From West to East: a “plunge” in Sicily

From West to East: a “plunge” in Sicily

the Arab and gattopardian atmosphere of Palermo and the magic of the Greek myth in the Ortygia island of Siracusa. Art and natural excursions in some locations of Sicily.

Two weeks program

A general stay program without defining daily programs.

Ideas for out-of-town excursions to do together:

Day trip: Baroque Noto. Ragusa Ibla, Modica. Vendicari: natural reserve. Caltagirone: an antique small town famous for its art ceramics of sixteen hundreds. Catania: Taormina and excursion on the Etna volcano.

Palermo: with a 2 day stay in a downtown B&B. During the summer we can enjoy the sea during the hottest hours and dedicate ourselves to pleasant walks along streets rich in valuable architectures after the sunset and at night. For whoever is interested 3 traditional Sicilian cooking classes are included.

Description of the stay

Palermo:

We will stay in a charming and welcoming B&B in the heart of the city. Palermo more then a city,it is a micro world, where you must let yourself go, abandon ideas and certainties. The contradictions coexist in a sort of harmony, as in a physical organism.

Palermo is an experience more than a touristic place. You walk along Corso Vittorio Emanuele in a chaos of sounds: cars, mopeds, horns and the bawling of the people and...all of a sudden you find yourself in a place that takes your breath away for its beauty and architectural magnificence: the Quattro Canti (corners), Piazza Vigliena. From its center the sun can be seen from dawn to sunset, that's why it's also called “Teatro del Sole”. From it branch off the two routes that divide the big old town of Palermo in 4 areas called “Mandamenti” (neighborhoods). Easily reachable on foot is the Cathedral. It has the dimension of an Abbey and it is in the center of the city! The elegant Norman style reaches here a unique aesthetic magnificence. The “giuggiulena” stone is gold as a sunset on the sea. Nearby, and in the same style, is “Palazzo dei Normanni” seat of the Region's Administration, that can only be partially visited, but that can be enjoyed already just from the outside.

The Via Alloro was, till a recent past, the road on which the most beautiful noble residences overlooked. A lot has been destroyed and transformed into cement in a fraudulent way during the years of the “Sack of Palermo”. But some villas of wonderful beauty still remain: Palazzo Paternò, Palazzo Abatellis are just some evidences. “The Steri” or Chiaromonte Palace is also worth a visit, built by one of the most powerful families of Sicily, for years seat of the Courthouse of the Spanish Inquisition and then town prison. Brought back to the old splendor it now is the seat of the University Rectorship.

And then the characteristic open-air food markets! Entering them you almost feel like you are entering in the heart, or better in the belly of the city. The Vucciria for example, become famous from the masterpiece of Renato Guttuso.

Siracusa:

We will stay in a beautiful apartment in the city center, the island of Ortygia. We will therefore be able to eat at home, cooking the food bought fresh at the market.

An old Greek colony, Siracusa is city of Gods and Nymphs, where the sea is sensuality not element, it laps against the city and it seduces it. You hear it, you see it and you smell it everywhere.

During the summer the stay in Siracusa can be enjoyed partially at the sea, during the day, when the sun is hot: boat trips along the bay, or reaching by car comfortable and charming beaches to dive in transparent and clear waters. In the late afternoon and at night instead, it will be nice to stroll among lanes and old palaces, art and handicraft shops, visit art collections inside buildings that are themselves artistic masterpieces, as for example the Museum of Palazzo Bellomo. The hypogeum, an underground way full of history, about 20 meters under the surface, that from Piazza Duomo arrives to the sea. The Jewish Baths, an extraordinary recent discovery in the Giudecca neighborhood.

A visit of great emotional and aesthetic charm is the Castle of Federico II, of Norman times, built on the extreme promontory of the island, as bastion on the sea. One has the sensation to find oneself on the bow of a boat, out of time and space.

Obviously a visit at the Archaeological park must not be forgotten: Greek Theater, Roman Amphitheater, the Ear of Dionisio, each very close one to the other.

By car we will visit Noto, famous for the Baroque masterpieces, marvelous for its light and colors at sunset, a unique scenery.

Not far from Siracusa are Ragusa Ibla and Modica, jewels set in the Hyblaean Mountains. Walking along the elegant and graceful streets of these cities you feel that what you imagined of Sicily was just banal folklore.

Atmosphere is to eat a “granita” of almonds with a brioche, rigorously warm, near the Arethusa Fountain (sweet water that arrives from the sea), sitting down looking at the sun setting on the bay or looking at the moon and the lights of the fishermen boats.

Eat a delicate fish-fry in the outdoor tables in the alleys, or close to the sea.

Go shopping at the open-air market, listening to the characteristic “vannio”, the shouting of the vendors, between the stalls of extra-fresh fish, fruits and typical cheeses, while very close by one has the magnificent Columns of the Apollo Temple. To have an aperitif at a bar near home where on the other side of the street there is the monumental colonnade of the Minerva Temple.

In Syracuse, from May to September, numerous are the evening shows: concerts, ballets, theater plays of good level.

In this city I have family members and dear friends that will be happy to meet us and to invite us at their homes. Together with them we can spend pleasant hours and also do some nice trips out of town.

Prices without lessons

The program includes Italian conversation, not work on paper.

A two week stay with visits and excursions 1 person: € 1650,00;

with 3 cooking classes : € 1700,00

The price includes: Homestay with full board in Reggio Emilia and Siracusa- B&B in Palermo It excludes the tickets (transfers, museums and out-of-town excursions) and the meals eaten out. Note: You can chose to arrive in Reggio Emilia (Bologna is the closest airport) and then depart together by plane for Sicily or meet me directly at the Catania airport.