Sicily

CATANIA

Arrival at Catania airport. Meeting with the local guide and, if your operating flight allows it, visiting the Pescheria, an ancient and folkloristic fish market where you can have lunch while tasting street food (fried fish, boiled octopus, fish meatballs, fish balls). In the afternoon we visit with guide this city, an incredible “baroque showcase”; its center is cut by two by the elegant via Etnea. During the tour we visit Biscari Palace (outside), Elephant's fountain, the Cathedral, Crociferi street, town hall, Chierici palace and the Monastery of Benedictines (outside). Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

exc. ETNA - TAORMINA

Half board in hotel. In the morning we visit with guide the Etna volcano (1800 m) in particular the extinguished craters of the mountain Silvestri. Time for an optional excursion (payment on the spot): ascent by jeep with an alpine guide up to the height 2900 m. Lunch in restaurant. In the afternoon we go to Taormina to visit with guide the famous Greek-Roman theatre; then free time for shopping and a walk along the typical streets full of handcraft and souvenir shops. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight.

SIRACUSA - NOTO

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Syracuse. This city, which in the past was the most fierce rival of Athens and Rome, preserves important evidence of its past history: Greek theatre, Roman amphiteatre, Latomie, the Ear of Dionysus. Visit the Ortigia island where you can admire the Minerva Temple transformed into a Christian cathedral and the legendary Aretusa Fountain.  Lunch in restaurant. Then we continue to Noto, the most beautiful of all, the “stone garden”, where the highest conception of Baroque urbanism is expressed.Also built from scratch after the 1693 earthquake, it is rich in baroque jewels: the Duomo, Ducezio palace, Bishop palace as well as Landolina and Villadorata palaces and St. Domenico church. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight.

PIAZZA ARMERINA - AGRIGENTO

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning departure for Piazza Armerina, where you will visit the Roman villa del Casale. It is a luxurius private residence belonging to a powerful Roman family and famous for its Roman floor mosaic dated to 3rd and 4th century AD. Lunch in a farmhouse. Continuation to Agrigento. In the afternoon visit to the Temple valley: Concordia temple, Juno's temple, Hercules' temple, Castor and Pollux' temple. Accomodation in a hotel in Agrigento or Selinunte, dinner and overnight.

SELINUNTE - MARSALA - MOTHIA

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning departure for Selinunte, visit to the archeological complex of Selinunte (archeological site, Acropolis), the most important in Europe for the extension and majesty of its ruins. Then we continue to Marsala. We visit the pictoresque old town of this ancient city. Lunch in restaurant and in the afternoon we reach by ferry boat the lush island of Mothia where we visit the museum, one of the most interesting for the Phoenician/Punic civilization in the Mediterranean sea. All around the saltmines, mills, windmills and vineyards, make up a natural frame of great charm. Continue to Marsala, situated in one of the most important vineyard area of Sicily. It is unthinkable not to make a short visit to a wine cellar to know the secrets and appreciate the famous wine that takes its name from this famous town: "Marsala". Accomodation in hotel in the area of Mazara del Vallo/Marsala, dinner and overnight.

SEGESTA - TRAPANI - ERICE

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Segesta, archaelogical center of great interest. Its most important building is the Doric Temple in excellent condition, which stands on a hill, in a lush landscape and full of charm. Possibility of visiting the Greek Theatre of the second century Bc entirely carved into the rock. Continuation to Trapani. Walk through the elegant streets of the old town. Continuation to Nubia. Salt pans and windmills design an evocative landscape. Lunch in a restaurant inside a mill, seat of the Salt Museum where the ancient tools for the cultivation of salt are kept. In the afternoon visit of Erice which preserves intact the charm of an ancient medieval village. Continue to Palermo. Accommodation in a hotel. Dinner and overnight.

MONREALE - CEFALU'

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning departure for Monreale where you will visit the Duomo with its famous mosaics and the Benedictine Cloister. Continuation to Cefalù. Lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon visit to Cefalù, a picturesque town on the Tyrrhenian coast, surrounded by greenery and dominated by a fortress on which stands the beautiful Norman cathedral of the twelfth century. Visit the historic center. Return to the hotel, dinner and overnight.

PALERMO

Breakfast at the hotel. Day dedicated to a guided tour of the historical centre of Palermo. In particular we will visit: the Cathedral built in Arabic-Norman style, its famous Palatina chapel situated inside the Palace of Normans, Martorana church, the church of San Giuseppe dei Teatini of 1612. Walk through the elegant streets of the historic center for shopping, from the outside you will visit the Massimo theatre, the famous Pretoria square with its beautiful fountain named Quattro canti di città, (Four chants of the city). Free lunch. In the afternoon transfer to Palermo airport in time for the return flight.