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ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR OF SICILY
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Day 1
Transfer from the airport to your hotel in Palermo. Orientation meeting with your tour escort. Dinner and overnight at your hotel.
Day 2
Breakfast in hotel.
In the morning, with the Countess Federico, we will go to the Ballaṛ street market, typical "par excellence", full of colour and folkloric. Here you will taste typical street food such as pani ca meusa, panelle, arancini... and you will buy the ingredients for the cooking class.
In the kitchen of the 13th century palace, the Chef Giglio will teach us how to prepare typical dishes of the mediaeval Sicilian tradition matched with dishes of the popular tradition such as the insalata di arance and sardines or the egg plant caponata. The lunch will be enjoyed in a torch-lit atmosphere in the Torre di Scrigno, a tower built in the XI century.
In the afternoon, enjoy a tour of Palermo, stretched along a beautiful bay on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Founded by the Phoenicians in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., it was conquered by the Arabs in 831, and a period of immense prosperity commenced.
You'll be enchanted by Palermo's wide boulevards, traditional Sicilian Old Quarter, and baroque palaces. You'll see the city's main sights, including Quattro Canti di Citta' (the Four Corners of the City), Palermo's extravagant baroque square. The square is ringed by four buildings with baroque sculptures that depict the Four Seasons, Spanish kings, and the patron saints of Palermo's four old quarters. See the twelfth-century Cathedral of Palermo, which houses a pantheon of royal tombs. Dinner at Focacceria San Francesco, the oldest restaurant in Palermo. Overnight at your hotel.
Day 3
After breakfast, departure for Segesta. As the major Greek city in western Sicily, ancient Segesta was besieged and conquered by Dionysius and Agathocles, and eventually fell to the Romans. Here you'll see the haunting Doric temple, dating from the fifth century B.C. Although never completed, it is in an excellent state of preservation, and commands a majestic setting from its position on the hill.
Transfer to Erice, a wonderful and mysterious medieval town made famous in ancient times as the birthplace of Venus. Walking through the cobble - stoned streets of the town, smelling a variety of aromas emanating from the numerous pastry shop for which Erice is famous. We will visit the Norman Castle and the Duomo. Stopping at the world famous Pastry shop by Maria Grammatico, here we will taste almond sweets, genovesi and nougat to match with Marsala wine. Lunch on your own.
This area has long been famous for its Salt Pans located on the coastline between the cities of Trapani and Marsala. Locals extract the salt from the seawater following the same procedure used by the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians who once colonized this part of the Sicily. Once extracted from the water and dried, the salt is heaped into mounds and covered in tiles-just like the ones used on house roofs-so the rain won't melt the salt before it's packed. After visiting the Salt Pans we suggest to visit Mothia Island, the most important Phoenician colony in Sicily. Accommodation in hotel, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 4
After breakfast, depart for Selinunte. This city was founded by the settlers proceeding from Megara Hyblaea in the 7th century b.C.; it represents today a strip of land of ancient Greece on the island's western stretch of coast, rich in temples, defensive works and shrines. We will visit the Acropolis, climbing it from the eastern Hill, from the plateau of Contrada Manuzza and from the shrine of the Malophoros in the district of Gaggera, the Archaeological Museum, featuring a noteworthy Etruscan collection and artifacts from the Hellenic temples at Selinute. Lunch in Selinunte in a typical seafood restaurant. Transfer to Agrigento to visit the superb Valley of the Temples. Containing some of the greatest Greek ruins in the world, the splendour of its temples rivals that of Athens. Here you'll see the Temple of Juno, with its restored Doric columns and excellent views of the entire valley. This temple was erected sometime in the mid-fifth century B.C. at the height of construction honouring the gods.
The Temple of Concord here ranks with the Temple of Theseus in the ancient Greek Agora in Athens as one of the best-preserved Greek temples in the world. It has many columns, and represents one of the finest examples of an inner temple. The Temple of Hercules is the most ancient temple in the valley. Though badly ruined, it once ranked in size with the Temple of Zeus, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. And, you'll see the Temple of Jupiter, the largest in the valley, with its giant Atlas, one of several that once supported the edifice.
Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.
Day 5
Breakfast. Today is a day devoted to Sicilian cheeses. You will go to the Settelune dairy to see the "pecorino" and "ricotta" production, from the milking, to the cooking, to the maturing of the product. We're going to have an excellent lunch with cheeses, honey and marmalade.
In the afternoon visit of the historical center of Agrigento. We'll visit the Church of Santa Maria dei Greci, built upon the old Temple of Athena, the Santo Spirito monastery, the Cathedral and Rabbato, the old Arab quarter. Return, dinner and overnight stay in the hotel.
Day 6
Breakfast and transfer to Piazza Armerina where you'll view the extraordinary floor mosaics in the Roman Villa del Casale. The famed Roman mosaics housed in this third-century villa are among the best preserved in the world, depicting scenes from everyday life. Scenes include children at play, and big game hunts showing some of the exotic African animals brought to Rome for gladiator games. Transfer to Caltagirone for a typical Sicilian lunch in agriturismo. Before having the lunch we will see how they make the bread according to the old local traditions. In the afternoon we will go the city center, whose ceramics are a symbol of Sicily. You will see the Regional Pottery Museum, some permanent manger scenes, and an evocative city center full of artisan shops. Dinner and overnight stay in hotel in Ragusa.
Day 7
Breakfast and visit of the eastern Sicily through the Baroque, whose heritage, both for importance and for beauty, has been declared World Heritage by the UNESCO. Visit of the historical center of Ragusa Ibla, which has a special atmosphere in the evenings thanks to the contrasts between the lights of the town and its peaceful surroundings. Transfer to Modica, where we will admire picturesque lanes and narrows streets, with plenty of old workshops. We will visit the Byzantine Rock Church and St. George's Church, the only one including a nave and as good as four aisles. At the end of morning, we will visit the Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, the oldest confectionary shop of Sicily and taste the very famous chocolate of Modica. Lunch on your own and leave for Noto. We will admire the historical centre of Noto, the capital of Baroque in Sicily, a very beautiful town with amazing palaces in baroque style. In 1693 age earthquake totally destroyed the town. The current town was rebuilt by famous architect. They made the new Noto a masterpiece of Sicilian Baroque, It is currently listed among UNESCO's World Heritage Sites. Transfer to the hotel in Siracusa, dinner and overnight stay.
Day 8
Breakfast and visit of the city. Of all the Greek cities of antiquity that flourished on the coast of Sicily, Siracusa was the most important, a formidable seafaring power nearly equal to Athens. In the heyday of its power, it dared to take on both Carthage and Rome. At one time, its wealth and size were unmatched by any other city in the ancient world, and today it is one of the richest historical sites in Europe. It is said that this city is the birthplace of comedy in Greek theatre, and here is the only school of classical drama outside of Athens. You'll see remarkable Greek and Roman ruins, including the cave called "The Ear of Dionysius," because of its unusual shape, resembling a human ear. The cave is more than 200 feet long, and has such good acoustics that the ripping of paper can sound like a gunshot. It is said that the tyrant Dionysius forced his prisoners into the ear at night and was able to hear every word they said.
Visit of the elegant island of Ortigya, where we will admire the architectural splendour of ancient medieval streets, baroque structures, and classic churches as the Duomo, built upon the old temple of Athena.
Lunch on your own and departure of Catania. This city is dramatically situated between the Ionian Sea and the looming bulk of Mount Etna, which every so often rains ash upon the streets. The town was rebuilt in the Baroque style, and it was during this era that many of the town's finest buildings were constructed. We will visit its impressive Duomo and experience the city's strong personality during a visit to its ebullient Pescheria, the daily fish and vegetable market. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Catania.
Day 9
Breakfast and departure to Mount Etna, the most active volcano in Europe and one of the oldest recorded active volcano in the world. Here you can go and visit the crater of 2001-2002 by cable-car. Complite exscursion of the Volcano. Lunch in a typical restaurant.
Dinner and overnight stay at hotel in Catania.
Day 10
Breakfast and departure to the airport of Catania.
Price on request - min 2 persons
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