swanky Milanese hotel, from the enormous beds and rain showers to an infinity pool in the gardens and the magnificent, vaulted Old Granary where you can dine by candlelight on lamb, stuffed ravioli and platters of local cheeses.

From the roof terrace lounge, there are uninterrupted views of rolling hills, wooded valleys – and nothing else.

Palermo may be only 90 minutes away, but it might as well be another country.

SPEND A NIGHT AT THE LIVING MUSEUM

In a tranquil garden on the slopes of Mount Etna, near Taormina, lies what is rightly described as a living museum.

After ten years of restoration, the 17th Century Palazzo Previtera in Linguaglossa is now a guesthouse and one of the most extraordinary places to stay in Sicily.

The bedrooms are filled with pieces collected from the past 500 years of Sicilian history – from ornate Baroque beds (with new mattresses) to Neoclassical chairs and contemporary artworks.

Ornate: The 17th Century Palazzo Previtera in Linguaglossa is one of the most extraordinary places to stay in Sicily

You can also browse the palazzo’s collection of more than 2,000 books, including a 1758 edition of John Milton’s Paradise Lost.

Breakfast is made up of Sicilian delicacies, while wine tastings can be arranged at one of the 210 wineries nearby.

The cities where Australians are switching jobs more often – and the surprising places

admin — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 06:51:34 +0000

The cities where Australians are switching jobs more often – and the surprising places where 10 years with the same boss is typical

By Stephen Johnson, Economics Reporter For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:36 EDT, 13 September 2023 | Updated: 02:24 EDT, 13 September 2023

Workers in Brisbane are more likely to switch jobs every year than in any other part of Australia to get a pay rise during a cost of living crisis.

An analysis of LinkedIn profiles by Resume.io has revealed the Queensland capital had the highest rate of job hopping with 18.6 per cent of employees leaving after just a year.

Brisbane also has a younger population than Sydney or Melbourne and is home to a high proportion of inner-city renters and university students.

The high staff turnover is also linked with a higher concentration of banking, information technology and hospitality jobs.

Workers in Brisbane are more likely to switch jobs every year than in any other part of Australia to get a pay rise during a cost of living crisis (pictured is the city from Kangaroo Point)

By comparison, 18.1 per cent of Adelaide workers left within 12 months, compared with 16.7 per cent in Canberra, 15.5 per cent in Melbourne, 15.2 per cent in Hobart, 14.1 per cent on the Gold Coast and Newcastle, 14 per cent in Wollongong and Sydney, and 13 per cent in Geelong.

Amanda Augustine, a career expert with Resume.io, said switching jobs was a better way to get a pay rise.

‘Your salary can increase by as much as 20 per cent each time you change jobs whereas most employees only receive an annual pay rise of 3 to 4 per cent,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.

This is significantly higher than the 3.6 per cent increase in the wage price index during the last financial year.

Workers who stay in the same job are effectively receiving a 1.8 per cent cut in real wages because broader salary increases are lagging behind the 5.4 per cent inflation rate.

That means switching jobs is also a better way to receive better working conditions with unemployment still low at 3.7 per cent.

‘In addition, it’s often easier to negotiate package add-ons and flexible working arrangements during a new job discussion than it is during a compensation discussion with your current employer,’ Ms Augustine said.

At the other end of the scale, Newcastle had the most loyal employees with 20.5 per cent having been with the same employer for 10 years or more.

That put it ahead of Brisbane’s 20.3 per cent, Adelaide and Wollongong on 20 per cent, Sunshine Coast on 18.5 per cent, Hobart and Geelong’s 17.4 per cent, Melbourne and Canberra’s 15.5 per cent and the Gold Coast on 15.4 per cent.

Sydney was nowhere to be seen on the top 10 list for employee loyalty.

Job hopping could, however, slow down with the Reserve Bank of Australia expecting the jobless rate to rise to 4.5 per cent by the end of 2024.

That would see 114,500 people lose their job.

