Travelling to Sicily in December

Hi,

has everyone already been to Sicily in December?
I will be there for a week (in between of two weedings) and would like to travel around (as the days before the first and the days after the second weeding we will stay with our family at the small italian village near Marsala).

I thought to go to Siracusa or Catania, where I could enjoy some daytrips. But don't know, if I could find a hotel which stays open in December.
I also heard about a ferry to Malta? Does anybody has some information about an actual itinerary of this ferry (and of course in December 2009)?

Thanks

Unlike the south of mainland Italy, the Sicilian tourist season is on pretty much all year. Especially in the larger cities, you should have no trouble whatsoever finding accommodation.

Grimaldi Ferries operates a service between Catania and La Valletta which takes about three hours. Contact them for winter operating schedules. There also used to be a ferry between La Valletta and Pozzallo on the southern coast of Sicily, but I have no idea whether that's still there.