Day 0: Depart the USA for Sicily
Note: You will need to depart the USA no later than Sunday, April 26, 2009 in order to arrive in time for our first evening gathering on Monday, April 27, at 6:00pm.
Monday, April 27- 2009
Day 1: Arrive in Palermo, Capital of Sicily
This bustling city has long been a rivaled port of the Greeks, Carthaginians, Arabs, Normans and Romans. It is scenically situated on a wide bay beneath Monte Pellegrino and artfully captures the colorful contrasts of Sicily
Relax and rest up before meeting your fellow travelers and hosts George Little and David Lewis for an evening orientation and traditional Sicilian dinner featuring local specialties.
Sleep in Palermo
Day 2: Colorful Markets and Dazzling Mosaics
From the 9th to the 12th centuries, Palermo was an unrivalled city of learning and
famous for its wealthy court. Our day begins with a walk to a nearby market where
you’ll stroll through endless alleyways brimming with fish stalls, fruit stands and bakeries.
Our exploration continues to the core of Palermo's Arab and Norman roots with a visit to
both Monreale and the Palatine Chapel.
After lunch in Monreale, we return to Palermo and visit the Palatine Chapel. The
Cappella Palatina served as the royal chapel for the Sicilian Norman sovereignty.
King Roger II commissioned this place of worship in 1132. This small chapel has
one of the most stunning collections of mosaics in the entire Meditteranean.
Sleep in Palermo
ABOUT MONREALE
The Norman King William II built the Monreale Cathedral, now the symbol of the city, and dedicated to Santa Maria la Nuova around 1174. William’s idea was to create an imposing structure that would surpass in beauty and grandeur the Palatine Chapel of Palermo and Cefalù Cathedral. Large sums of money and human labor were used to erect and decorate the Cathedral and work was completed in 1186. The church’s interior is decorated with more than 6000 square yards of Byzantine mosaics depicting scenes from the old and new testaments.
Day 3: Lush Botanical Gardens & Ancient Temples
The Botanical Gardens (Orto Botanico) of Palermo are among the oldest modern centers for botanical studies in the Mediterranean region. The park houses a greenhouse (glasshouse), seed and dried plant repository, catalogue archive, and more than ten hectares of outdoor gardens in the busy centre of what is today Sicily's largest city. The Orto Botanico is home to hundreds of tropical and semi-tropical plants from around the world, many of which were introduced into Europe by this unique organization now administered by the University of Palermo. One of the more important roles of the Botanical Gardens is cataloging the wild plants found in Sicily.
After lunch, we set off for the shores of Southern Sicily via the ancient temple of Segesta. The Doric Temple, which is roughly 50 miles from Palermo, was not actually built by the Greeks, but by the Elymians, an indigenous population of Sicily. It is true however, that Greek colonists probably contributed to the building of the Temple, which took place between 420 and 430 BC. It has 36 Doric columns and is 120 ft long and 80 ft wide. Your tour also includes a visit to the impressive amphitheatre.
We end our day on the shores of Southern Sicily. Sleep near Agrigento
Day 4: Ancient Treasure: Selinunte & Agrigento
This morning we set off to explore one of the most stunning ancient seaside towns in the Meditteranean: Selinunte. The city was founded by Doric Greek colonists from the Sicilian Greek settlement of Megara Hyblea in 650 BC. Bustling commerce allowed the 25,000 residents to build the splendid temples which you will visit today. Selinunte's trade, riches and elegant buildings soon made it famous as one of the most important cities of Greek Sicily and even all of Magna Graecia, second in importance only to Syracuse. However, Selinunte's success soon engendered the envy of the neighboring Carthaginians, who perceived the city as a threat to their hold on Sicily. This would eventually lead to the city's demise. Temples were dedicated to the many of the Gods from Greek mythology including Dionysius and Apollo, God of the Sun.
Enjoy a picnic lunch provided by your guide. In the afternoon, explore the stone quarry where the columns for the temples were carved and then return to your hotel for a restful afternoon. Sleep near Agrigento
Day 5: The Valley of the Temples & Sicilian Hill Towns
Along with a local specialist we admire the grace and ingenuity of Greek architects in the Valley of the Temples. See the fallen Amazons which once supported the temples. Explore the inner sanctuary of the temple of Concordia. Built in 425 BC, the Temple of Concordia in Agrigento ranks among the most perfect temples in the Greek world and is the best preserved Doric temple in Sicily.
After a morning of exploration, we drive north into the interior of Sicily to discover charming hill towns, Roman villas and forgotten ancient Greek Cities.
Sleep in the countryside in a Sicilian Villa
Day 6: Sicilian Hill Towns
The Villa Casale is an ancient Roman hunting lodge that claims endless hallways and corridors of extremely well-preserved mosaics. It takes nearly an hour to visit the entire villa which was only recently unearthed.
Laid on the villa floor you’ll see gladiators fighting pitched battles, hunters searching for wild game and bikini-clad Roman girls working out with lead weights.
ABOUT THE VILLA CASALE
It is, quite simply, the most luxuriously appointed villa yet discovered. There are about 45 rooms - the private quarters are separated from the reception areas by a corridor 200 ft long. The heart of the villa surrounds a huge peristylium, and there is a magnificent bath complex large enough for a small town. Most of the rooms have mosaic pavements, and the walls would have been frescoed. There are two sumptuous latrines, the larger one the size of a small theatre. The villa was probably built between 300 and 330 AD – for whom remains a mystery. Many guides still mention the emperors Maximian and his son Maxentius - but this hypothesis is now discredited. Although the identity of the extremely wealthy owner is unknown, he must have been successful in Roman politics, judging from the importance placed on procuring animals for the games and the chariot race in the Circus Maximus.