But cost of living pressures, in some areas, are continuing to worsen, despite a recent moderation in overall inflation, making job switching a high priority.

Commonwealth Bank data, based on the spending habits of its seven million customers, showed annual education costs surging by 14.7 per cent in August, up from 9 per cent in July following a surge in new international students.

Queensland, the state with a higher proportion of job switchers, had the biggest monthly spending growth in August of 1.5 per cent.

At the other end of the scale, Newcastle had the most loyal employees with 20.5 per cent having been with the same employer for 10 years or more (pictured are swimmers at Nobbys Beach)

Amanda Augustine, a career expert with resume.io, said switching jobs was a better way to get a pay rise

Danger across the border: Nine Mexican cities place among the 10 deadliest in the world

admin — Tue, 05 Sep 2023 23:02:59 +0000

Newly released data shows that nine Mexican cities rank among the 10 deadliest in the globe in 2022, according to World of Statistics.

The report listed the western Mexico municipality of Colima as the murder capital in the world with 181.9 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

The city is the second largest in the state of Colima and placed first in the list in 2021 with 196.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

Murders are on pace to equal or slightly surpass those figures in 2023, with 512 homicides registered through the first seven months of the year, an average of 73.1 per month, after 887 people were murdered the previous year at a clip of 73.91 homicides a month.

New Orleans, the only non-Mexican city in the list, was ranked eighth with 70.6 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants

According to World of Statistics, nine of the ten most dangerous cities in the world are located in Mexico. An additional two placed 13th and 14th

Mexican troops were dispatched to Tijuana International Airport on August 13, 2022 following a weekend of violent incidents that left 24 burned vehicles across the state of Baja California, including 15 in Tijuana, a border city across from San Diego. Tijuana ranked fifth with 105.1 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022

Police in Acapulco stand near the body of one of the five men who were shot and killed at Santana’s Sports and Snacks Bar on December 5, 2022. Once a top destination for the Hollywood elite, the beach resort town has been engulfed with crime and registered 65.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022

The municipality of Zamora, located in the western state of Michoacán, came in second, with 177.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants while Ciudad Obregón, the second largest city in the northwestern state of Sonora, recorded 138.2 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

Zacatecas, the capital and largest city of the north-central state of Zacatecas, came in fourth with an average of 134.6 per 100,000 inhabitants and the Pacific border city of Tijuana, across from California, ranked fifth 105.1 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

The cities of Celaya and Uruapan in the central state of Guanajuato placed fifth and sixth, respectively. Celaya registered 99.6 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants and Uruapan followed with 78.3 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.

The top 10 list is rounded out by Ciudad Juárez at nine. The border town, located in the northwestern state of Chihuahua and south of El Paso, Texas, registered 67.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants. It was second in 2019 with 104.4 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

Once a top destination for the Hollywood elite, the beach resort town of Acapulco placed 10th, tallying an average of 65.6 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

Forensic personnel work at the crime scene where unknown assailants left the bodies of three dismembered people in a vacant lot in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, on August 31. Ciudad Juárez, which sits on the northern Mexico border across from El Paso, Texas, ranked ninth in 2022 with 67.7 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants

A forensic technician walks at a crime scene where unknown assailants left the bodies of men wrapped in blankets in Zacatecas, Mexico on February 5, 2022

The Guanajuato municipality of Irapuato ranked 13th with 61.60 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants and the city of Cuernavaca in the central state of Morelos was listed in 14th place with 60.2 murders per 100,000 inhabitants.

Each of the cities listed in the report are within the Mexican states that the U.S. Department of State has issued travel advisories due to crime and kidnapping.

María del Carmen López, 63, a Mexico-U.S. dual citizen, has been missing since February 9 when gunmen kidnapped her home in the Colima municipality of Pueblo Nuevo.

In June, one of her seven children held a press conference in Los Angeles and pleaded with President Joe Biden to help find her.

She revealed that the kidnappers had sent the family an audio in which the woman can be heard begging to be brought back home.

