Strictly limited to 7 people. All bookings / expressions of interest via email by mid-February 2025 Thankyou!
Dates: [Arrive on/by Monday 15th September 2025] 
Tour: Tuesday 16th September to Sunday 21st inclusive [6 days]
Sicily: Italy's largest island and a Mediterranean gem rich in history, culture, and natural beauty. Distance makes it tricky to see it all in one visit, but this trip aims to showcase its art and architectural highlights from Syracuse to Palermo which are set against diverse landscapes from Mount Etna's peaks to lush vineyards.
Our tour begins in Catania where we will drive to Noto, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its exquisite Baroque architecture, including the Cathedral of San Nicolò. 
After we will go on to Syracuse where we will visit Caravaggio's powerful  'Burial of St Lucy,' and see the ruins of Apollo’s temple, the oldest temple in the Western Mediterranean.
The following day we will continue on to Messina and its Regional Museum to see two late Caravaggio masterpieces, 'The Raising of Lazarus' and 'Adoration of the Shepherds.'
On route to Cefalù, we will stop at a converted abbey outside Castelbuono for lunch and wine tasting.
The next morning, we will explore Cefalù, a picturesque coastal town which features a stunning beach and an iconic Norman Cathedral, adorned with Byzantine mosaics.
Then it's on to Palermo, Sicily's vibrant capital, a medley of Arab, Norman, and Baroque influences visible in its stunning architecture. Day trips will include a visit to majestic Monreale with its UNESCO World Heritage Norman-Byzantine cathedral with the largest concentration of mosaic scenes still extant from the Middle Ages;and to New Gibellina in the Belice valley to see landscape and earthquake art including Burri's famous Cretto which many of you saw documented in the Burri Collection outside Umbria's Citta di Castello.
We will end our tour with two full days of sightseeing in Palermo, seeing churches, palaces, and modern art and of course the Galleria Regionale della Sicilia, with its collection of significant works by Renaissance artists Antonello da Messina, Domenico Gagini, and Franscesco Laurana, and by the Baroque, Caravaggio-inspired painters Van Dyck, Giuseppe de Ribera, Battistello Caracciolo and Pietro Novelli. 
 
What's included: as always, all guiding, tips, museum etc. entrances, transportation between cities by 8 seater minivan; one lunch at  comprising amuse-bouche, appetizer, 2 first courses, main course with sidedish and dessert paired to a tasting of 5-6 organic and biodynamic wines; one farewell dinner.
What's not included: as always, flights and hotels - we can recommend - and other meals.