After lunch we are off to Morgantina which is about nine miles northeast of Piazza Armerina, near the village of Aidone. The site, which is still undergoing excavation, has been identified as an early Sikel settlement from the ninth-century B.C. that was at one point colonized by the Greeks. The principal excavations have been conducted in the third century B.C. agora, or marketplace, and in the residential buildings on the hillsides. The agora is a vast rectangle built on two levels and joined by a trapezoidal staircase with a covered market at the center and the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore as well as a fourth-century theater nearby.
Dinner tonight will be in the medieval hill town of Enna (affectionately known as Sicily’s belly button). Enjoy an evening passeggiata (stroll) before gathering for a Sicilian dining experience. NOTE: En route to dinner this evening we’ll pass Lake Pergusa. According to the myth, Persephone was seized here by Hades while she was plucking flowers and taken down into the underworld. Her mother, Demeter (Ceres), caused the land to wither and thereby extracted the concession that her daughter could return to earth in spring and summer. Out of this legend developed one of the great vegetation and mystery cults of ancient times. Sleep in the countryside in a Sicilian Villa
Day 7: North to Giovanna’s Cooking School via Roman ruins
Today we head north into the dramatic mountains of the interior of Sicily. Arrive at the nearly restored monastery of Gangi Vecchio just in time for a cooking class with renowned chef Giovanna Tornabene. For those not interested in spending an afternoon in the kitchen your guide will bring you on an afternoon hike and/or to the hill town of Gangi. Sleep in the countryside in a Sicilian Villa
Day 8: South to Siracusa via the ceramics town of Caltagirone
This morning our journey continues to Caltagirone, one of Sicily’s quaint towns renowned for the production of colorful ceramics. Pottery has been made here for generations. The name Caltagirone is derived from the Arab term Qalat-Jerun which means "castle of the burial grounds" because of the presence of vast necropolises throughout the territory. Situated on a hill, overlooking a valley, Caltagirone possesses lush fields of citrus fruits, grapes, cereals, and olives.
Today the town is famous of its production of ceramics which are colored in bright green, blue, and yellow. Enjoy a tour of a locally family-owned shop and factory before setting off for Siracusa. Upon arrival, enjoy a tour of the old town of Siracusa. The old quarter is an island called Ortegia (or Ortygia, from the Greek for "quail," probably named for that bird's abundance in this area). Ortegia is known for, among many other things, the freshwater Spring of Arethusa. When Artemis changed Arethusa into a spring of water to escape the river god Alpheus, it was here that the transformed maiden emerged. Tonight enjoy a multi course feast. Sleep in Siracusa
Day 9: A Day in Siracusa
Athens, Carthage, Rome. These were the only three cities of the ancient Mediterranean world to challenge the power and prosperity of Syracuse. Founded by Corinthians in 734 BC. the city prospered and at its zenith, had a population of 300,000.
Accompanied by a local guide, we set out this morning to explore the cities ancient sights. Not be missed is the for the Neapolis Archeological Park. Siracusa has a Greek amphitheatre (literally carved out of the rock) and also a Roman one, both well preserved. In conformity to tradition, the Greek Theatre is semicircular and open, the Roman one oval and enclosed. This archeological park has some charming surprises, such as the Altar of Geron II and the Ear of Dionysius, formerly a limestone quarry. There is also the Saint Venera Quarry and various necropoli and other caverns.
In the afternoon we’ll step inside the Archeological Museum. Here you’ll find works by ancient Phoenicians, Greeks and Romans. The world famous Landolina Venus alone makes this museum worth a visit. Sleep in Siracusa
Day 10: North to Towering Mt. Etna and the seaside town of Taormina
Magnificent Etna, the still smoking volcano, towers over the surrounding landscape, its snowcapped peak visible for many miles. Still belching hot lava and smoke, Etna stands at nearly 11,000 feet, her flames and frequent eruptions famous even in Antiquity. Virgil, in 570 BC wrote about her power and the Greeks believed that Vulcan, God of fire, lived within her crater. Homer placed the cave of Polyphemus, the Cyclops who captured Ulysses and his comrades on the slopes of Mt. Etna: the erupting cone of the volcano is the cyclopian eye.
This morning, we’ll set off to explore Mt. Etna and then enjoy lunch and a tasting at a local winery before driving west into central Sicily. Sleep near Taormina
Day 11: Moorish Castles, Greek Theatres and Bougainvillea Lined Lanes
Situated below Mount Etna, overlooking the sea, is an antique Mediterranean jewel. Taormina was founded by the Greeks in the eighth century BC, and later, in the 19th century, became a popular haunt for the English aristocracy. Men like Oscar Wilde and D.H. Lawrence, who was inspired to write Lady Chatterly’s Lover from his experiences here, flocked to Taormina in order to escape the doldrums of conservative London.
After an introductory guided tour through the Greek theatre and town center, you’re free to lose yourself in streets lined with flower-filled balconies and surprisingly tranquil piazzas. Catch a glimpse of the ocean through palms and bougainvillea. Sleep near Taormina
Day 12: A free day to explore Taormina
Hike up to the Moorish castle for a breathtaking view, relax on the beach or shop in the little boutiques which line the Corso of Taormina before gathering this evening for a final farewell feast with your hosts David and George. Sleep in Taormina
Day 13: Tour over after breakfast
Some of you will fly home today. Those of you staying in Italy may consult your guide for post-tour planning assistance |