Her daughter, Zonia López, said her mother asked them to ‘please hurry, act quickly, my children, and give them what they want. My life depends on it.’

Cities of the dead: New book tours the world’s most beautiful cemeteries, from Glasgow to

admin — Sat, 01 Jul 2023 14:23:09 +0000

Graveyards are inherently sombre places, but this new coffee table book endeavours to show the unexpected beauty they can hold.

Cities of the Dead: The World’s Most Beautiful Cemeteries by Yolanda Zappaterra and published by Frances Lincoln Publishing showcases unique graveyards that include an Australian memorial site overlooking the Tasman Sea, a ‘vibrant’ plant-filled cemetery in the U.S state of Georgia and a striking Victorian burial ground in Bristol.

In the introduction, author Zappaterra writes: ‘Some have been chosen for their physical attractiveness, but others for the globally important historical and cultural periods they mark, or the famous people gathered in them, or their location, or whether one might want to be buried in them.’

She continues: ‘As with our cities of the living, the cities of the dead are windows into every aspect of humanity and its nature. Here, laid bare, are clearly visible mankind’s potential for greatness – intelligence, personal achievements, philanthropy, generosity, creativity, imagination – but also our potential for weakness and failure – bloodlust, war, famine, greed and brutality.’

The publisher weighs in: ‘Together with evocative images, the stories behind these notable burial sites bring these sanctuaries to life, detailing the features that make them special, highlighting both similarities and differences between time periods, religions and cultures, and showing how cemeteries are about and for the living as much as the dead.’

Scroll down to see 10 of the burial sites that appear in the compendium, and you’ll see why the author says that ‘experiencing, exploring and respecting’ these cemeteries will ‘ensure that they continue to be living, vital spaces in our world’…

CEMITERIO SAO JOAO BATISTA, BOTAFOGO, RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL: This graveyard, which opened in 1852, is ‘located between the stern but loving Christ the Redeemer statue and the human playgrounds of Copacabana beach’, the book reveals, adding that in total, ‘over 25,000 tombs hold the remains of an estimated 70,000 people’ at the site. Zappaterra writes that this ‘vast necropolis’ is ‘a memory ground devoted to the makers of [Brazil] in every field, from aviation to exploration, popular culture to politics’. Notable people buried here include Fifa president Joao Havelange and the singer Carmen Miranda

GLASGOW NECROPOLIS, GLASGOW, SCOTLAND: Zappaterra describes this 1831 graveyard as ‘calm and a little bit enchanted’, noting that it’s ‘the kind of place where it is easy to get lost’. She says: ‘Often, the cemetery is deserted – except by colonies of pipistrelle bats.’ The author says that the cemetery’s ‘grimy, supernatural’ atmosphere ‘has not gone unnoticed by filmmakers: Robert Pattinson’s Batman cruises darkly through [the site] on his bat bike in the franchise’s 2022 iteration’. The most notable interment is likely that of William Miller, the poet who penned the children’s nursery rhyme ‘Wee Willie Winkie’, the book adds

HIGHGATE CEMETERY, LONDON, ENGLAND: Established in 1839, this site is split across two cemeteries – East and West Cemetery. Zappaterra recommends taking a guided tour, as ‘the meandering hilly paths through pretty and surprisingly dense woodland are lovely to explore, but it can be hard to find particular graves’. She notes that the cemetery has ‘great stories’ to tell, adding: ‘You’ll learn of Robert Liston, known as the fastest knife in the West End for his ability to amputate a limb and sew up the remaining stump in around two minutes.’ One of the most prominent tombs, the book reveals, is ‘the pink marble shorn column above the body of Alexander Litvinenko, the former Russian spy killed with polonium-210 in 2006’. The book adds that singer George Michael is also buried at the cemetery

