TOUR SICILY

AUGUST 19/26 2025

Price

$ 3,390

per person

Single supplement $ 275

The fee includes

- Round trip flight, Economy class (23kg hold baggage and 10kg hand baggage)

- Fuel management charges

- Airport taxes and charges

- 4* hotel accommodation

- Full board as per program (water with meals included)

- Bus transfers as per program

- Entrance fees to sites and museums as per program

- Local Italian-speaking guide

- Medical/baggage insurance

- Round trip bus transfer (minimum 30 participants)

The fee does not include

- Mandatory tips (€35 per person)

- Extras in general

- Anything not indicated

PROGRAM

1st day

Arrival in Catania. Afternoon dedicated to a guided tour of Catania, a huge “showcase of the Baroque” whose historic center is cut in two by the elegant Via Etnea: Palazzo Biscari (exterior), the Elephant Fountain and the Cathedral, Via Crociferi, the Town Hall (exterior), Palazzo dei Chierici (exterior), the Pescheria, an ancient fish market. At the end of the visits, transfer to Acireale (or surroundings) and hotel accommodation. Dinner and overnight stay.

2nd day

Breakfast in the hotel. Full day guided tours: morning, excursion to Etna at an altitude of 1,800 m and visit to the extinct craters of the Monti Silvestri. Possibility of ascent by cable car or jeep with alpine guides, up to 2,900 meters (optional). Lunch in a restaurant. Afternoon dedicated to visiting the Riviera dei Ciclopi which winds through: Aci Castello, whose town is dominated by the picturesque Norman Castle of the 11th century, built entirely of lava stone; Aci Trezza, famous for the “Malavoglia” by Giovanni Verga and for the suggestive Faraglioni that legend has it are the rocks thrown by Polyphemus against Ulysses; Acireale, located between Etna and the sea, known for its Baroque style and the Baths of Santa Venera. Visit to the eighteenth-century Cathedral and the church of San Sebastiano.

At the end of the visits, return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

3rd day

Breakfast in the hotel. Full day guided tours: morning visit to Taormina, pearl of Sicily, whose beauty is known throughout the world: the suggestive Greek-Roman Theater, the ancient Cathedral, Palazzo Corvaja, the former Church of San Francesco di Paola and Piazza IX Aprile from where you can enjoy a breathtaking view. Free time for shopping and walking through the characteristic streets of the center full of craft and souvenir shops. Continue to Savoca. Lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon visit this charming and characteristic village that in addition to its beautiful panoramic position and the wealth of churches, ancient houses and noble palaces has become famous for the wedding scene of Don Corleone's son filmed in the church of Santa Lucia and for the Bar Vitelli, opened in the 60s, famous for the excellent lemon granita with passito and for the scenes of the film "The Godfather" filmed here in 1971 by director Francis Ford Coppola.

At the end of the visits return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay.

4th day

Breakfast in the hotel. Transfer to Syracuse. Arrival and guided tour of the city that in the past was the fiercest rival of Athens and Rome and preserves important evidence of its past splendor: the Greek Theater, the Roman Amphitheater, the Latomie, the Ear of Dionysius. Visit to the island of Ortigia where you can admire the Temple of Minerva transformed into a Christian Cathedral and the legendary Aretusa Fountain. Lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon, continue to Noto and visit the characteristic town "the most beautiful of all", where the highest concept of Baroque urban planning is expressed. Also built from scratch after the earthquake of 1693, it is full of Baroque jewels: the Cathedral, Palazzo Ducezio, the Bishop's Palace, those of the Landolina and Villadorata, the church of San Domenico.

At the end of the visits, transfer to Ragusa or Modica. Accommodation in the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

5th day

Breakfast at the hotel. Full day guided tours: morning, Ragusa Ibla and Ragusa Alta, which together make up one of the most original cities of art in Eastern Sicily. In Ragusa Ibla, the ancient heart of Ragusa, a late Baroque jewel made of suggestive views and enchanting streets, reborn on the structure of the original medieval village, the church of S. Giorgio by R. Gagliardi, the churches of Santa Maria dell’Itria (exterior), of the Immacolata (exterior), of Purgatory, of San Giacomo (exterior) and of San Giuseppe (exterior) stand out. Ragusa Ibla is the location of the imaginary “Vigata” by the writer Camilleri and of the television drama “Inspector Montalbano”. In Ragusa Alta, the modern city, built from scratch on the nearby esplanade of Patro, where the eighteenth-century buildings have found wider escape routes in a network of spacious and symmetrical streets, you will visit the Cathedral of San Giovanni and from the outside looking at Palazzo Zacco and Bertini, the Church of the Collegio, the palace seat of the bishopric (formerly Palazzo Schiminà). Continue to Modica. Lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon visit to Modica, another wonderful treasure chest of Sicilian Baroque art rebuilt on a hexagonal plan according to entirely Baroque aesthetic criteria. Visit to Palazzo San Domenico (exterior), Santa Maria (exterior), the house of Salvatore Quasimodo (exterior), the Cathedral of San Pietro, you will pass through the rock district of Sbalzo and the “corpo di terra” district, and the Cathedral of San Giorgio. Stop at a famous pastry shop to taste the famous Modica chocolate.

