- DAY 1: LUNCH WITH STREET FOOD AT THE PALERMO MARKET AND VISIT TO MONREALE
Arrival at the airport, meeting with our guide and we will visit Palermo, which stretches along the beautiful Tyrrhenian Bay. The city’s wide boulevards, the old town and the Baroque architectural building will enchant you. We will visit the main attractions of the city such as the Norman section, the Quattro Canti (the four corners of the city), the baroque square of the Cathedral, the Fountain of Piazza Pretoria and the Church of the Martorana. Afterwards we will move to the Cape market. We’ll start exploring Sicilian culture and cuisine right away. The itinerary begins with a visit to the Mercato del Capo, the oldest market in Palermo, where we will see and taste the famous street food: panelle, arancine, croquettes and pani ca meusa. You will admire the small and colorful shacks that characterize the richness of fruit, fish and meat; the vendors, who scream, to get your attention. After our lunch, we will move to Monreale to visit the imposing Arab-Norman cathedral with its masterpieces of art, (famous for the rich Byzantine mosaics magnificently decorative inside), its beautiful cloister, sculptures and inlays.
Return to the hotel in Palermo, accommodation in the rooms and overnight stay.
- DAY 2: MARSALA & MOZIA SALT PANS/WINERY FOOD & WINE EXPERIENCE/AGRIGENTO
After breakfast we will leave to visit the Stagnone Salt Pans in Marsala. Then we’ll take the boat to visit the Island of Mozia and the Whitaker Museum. At the end of the visit we will reach the winery, arrival of the group and presentation of the structure, guided tour of the winery. At the end, tasting of representative wines of the company, accompanied by a lunch of typical Sicilian products. After lunch at the winery we turn towards Agrigento, stop for about twenty minutes at the “Scala dei Turchi” for ritual photos of the characteristic landscape.
Arrival in Agrigento after about 30 minutes at the hotel, overnight.
- Day 3: Agrigento – Valley of the Temples – Wine oil Val Paradiso – Agrigento Historic Center
After breakfast we will leave for Agrigento for a guided tour of the splendid Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, where among a vast expanse of almond trees (in bloom since February) rise the remains of ancient Akragas, defined by Pindar as “the most beautiful city of mortals”. You will be able to admire the Temples of Juno, Concordia, Hercules and Zeus. At the end of the visit of about 2/3 hours we will leave for Naro, guided tour at the Val Paradiso company with a visit to the olive groves and fields conducted organically; visit of the oil mill, the cellar, the bottling room with the addition of a tasting guided by our panels, of EVO oil.
Sicilian Food Festival – Street Food served buffet style at the Val Paradiso Academy “permanent school of Sicilian oil”. The buffet includes: assorted bruschetta, olives and olive pate, bread and panelle, arancine, pizza by the slice, sfincione, Sicilian cheeses and cold cuts, a first course of cold pasta, a cold second course typical of Sicilian cuisine, eggplant parmigiana or caponata, and other seasonal specialties.
After lunch we move to Agrigento. Meet your guide and visit the old town, a fascinating labyrinth of medieval streets, baroque churches and ancient Greek ruins. The heart of the historic center is the Piazza Pirandello, In addition, a visit to the center of Agrigento would not be complete without a walk along the Via Atenea, the city’s main pedestrian street, full of shops, restaurants, bars, and cafes. This street leads to the Cathedral of San Gerlando, which is the main place of worship in the city. Another popular attraction in the center of Agrigento is the Monastery of Santo Spirito, an ancient convent dating back to the 14th century, which has been converted into a museum of art and culture. In this museum, you can admire works of art and historical artifacts, ranging from sacred art to local traditions and popular culture. Return to the hotel and overnight hotel in Agrigento.
- DAY 4: PIAZZA ARMERINA – RAGUSA AREA
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Piazza Armerina, known throughout the world for the mosaics of the Villa Romana del Casale, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Lunch in an excellent farmhouse with local and quality products and continue. Accommodation in the hotel and overnight stay in the Ragusa area.