SOUTH PARK STREET CEMETERY, KOLKATA, INDIA: Zappaterra notes that this cemetery was established in 1767, with its location ‘determined by the East India Company [a British joint-stock company], which needed a new burial ground to accommodate the dismaying number of Europeans dying in the city’. These Europeans ‘succumbed all too easily to tropical diseases, poor sanitation and inadequate medicines and healthcare practices’. The author reveals: ‘The new cemetery’s first occupant was an East India Company clerk… hot on his heels came practitioners of myriad other professions, among them jail-keepers, silversmiths, teachers, architects, translators and surgeons.’ The author says there are ‘almost certainly’ snakes in the graveyard, remarking: ‘Don’t stray too far from the beautifully tended walkways if you’re ever lucky enough to visit this lovely necropolis’

SKOGSKYRKOGARDEN WOODLAND CEMETERY, STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN: This striking cemetery, where 10,000 pine trees loom over the gravestones, was established in 1920 and laid out by two architects who put the ‘experience of mourning’ at the centre of their design. The author notes: ‘Benches would be angled slightly so that mourners could see each other and feel less alone, and the treads of the staircase leading to the hilltop Almhojden (meditation grove) would become more shallow as they rose, so that visitors would arrive feeling calm and contemplative rather than breathless and agitated.’ One notable grave at the cemetery is that of the 20th-century actress Greta Garbo

GLENDALOUGH GRAVEYARD, CO. WICKLOW, IRELAND: Visiting this graveyard is a ‘1,000-year-old journey back in time’, Zappaterra reveals. It’s ‘set in one of the country’s loveliest spots, in a thickly forested glacial valley deep in the heart of the Wicklow Mountains at the confluence of the Glendasan and Glenealo rivers’. The site is home to the ruins of a 7th-century monastic settlement as well as ‘2,000 gravestones spanning nine centuries, possibly more’. According to the author, highlights of the site include the 108ft- (33-metre) high round tower, which was built by monks in the 11th century, and the ‘preposterously pretty’ St Kevin’s Church

PERE LACHAISE, PARIS, FRANCE: The book says of Pere Lachaise: ‘From its opening in 1804… it set the gold standard for cemetery design that replaced squalid, unhygienic, claustrophobic inner-city burial grounds with expansive landscapes where the carefully considered combination of architecture, planting and landscaping created recreational spaces that people clamoured to be in, whether dead or alive.’ The book notes that more than three million people visit Pere Lachaise each year, making it the most visited cemetery in the world. Zappaterra says the cemetery ‘reads like a who’s who of Western culture’, housing the remains of such ‘luminaries’ as singers Maria Callas, Jim Morrison and Edith Piaf, writers Oscar Wilde and Proust, and the composer Chopin

THE WAVERLEY CEMETERY, SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA: Zappaterra says that this site ‘must be one of the most beautiful settings imaginable’ for a graveyard.’ She writes: ‘Perched high on top of the Bronte cliffs in the eastern suburbs of Sydney between Coogee and Bronte beaches, the 50,000 or so graves looking out over the deep blue waters of the Pacific Ocean’s Tasman Sea, can’t help but make anyone who visits want to spend their afterlife here.’ When the graveyard was established in 1875, it was designed to be a ‘garden-like space that people would enjoy visiting’. Poet Henry Kendall and the Olympic swimmer Sarah Frances ‘Fanny’ Durack, who was the first Australian woman to win an Olympic gold medal, have been interred here, the book reveals

BONAVENTURE CEMETERY, SAVANNAH, GEORGIA, USA: This graveyard, established in 1846, houses an ‘abundance of life’, according to Zappaterra. She explains: ‘There is lush, vibrant growth everywhere you look, from roses and spring azaleas in dazzling colours to swaying palmetto leaves and live oaks that are believed to date back 250 years.’ The author says that Pulitzer-Prize-winning writer Conrad Aiken is perhaps its most famous resident, though she notes he doesn’t have a gravestone – ‘instead his burial place is marked by a bench because, so the story goes, he wanted to have something that acted as an invitation to visitors to stop and enjoy a martini’