At the end of the visits, return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

6th day

Breakfast at the hotel. Full day guided tours: In the morning departure for a visit to Donnafugata Castle, a sumptuous noble residence from the late 1800s which, with over 100 rooms, the labyrinth and numerous artificial caves located within the park, is one of the most evocative places in the entire province. Visiting the rooms that still contain the original furnishings and furniture of the time, it almost seems like taking a leap into the past, to the era of the last “gattopardi”. Continue to Punta Secca where the famous terrace of Inspector Montalbano’s house is located, overlooking the beach a few steps from the lighthouse. Continue to Scicli. Lunch in a restaurant. In the afternoon visit to Scicli. In a pleasant position, surrounded by hills that seem to protect it, the city has almost entirely preserved its Baroque structure. In fact, there are numerous buildings with splendid, richly carved balconies and valuable portals, and the succession of churches and oratories with beautiful facades full of statues and sculptures is incredible. The heart of the city is the large and scenic Piazza Italia surrounded by beautiful eighteenth-century buildings, the Matrice and the imposing limestone cliff on which stands the ancient church of S. Matteo. In Scicli there is also Palazzo Iacono alias the “Montelusa” police headquarters of Inspector Montalbano.

At the end of the visits, return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

7th day

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Piazza Armerina, where you will visit with the guide, the Roman Villa del Casale. It is a luxurious private residence belonging to a powerful Roman family and famous throughout the world for its floor mosaics dating back to the 3rd and 4th centuries. depicting scenes of daily life. Among the most famous are the scene of the great hunt and the girls in bikinis. It is one of the most notable archaeological testimonies of Roman Sicily, astonishing for its ingenious architecture and the beauty of the floors of the rooms. Following a short visit to the historic center of the city is a concentration of history rich in churches, ancient buildings, streets and convents that take us back in time and make Piazza Armerina a splendid city of art. Lunch at a farm.

In the afternoon transfer to Caltagirone and visit to this renowned baroque city famous for its ceramics. Visit to the Santa Maria del Monte Staircase with its 142 steps in lava stone whose risers decorated with polychrome majolica tiles (green, blue and yellow) recall the styles of the past; the San Francesco d'Assisi Bridge that connects the two hills on which the historic center develops; the Villa Comunale. Possibility of visiting a ceramics laboratory where you can admire the various phases of clay processing, from forging, to cooking, to enameling and decoration.

At the end of the visits, return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay.

8th day

Breakfast at the hotel. Full day guided tours: morning Marzamemi passing by Capo Passero where the Mediterranean Sea and the Ionian Sea meet in an enchanting corner, among the most suggestive of Sicily. Arrival in Marzamemi, visit of the characteristic seaside village, enchanting fishing village of Arab origin. Visit of the Tonnara of Marzamemi which historically was the most important of eastern Sicily. The core of the tonnara is made up of Piazza Regina Margherita and the main building. Also in the square is the old church of the tonnara, built in sandstone, still visible the Arab courtyard and the fishermen's huts. Visit of an artisan laboratory, where tuna bottarga, tuna in oil, salted anchovies are produced, still using traditional methods today. Continue to Vendicari where it will be possible to take a walk in the Natural Reserve of the Vendicari marshes. It is the most important wetland in Sicily and among the southernmost in Europe, an obligatory stop for migratory birds moving from north to south and vice versa. The variety of coastal and marshy environments (ponds called marshes) make Vendicari a true refuge for fauna and flora, along the banks of the marshes, among the reeds, the characteristic bird-watching stations. Lunch at the farm. In the afternoon transfer to Catania airport.

OPTIONAL INSURANCE

Travel cancellation insurance must be requested at the agency at the time of booking. Price: $30 (20% excess)

PAYMENT TERMS AND CONDITIONS

All one-day trips must be paid in full at the time of booking

For all other trips, the following conditions apply:

70% at the time of booking

Balance 30 days before departure

Payment can be made by domestic wire

Aurora Ita Group

Account Number:

Routing Number:

Before booking your trip, please read the general terms and conditions published on our website www.auroraitagroup.com