A CULINARY TOUR OF SICILY

Day 1_Welcome in Sicily
Transfer from the airport to your hotel in Palermo. This afternoon, we’ll explore the city on foot.

Day 2_Cooking class and Palermo’s Food Market
Breakfast in hotel. In the morning, You will meet the Chef Clemente to venture to one of Palermo’s historic markets (Il Capo, La Vucciria or Borgo Vecchio) were will purchase all the ingredients necessary to prepare your meal. Along the way, you will also taste some of Palermo’s most typical foods, such as “panelle” and “pane con la milza”. The hands on cooking class are held in a typical restaurant. The dishes you've prepared will be served with just the right Sicilian wine, and dessert accompanied by local biscotti and Sicilian dessert wine.
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 leisure and overnight stay.

Day 3_The Salt Road
This morning we’ll drive out to the 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. We’ll visit the windmills used to move the salt through the pans and enjoy lunch with a magnificent view of the sea. Later in the afternoon, we’ll visit 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. You will see 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. Dinner and overnight stay at Hotel Elimo where we will meet famous chef Carmelo Tilotta.

Day 4_Sicilian Wines
Today we leave for Sambuca di Sicilia, to visit the famous Planeta winery. It was founded in 1995 on the banks of Lake Arancio and is surrounded by vineyards and a native olive tree grove. We’ll visit the presses, the steel tubs used for fermentation, and witness the bottling process. Finally, we’ll visit the barrel cellar, which consists of around 1,200 barrels. We’ll taste four different wines paired with some cheeses and breadsticks.
Leaving for Agrigento where we will meet our guide who will take us to Agrigento to visit the Valley of the Temples. Along the “Sacred Way” we will visit the Temple of Hercules, the Temple of Concord, and the Temple of Juno. Finally, we will visit the wonderful Garden of Kolymbetra, an old water reservoir of the Greeks.
Then we’ll transfer to our Country House for a three night stay. Accommodation in reserved room. The farm stands out among the colors and fragrances of the immense olive groves which surround it. Visit to the farm, the olive tree groves, and the oil press. Meeting with the owners Silvia and Giuseppe. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 5_Olive Harvest
Breakfast with traditional foods. In Sicily, the olive harvest begins in late autumn when the olives are mature but still green. They are picked by hand or with the aid of a baton. This is a very characteristic scene that will whisk you back to ancient times. Nets are placed under the trees, and baskets are brought to collect the olives using traditional techniques. In the afternoon you will bring olives to the oil press where you can see how oil is produced. Your work is rewarded with a tasting of oil with bread, garlic and oregano. Lunch at country house. At 4:00 p.m. , we’ll enjoy a cooking lesson and you will learn how to prepare “anelletti al forno” with eggplant, sauce, and fresh basil. We will also cook, in various ways, some typical Sicilian vegetables. We’ll also prepare the polpettone di carne (meatloaf) and a vegetable side dish with ingredients harvested from our garden. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6_Sicilian Cheeses
The whole day will be devoted to Sicilian cheeses. We’ll drive to Sant’Angelo Muxaro, an enchanting little village near Agrigento. We’ll start with an archeological walk through the biggest Tholos tombs in Sicily, and then we will visit a shepherd to see how ricotta cheese is made. Surrounded on all sides by the genuine Sicilian atmosphere, we will be able to taste the still warm ricotta cheese as it is finished. Here we’ll attend a cheese-tasting and learn the distinct characteristics of typical Sicilian pecorino cheese. Lunch in a typical house.
Before returning to the country house, you will be able to spend some time in Via Atenea, the shopping street with its many clothing shops, luxurious jewelers, and artisan workshops. Return dinner and overnight stay.

Day 7_Baroque and Sicilian Chocolate
Breakfast and transfer to eastern Sicily through the Baroque, whose heritage, both for importance and for beauty, has been declared World Heritage by the UNESCO. In the morning you will visit Modica where admire picturesque lanes and arrows streets, with plenty of old workshops, St. George’s Church, the only one including a nave and as good as four aisles. You will visit the Antica Dolceria Bonajuto, the oldest confectionary shop of Sicily and taste the very famous chocolate of Modica. Meeting with the owner Pierpaolo Ruta to discover the secrets of Modican Chocolate. The chocolate of Modica is special and very particular because of the lack of cacao butter, the only ingredients are cacao and sugar. Lunch in a typical trattoria. Accommodation in a three star hotel and free time to enjoy Ragusa Ibla. Dinner at leisure and overnight stay.

Day 8_Noto and Sicilian Sweets
In the early morning we’ll set off for Noto, once destroyed by earthquake and now one of Sicily’s most beautiful baroque cities. There we will meet with master confectioner Corrado Assenza who will dazzle us with a tasting of his many products (ice creams, jams, sauces) and serve us lunch combining all of these with exciting flavors. Leaving for Siracusa, 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. We'll see remarkable Greek and Roman ruins, including the cave called "The Ear of Dionysius," because of its unusual shape, resembling a human ear. Finally we will enjoy 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. Return in Ragusa and dinner in a typical restaurant. Overnight stay.

Day 9_Cooking on Mt. Etna
This morning we make our way to Viagrande on Mount Etna. Here we’ll meet Mrs Eleonora Consoli in her La Cucina del Sole (The Sun's Kitchen). Eleonora has written several cookbooks on Sicilian gastronomy and she is an official expert on Sicilian cooking in the world. She will lead a hands-on cooking class, featuring several classic Sicilian dishes including appetizers, pasta alla Norma (with eggplant, tomato sauce and salted ricotta cheese), breaded veal rolls or meat-balls Sicilian style, Cassata Siciliana. Lunch is served at Eleonora's home. After lunch, we’ll visit the Murgo Winery with the owner Pietro Scammacca and you will taste their best wines, and olive oil from organic agriculture. Accommodation at Hotel Gabel. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 10_Taormina
This morning we’ll visit Taormina to admire the amazing Greek Theatre set on a hill overlooking the sea and the Duomo. The historical centre is a wonderful place to stroll, shop and enjoy the views over the Mediterranean. Lunch at leisure. Return at hotel and dinner. Overnight stay.

Day 11_Honey and Passito on Mount Etna
Today will be dedicated to discover Etna and its small towns. In the morning you will drive to Rifugio Sapienza, located 1.900 m. above sea level, where it will be possible to visit the small, inactive Silvestri craters. It will be possible to go by cable-car up to 2000 metres and then by Jeep up to the new craters opened in 2001 at 3000 metres above the sea level (2 hours, not included). Then you will visit the Honey House to taste different kind of honey from Etna. Lunch based on typical Sicilian products and leaving for Linguaglossa where we will meet the Scilio Family at the Scilio Winery: we will taste their best wines, and olive oil from organic agriculture and their famous Passito dell’Etna. Typical PIZZA DINNER! Overnight stay.

Day 12_Depart Catania
We’ll depart Mt. Etna early this morning for Catania and our homeward flights.