ARNOS VALE CEMETERY, BRISTOL, ENGLAND: This graveyard, which is surrounded by the Bristol suburbs of Knowle, Brislington, St Philips and Totterdown, was created in 1837 as a ‘garden cemetery to entice wealthy Bristolians away from their insanitary, overcrowded churchyards and burial grounds in Bristol city’. The book reveals that today, it accommodates in excess of 50,000 graves. ‘Arnos Vale Cemetery is very much a place for the living as well as the dead,’ says Zappaterra, explaining that tutors bring groups for a range of studies, there are informative guided tours, there’s a cafe serving ‘good’ coffee and cake, and plays, concerts and wedding ceremonies are hosted there

What 10 American cities will look like in 2050, predicted by AI

admin — Sun, 14 May 2023 22:01:59 +0000

According to AI, the future is bright.

DailyMail.com asked the image-generator Midjourney to imagine what 10 American cities will look like in 2050 using prompts from leading experts in ‘smart city’ developments.

The prompts focused on how overcrowding, climate change and technological development are likely to change the cities of the future.

The amazing results show many of the concrete jungles adorned with lush vegetation sprouting from sci-fi-looking hi-rises that winged vehicles soar around in bright blue skies.

New York City: The cities of the future will be greener places, with vertical farms producing food (Midjourney)

Houston: Vehicles on the road will be autonomous, and greenery will be everywhere (Midjourney)

By 2050, almost three-quarters of the world population (68 percent) will live in cities, according to a UN prediction.

While it might sound bleak, technology could turn congested regions into lush utopias.

The cities of the future will use technology to improve quality of life, efficiency and sustainability, said Chris Dymond, Director of the International Smart Cities Management Program at Zigurat Global Institute of Technology in Barcelona.

Dymond said that travel will be unrecognizable from today’s polluted streets – as hybrid working and autonomous driving reshape the roads.

He said, ‘People will likely travel less, as remote working and telepresence become ever more sophisticated and latency-free.

‘When they do travel they will have many more modes of transport to choose from, including being driven or flown autonomously and on-demand.

Dymond believes that buildings will also be reshaped to become more energy efficient, with every opportunity taken to recover wasted energy.

Cities will also be greener, with vegetables and fruit grown locally, Dymond said.

Washington: The cities of the future will be greener and ruled by benevolent AI (Midjourney)

Philadelphia: Autonomous flying cars will allow city dwellers to take off and fly to their destinations (Midjourney)

San Francisco: Vertical farms will reshape the cities of the future

Chicago: Solar arrays and energy-efficient ways of living will change the cities of the future (Midjourney)

Dymond said, ‘Our communities will be radically more efficient and sustainable, and hopefully more healthy as well.’

He believes that artificial intelligence will play a role in managing these future cities.

‘Digital twin’ technology will allow city dwellers to see the effect decisions have on traffic, air quality and safety as it happens.

Dymond said, ‘Perhaps the biggest change will be accessible digital twins, that can show everyone what’s really going on in their cities, and what the effect of every decision is likely to be.’

‘Whether they will be better places to live depends on how citizens are engaged in decision-making along the way, and whether AI and a multitude of other technological developments make it easier for this to happen.’

Artificial intelligence will be key to managing future cities, agrees Wendy Shearer, Smart Cities Director, Pulsant.

Shearer believes that future mayors will have deputies who are powerful artificial intelligence.

Seattle: The cars on the road will be autonomous, feeding data back to city leaders (Midjourney)

Los Angeles: Greenery will be everywhere in the cities of the future (Midjourney)

Boston: Cities of the future will be reshaped by robotics and green energy (Midjourney)

San Diego: In the future, cities will be reshaped by solar power and robotic vehicles (Midjourney)

She said, ‘In the smart city of 2050, an AI City Manager will report directly to the local Mayor.

‘While the Mayor will have final authority over policy and political decisions, data-driven insights will be so finely integrated into the workings of the city that the role of AI City Manager will have been established to standardize and develop the urban environment.’

‘Any smart city leader would be responsible for the implementation and maintenance of the complex technologies required to deliver on the city’s vision – as well as making the most of the data generated by the smart city itself,’ Shearer said.