- DAY 5: RAGUSA IBLA / MODICA
After breakfast we will set off to discover the Ragusa area in the places of Andrea Cammilleri’s character, Inspector Montalbano. We will start with Ragusa where we will visit the Duomo and the square of Vigata, where the beautiful Cathedral of S. Giorgio dominates, which in the fiction represents the mother church of the town. We will continue to the Conversation Club, which we saw in the episode “The Smell of the Night” and where Montalbano goes to look for Doctor Pasquano, who is playing cards at that moment. Continuing along Via XXV Aprile, at a certain point you will find yourself in Piazza Pola, in front of the Church of San Giuseppe, which in recent episodes has been the headquarters of the Vigata police station. It is impossible not to notice it, also considering the number of photographers ready to immortalize the location. Free lunch and continue to Modica, another beautiful baroque city, where some scenes of the television Vigata were filmed. Among the places to visit, we’ll recognize the staircase that leads to the coroner’s house; the Journalist’s House; the Palazzo Polara, which is the setting for the episode “The Terracotta Dog”. During the day we will visit an Antica Dolceria for a tasting of the famous chocolate of Modica. Return to the hotel and overnight stay in the Ragusa area.
- DAY 6: SYRACUSE / NOTO / CATANIA
Breakfast at the hotel and departure for Syracuse. Visit the Archaeological Park of Neapolis (Greek Theatre, Roman Amphitheatre, Latomie and “Ear of Dionysus”) and the historic centre of Ortigia, where you will be enchanted by the splendid Piazza Duomo and its Baroque Cathedral which in the past was a Greek temple in Doric style. Afterwards, along the delightful alleys of the center, you will admire the famous Arethusa spring, located in front of the Grand Port. Lunch based on typical Sicilian products, in the typical delicatessen of the Burgio brothers. In the afternoon we will continue to Noto, the capital of Sicilian Baroque, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Along its main axis it will be possible to admire the palaces, convents and churches that characterize the historic center, among which the Cathedral, the Palazzo Nicolaci Villadorata stand out. In the evening, return to the hotel, dinner and overnight stay in Catania.
- DAY 7: ETNA BY JEEP /HOME RESTAURANT FROM SALVINA / AND TAORMINA
After breakfast we move to the meeting point with our jeeps, to start a “volcanic” route in every sense is the off-road stretch that we will travel through chestnut trees and cola puma, before reaching one of the most famous and sensational places on Mount Etna: the Valle del Bove. In the snow or in the middle of summer, a walk on the edge of the valley will allow you to understand the grandeur of the natural events that originated the highest active volcano in Europe. But the adventure doesn’t end there! Another walk awaits us: the Bottoniera dei Sartorius, with its extinct craters, surrounded by white birch woods, will offer you the opportunity to appreciate the singularity of one of the places of the highest naturalistic interest that Sicily can boast. After a short stop at a refuge/chalet, it’s time to penetrate the deep mysteries of Etna: we will take you inside a lava flow cave to discover what the bubbling magma leaves behind when it leaves the surface and continues its inexorable path hidden from the eyes of man. We will explain the interesting underground geological phenomena that occur as a result of the passage of the incandescent flow, and after admiring the secret work of Etna, with our eyes still full of lights and colors never seen before, we will take the way back. The jeep tour will last approximately 4 hours. Lunch at Salvina’s house, (with typical seasonal products, e.g. caponata, baked pasta with fennel) who will host us to let us taste the delicacies of true Sicilian cuisine thanks also to the experience that binds her family to the ancient art of bread. Continue to Taormina. Visit the Greco-Roman Theatre with its belvedere on the Gulf of Naxos! In the evening, return to the hotel in the Catania area, dinner and overnight stay.
- DAY 8: CATANIA
After breakfast, meeting with the guide and guided tour of the historic center declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the richness of its Baroque; the Pescheria, Piazza del Duomo; Cathedral; Roman amphitheatre; Teatro Lirico Massimo; University Square; Via dei Crociferi. Lunch with travel basket. After lunch, short free time and transfer to the airport for boarding operations.
