This trip is dedicated to the luxurious Sicily, masterpiece of nature in the heart of the Mediterranean. Our expert guides in archeology and history of art, will tell you about exceptional art and culture stories. Your tour begins in Palermo, where you will discover monuments of various architectural styles witnessing the richness of different cultures involved in the city over time, as well as Palazzo Abatellis Art Gallery. Then Monreale sumptuous cathedral and Erice with its breathtaking views. On Favignana island you will bathe in crystalline waters caressed by hot winds. You will meet Greek and Phoenicians testimonies in Selinute, Mozia, Marsala and Segesta. The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento will offer you the most important architectural complex of Doric style outside Greek territory. This trip will delight the curious but also the gourmets...you will savor excellent dishes and exquisite desserts of the local gastronomy accompanied by great wines.

PALERMO, THE WONDERS OF THIS MULTI-ETHNIC CITY. You will arrive at Palermo, meet with our Tour Leader and visit this fascinating city starting from the splendid Palace of the Normans, decorated by the famous mosaics of the Palatina Chapel. We will also admire frescos that have emerged lately, discovered during recent restorations, such as a mural painting with a floral pattern that embellishes the vault of the Queen’s Room, that had been hidden underneath a heavy coating of plaster since 1800, and painted figures that can be spotted on the walls of the Pompeian room. We will admire the Theatres Massimo and Politeama which represent the passion for art of the people of Palermo and we will go on to Vigliena Square, the centre of the city. We will be wrapped in the harmony of architectural styles that come from different dominations, from that of the Arabs to the Norman one up to the Spanish Viceroy. We will go on to visit the Regional Gallery of Sicily, where we will admire extraordinary works of art such as Antonello da Messina’s Annunziata. We will discover places of worship dedicated to different religions, from the Martorana, a Greek Church with magnificent mosaics, to the Zisa that was built during the Arab domination, to the Church of San Domenico, the greatest expression of Palermo’s baroque style. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel.

FAVIGNANA, ISLAND OF WARM WIND. After breakfast we will go on an excursion by ferry to the island of Favignana. We will dock on this island of the Egadi, described as a “butterfly on the sea” by the painter Salvatore Fiume. Our guide will tell us about its myths that date back to the Carthaginian, Roman, Arab and Norman eras. Our visit will space bewteen two Norman castles and the Angevin tuna fishing nets. We will discover the ancient Arab tradition of fishing tuna, the famous “mattanza”, that developed in the Eight Hundreds and became a thriving industry with the Florio family. We will visit its old plant now reconverted into a museum dedicated to art, the Museum Of the Mattanza, where the greatest Sicilian artists expose their works on the Mediterranean theme with its colours, its sea, its beaches and its metaphysical places. Lunch will take place in a typical restaurant with fish cuscus. You will then enjoy free time and be able to dive into the crystal clear waters of the island before we head back to Trapani. Dinner and overnight stay at hotel.

SELINUTE, MOZIA AND MARSALA, BETWEEN NATURE AND HISTORY. After breakfast we will go on an excursion to Selinute where we will visit the ancient city together with our guide. We will dive into this suggestive scenery not too distant from the coast, where excavations, immersed in olive trees, will offer us an emotional experience. We will reach the Acropoli, where between temples, sanctuaries and altars we will find ourselves in one of the vastest archaeological parks of Europe. We will enter the homes of the gods of the Magna Graecia and we will live in the ancient dimension of the sacred and eternal. After having lunch in a restaurant we will reach the island of Mozia, ancient Phoenician and Punic city of great artistic and archaeological value. We will explore it going through doors inserted into its walls, up until we reach the ancient Sanctuary of Cappiddazzu and Kothon. We will visit the Whitaker Museum and make amazing discoveries. Before heading back to the hotel we will make a stop in a famous winery in Marsala where ever since the Nineteenth century the production manages to maintain its traditional spirit. Back to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

SEGESTA AND AGRIGENTO, THE CITY OF AENEAS AND THE VALLEY OF THE TEMPLES. After breakfast we will visit Segesta, which according to Virgilio was funded by Aeneas in order to let the women and the old rest during his journey. We will visit the Temple built on the top of the hill, outside the walls of the city. We will admire its original construction which presents one shorter side with six columns and one longer side with fourteen. Our guide will tell us about the vicissitudes of the era that saw the city at war with Selinute for the control of the territory. Lunch will be at a restaurant and then we will go on to visit Agrigento. We will visit the Valley of the Temples, the most important architectural complex in Doric style outside of Greece. We will wait for sunset, in order to see it with the poetic eyes of Pindar, admiring the columns of the towering Temple of Zeus and the picturesque colonnade of the Temple of Castore and Polluce. You will enjoy some free time before having dinner with seafood specialties. We will then go to the hotel and stay the night.

AGRIGENTO, THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM AND EVERYDAY LIFE IN THE GREEK CITY. After breakfast at the hotel, we will meet with our guide and visit the Archaeological Museum going through the Giacatello hypogeum, the Bouleterion and the Agorà. By admiring the archaeological remains that used to adorn temples and homes we will enter everyday life of the ancient city and visit the Temple of Hercules and the beautiful Temple of Concordia, which represent the stylistic perfection of the Greek world. We will even find traces of the fire that was set by the Carthaginians in 406 B.C. in the temple of Hera Licinia or Juno. Lunch in a restaurant and departure.

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