• Comprehensive overview of Sicily’s history & many of its major treasures

• The ancient sites of Agrigento, Syracuse, Mozia & the famous Roman villa at Piazza Armerina with magnificent mosaics 

• Major Norman churches & palaces with sophisticated Byzantine mosaics

• Private visits to remarkable Baroque palaces in Palermo, Syracuse & Catania

• Excellent food & wine throughout

• Centrally located four & five star hotels in Ortygia Syracuse, Agrigento & Palermo

Sitting in the centre of the Mediterranean, Sicily has always been a strategic prize fought over for millennia. The original settlers were overcome by the Phoenicians from Carthage, followed by the Greeks, both sets of invaders attracted by its natural resources. Then the Romans arrived and overran the island, hungry for expansion in their quest for new sources of food and wealth. Making typical use of what they found, they adapted the existing building styles and general cultural models, models based on the by-then firmly rooted language of Greek classicism.

During the medieval period, Sicily continued to prosper, particularly during its period as part of the Byzantine Empire. Subsequently, from the ninth century onwards Arabic or ‘Moorish’ culture added to this heady mix. The local dialect, the crops grown, the culinary traditions (particularly its love of all things sweet!) and the adaptation of familial customs point to a deep dependence on Muslim cultural sources. In complete contrast, from the north-west of Europe came the Normans, of all unlikely invaders, who initiated a period of great wealth and sophistication. Led by the de Hautville family, this was truly a golden age when the cultural ambitions of the new elite made use of any and every style available, all fused together to create one of the great cultures of the High Middle Ages. This heritage is reflected above all in Sicily’s medieval mosaic cycles which we shall see in and around Palermo.  

Thereafter, a succession of French, Austrian and Spanish dynasties ruled the island with ‘sublime indifference’, the island’s culture and economy remaining isolated from much of the rest of Italy and Europe. However, their resident aristocracies have given the island a rich heritage of Baroque, Rococo and neoclassical monuments of great prestige and beauty. More recently, many contemporary gardens on the Ionian side of the island continue to make good to thrilling effect on Sicily’s extraordinary fecundity driven by Mount Etna. Our visit is the ideal opportunity to discover the many colourful and engaging facets of the culture of Sicily in the warm weather of late October/early November.

We shall spend three nights in old Syracuse on the ‘island’ of Ortygia at the 5* Hotel Des Etrangers et Miramare. Our hotel has been recently refurbished, is of architectural interest and enjoys a delightful location overlooking the bay. At Agrigento, we stay two nights at the rural 4* Baglio della Luna and four nights in Palermo at the 4* Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa located in the centre of Palermo where all we shall visit can be reached easily on foot.

Day 1: Thursday 29 October – We fly early in the morning from London Gatwick to Catania, arriving late morning. We travel to Syracuse for a three-night stay at the 5* Des Etrangers et Miramare for lunch (not included) and time to rest. In the afternoon, and by orientation, we shall visit Piazza Duomo in Ortygia to visit the Cathedral fashioned from a Doric temple, and Santa Lucia with its damaged Caravaggio. We shall have an early dinner in one of the town’s best restaurants – wine, water and coffee are included with all group lunches and dinners. 

Day 2: Friday 30 October – Syracuse was one of the greatest cities of Magna Graeca and this morning we explore its ancient heritage. The Archaeological Park is home to some major monuments, particularly a splendid Theatre. We travel to Catania for a group lunch. In the afternoon, we shall visit the Cathedral and Palazzo Biscari, a fine rococo palace we visit privately with the finest ballroom in eastern Sicily! We return to our hotel. This evening will be free.

Day 3: Saturday 31 October – This morning we drive to Noto, deservedly the most famous of all Baroque cities on the island. There are handsome Baroque buildings at every turn including its spectacular Cathedral, reopened after a long restoration. After an early lunch (not included) we return to Siracusa where the remainder of the afternoon will be free. In the evening, we shall enjoy a private visit to Palazzo Beneventano, the finest baroque palace in Syracuse. Baron del Bosco di Beneventano will be our guide and will host our group dinner.

