AEOLUS

• 1-night accommodation in Catania in a unique 4* hotel category in a superior room.
• 1-night accommodation in Ragusa in a unique 4* hotel category in a superior room.
• 1-night accommodation in Agrigento in a unique 4* hotel category in a superior room.
• 2-night accommodation in Palermo in a unique 4* hotel category in a superior room.
• Visit of Syracuse, Noto, Ragusa, Villa Romana del Casale, Agrigento, Monreale and Palermo.
• Entrance fees to the archaeological sites visited during the guided excursions.
• Tasting of local products in Modica, Marsala, Palermo.
• All necessary transfers in private, as mentioned in this itinerary.
• Latest generation bus.
• 24/7 Emergency phone line.
• Daily breakfast, 3 lunches & 2 dinners.

DAY 1

Upon your arrival in Catania, one of our vehicles will be waiting for you at the airport to welcome you and comfortably and quickly transfer you to your hotel. After you check in, the rest of the day will be free for you to relax and begin enjoying Catania at your own pace. At the hotel we have included dinner for you.

DAY 2

After a delicious breakfast, you will leave for Syracuse, the most important ancient Greek city in Sicily that extends along the sea, next to the island of Ortigia, a World Heritage Site and connected to the rest of the city through two bridges: the Neapolis Archaeological Park.

The visit will begin with the oldest Doric temple in Italy, the Greek Theater and the Roman Amphitheater and will continue with the Latomy of Paradise (a series of artificial caves that were formed by using the rock as a quarry and later used as a prison) and the Ear of Dionysus, the main cave of the Latomy of Paradise. You will also visit the historic center of Ortigia, with the magnificent Duomo Square and its Cathedral.

You will then head towards Noto, a city that like a Phoenix rose from its ashes after the earthquake of 1693, becoming the summit of Baroque in Italy. A majestic city declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. You will walk through the streets of the center to marvel at the splendor and fine work of its architecture in which the Municipal Square stands out, flanked by imposing buildings such as Noto Cathedral, the most striking building, the Landolina Palace or the Ducezio Palace, headquarters of the town hall. Vittorio Emanuele Street, barely a kilometer from end to end, is a veritable baroque marvel. You will have some time free to walk in its streets and then you will leave for Ragusa, where you will enjoy dinner and spend your night.

DAY 3

After a delicious breakfast, you will visit the city of Ragusa Ibla, a delight for baroque lovers, full of churches and palaces that leave visitors speechless and is also a World Heritage Site. A large part of the Baroque buildings dates from the reconstruction after the earthquake that destroyed the city in 1963. The Cathedral of San Giorgio stands out, a symbol of the city with its neoclassical dome and its stained glass windows, and the Ibleo Garden, it is the oldest garden in Ragusa and an oasis of peace.

Then you will head to Modica, whose old town is considered a baroque treasure along with its alleys and historic shops, declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and also known as “the city of chocolate”. You will end the visit with tasting some typical products of the area. You will continue to Piazza Armerina, a splendid artistic city, in the heart of Sicily, where we will visit the splendid Villa Romana del Casale. A building from the late imperial period and a UNESCO World Heritage Site famous for the exceptional collection of mosaics it houses, perfectly preserved thanks to a layer of mud, the result of a landslide in the 12th century. You will then depart for your hotel in Agrigento for dinner and a good night’s sleep.

DAY 4

After a filling breakfast in the “Most beautiful city of mortals”, you will visit the Valley of the Temples declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and where more than ten Doric temples and bronze statues will delight you with their magnificence. Among them, it is worth highlighting the Temple of Juno, very well preserved, the Temple of Concord, one of the best preserved of Greek antiquity and the most precisely built in Agrigento, and the Temple of Hercules, is the oldest of the temples near the southern wall, destroyed by an earthquake.

You will continue to the next destination, Marsala, an ancient Phoenician enclave in the Mediterranean, today a quiet city, with a beautiful pedestrianized historic center and a wide promenade. In Marsala, the cathedral and the old market stand out, an experience, the Garibaldi gate, one of the ancient entrances to the city, very well preserved, and the Republic Square, located in the heart of the city. Here you will have lunch with the opportunity for a wine tasting.

Your next stop will be the famous Vía de la Sal full of windmills, like a novel by Cervantes, to reach the Islands of the Great Pond and the salt flats, that constitute a great natural reserve of enormous environmental value. To this day, salt flats continue to represent one of the richest salt industries in the world. Finally you will head to Palermo for dinner and accommodation.

DAY 5

After a tasty breakfast you will visit Monreale, a beautiful city with its imposing Arab-Norman Cathedral, which is thought to be of Arab origin. The city was built by the Norman King William II, being one of the most beautiful cathedrals in Europe and its Cloister, square, a masterpiece of 228 columns with different decoration.

The tour continues to Palermo, the capital of Sicily, where Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards passed through, where gastronomy plays a key role in the daily life of its inhabitants. It preserves monuments from the Arab-Norman period such as the beautiful Cathedral, a World Heritage Site and also with Nordic and Arab elements in its architecture, the Chiesa della Martorana, with Byzantine, Norman, and Baroque elements and a place where some nuns invented “the Martorana fruit. “, some sweets made of almond flour and sugar in the shape of fruits and the Palatine Chapel, located inside the Palace of the Normans and one of the best-known churches in Sicily, dedicated to Saint Peter, the first Pope of the Christian church. During the tour, we will make a stop at a historic focacceria to enjoy a pleasant gastronomic surprise.

After our tour, you will have dinner and accommodation in Palermo

DAY 6

After having a filling breakfast, and at the time indicated, you will be transferred to Palermo airport to board your departure flight.

From Greca we hope to see you again to enjoy some wonderful moments that will remain forever in your memory.