ARCHEOLOGICAL TOUR OF SICILY

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 Ballarò 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. 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. 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. Dinner and overnight stay at the hotel.

Day 5
Breakfast. Today is a day devoted to Sicilian cheeses produced in a little town near Agrigento. You 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 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.