Sicily beckons the winner of a new word game series, which kicked off yesterday. Virtu Ferries is offering two return passenger catamaran tickets valid until December. The prize includes fuel and port service charges.

The six winning words of the last word game were increment, pinnacled, disbelief, menagerie, watermill and relevance.

The new game ends on July 30, with entries having to be submitted by August 5.

Sicily is blessed with a Mediterranean climate but its mountain ranges are a pefect getaway for the hot summer months. A mountain walk on a cool summer evening is uplifting and only a few minutes away from a beach to bask in the sun the next morning.

One can ski on Mount Etna in the winter and sail from Naxos beach only 35 minutes later. Little wonder the Greeks colonised Sicily at the height of their empire and called it Magna Grecia.

In 1693 an earthquake devastated the southwestern part of the island. From the ashes was born Sicilian baroque, including towns like Noto, Catania, Modica, Ragusa, Vittoria, Comiso and Chiaramonte Gulfi.

Sicily, historically a granary, is blessed with orange groves and fruit trees not to mention the fish freshly caught from its coastal areas and the meats when staying in the countryside. Virtu Ferries’ high-speed catamaran Jean De La Valette provides several round trips per week.