Day 4: Sunday 1 November – We depart Syracuse and travel to the centre of Sicily to visit the great Imperial Roman villa at Piazza Armerina. It is justly renowned as home to fabulous mosaic decorations which are the equal of any found in and around Rome and Pompeii. After our visit, we shall have a group lunch nearby in one of the island’s best restaurants. We continue to Agrigento to check into our hotel, the 4* Hotel Baglio della Luna - housed around a converted thirteenth century watchtower - for a two-night stay. This evening will be free.

Day 5: Monday 2 November – Sicily, together with the coastline of southern Italy, was called Magna Graeca or Greater Greece. Founded as trading outposts by the major Greek cities, these settlements soon came to rival the fame and wealth of their founding cities back home. Agrigento is such an example and it preserves a remarkable number of temples and other buildings. We spend the day exploring the site and its archaeological museum. There will be time for a simple, light lunch (not included) our dinner will be in an excellent local restaurant overlooking the Valley of the Temples. 

Day 6: Tuesday 3 November - We make a leisurely mid-morning departure to Sicily’s north coast to Cefalú to visit this small fishing port, dominated by its great Norman Cathedral. This has possibly the finest of all the Sicilian mosaic depictions of Christ Pantocrator (the all-powerful). After some free time for lunch, not included, we drive westwards into Palermo to check-in for four nights at the 4* Hotel Piazza Borsa. In the evening, we shall have a group dinner.

Day 7: Wednesday 4 November – Palermo’s earliest surviving monuments above ground are mostly from the Arab and Norman periods. The Norman Palace was rebuilt in the eleventh century under Roger II, to whom we owe great thanks for initiating a series of sophisticated mural decorations, in his case the great mosaic cycle in the Cappella Palatina. Other highlights include the Cathedral with its royal tombs, and the lovely church of the Martorana. Lunch (not included) and the remainder of the day will be free.

Day 8: Thursday 5 November – The tiny island of Motya lies just off the south-west coast of Sicily and is one of the most exciting archaeological sites in the Mediterranean. Founded as a staging port by Phoenician merchants and then taken over by their Carthaginian successors, recent excavations have revealed much about this hidden phase of Sicily’s history. We shall spend the morning on the island via a guided visit after which we lunch at a nearby restaurant in Marsala. En route back to Palermo we stop at the isolated site of Segesta, where there is a monumental, still unfinished, Greek Doric Temple and a dramatically sited Theatre looking out to sea. The evening will be free.

Day 9: Friday 6 November – We visit two of the city’s most important oratories, private devotional chapels renowned for the fine stucco decorations by the Serpotta family. After a coffee break, we visit the Regional Picture Gallery at Palazzo Abatellis. It contains a number of interesting objects and paintings including works by Antonello da Messina. Lunch (not included) and the remainder of the afternoon will be free. Our final evening in Sicily is spent in spectacular fashion when we visit privately Palazzo Gangi, containing the finest suite of eighteenth-century interiors on the island, used for the film of Lampedusa’s novel The Leopard. We shall dine in an excellent restaurant adjoining the palace.  

Day 10: Saturday 7 November – On our final day, we visit the Villa Malfitano Whitaker house museum,a fine nineteenth century villa displaying art and antiquities amidst a tropical garden. We drive to nearby Monreale where we pause for a final group lunch. In the afternoon, we visit the town’s Cathedral to see the magnificent medieval mosaic cycles, a fitting finale. We continue to Palermo Airport to check in for an evening return flight to London Gatwick.

Price £4490pp Without Flights £4290pp  Deposit £650pp Single Supplement £770 (Double for Sole Use)

Hotels  1 night - Premier Inn London Gatwick North Terminal pre departure 28 October (room only)

3 nights inc breakfast - 5* Des Etrangers et Miramare, Syracuse (sea view rooms on request with supplement)

2 nights inc breakfast -4* Baglio della Luna, Agrigento

4 nights inc breakfast - 4* Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa, Palermo

Flights easyJet Flights – subject to change (based on 2025 schedule) Allocated seats & 20kg of hold baggage

EZY8285 Departure London Gatwick (South Terminal) 0725 arrive Catania 1135
EZY8322 Departure Palermo 2025 arrive London Gatwick (South Terminal) 2225

Price includes 5 dinners & 4 lunches with wine, water & coffee, all local transfers, entry fees & gratuities, city tax, the services of James Hill and local guides. Not included Travel to/from Gatwick, 4 dinners & 6 lunches