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Sicily and the Aeolian Islands 2024

Status: waitlist

5 Apr – 19 Apr 2024

Other Departures
Overview

Sicily and the Aeolian Islands 2024
Tour Highlights

Learn about the art, history and archaeology of Sicily from artist and art historian, David Henderson who has been leading ASA tours since 1996, and classical archaeologist Dr Sophy Downes who is currently a lecturer in Art History at John Cabot University in Rome. David and Sophy will be joined by a number of guest archaeologists during the program.

  • By special appointment, visit Palazzo Conte Federico in Palermo. As guests of Contessa Alwine and Conte Federico we explore the fine medieval, Renaissance and Baroque rooms.
  • By special appointment visit Palazzo Gangi in Palermo, especially noted for its Sicilian Baroque ballroom decorated with Murano chandeliers, gold fittings and glittering mirrors, where in 1963 Visconti filmed the magnificent ball scene of The Leopard.
  • By special appointment visit Palazzo Alliata di Pietratagliata in Palermo. Built in 1473, this exquisite palazzo which encompasses five centuries of Sicilian art, is owned by Prince Biagio Licata Baucina and his wife Princess Signoretta Alliata di Pietratagliata.
  • Visit Greek and Roman cities, villas, theatres and religious sites, and major museums with antique collections, including Syracuse, Agrigento, Selinunte and Taormina.
  • In Noto tour the renovated Palazzo di Lorenzo Castelluccio; its sumptuous rooms contain original frescoes and tiles, faithfully reproduced wallpaper and an exquisite collection of objets d’art.
  • Discover one of the world’s greatest corpora of Roman mosaics in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Villa del Casale at Piazza Armerina.
  • Explore the distinctive Arabo-Norman monuments of Sicily, especially the glorious Monreale Cathedral and Palermo’s Cappella Palatina and La Martorana.
  • Trace the development of Baroque architecture and decoration in Syracuse, Palermo and Noto.
  • Attend a traditional Sicilian puppet show in Palermo.
  • View masterpieces by Caravaggio: The Burial of St Lucy in Syracuse, Adoration of the Shepherds and Resurrection of Lazarus in Messina.
  • Encounter the delicate, soulful work of the Baroque sculptor Serpotta in the oratories of Palermo.
  • Take a boat tour of the Aeolian islands Panarea and Stromboli; explore Lipari with a local expert.

Overnight Syracuse (3 nights) • Agrigento (2 nights) • Palermo (4 nights) • Lipari (3 nights) • Taormina (2 nights).

About the Tour

Explore the fascinating multi-layered history, art and architecture of Sicily, the largest and most beautiful Mediterranean island, and its unforgettable companions, the atmospheric Aeolian Islands. Sicily and the Aeolians encapsulate 3000 years of Mediterranean history. We visit Greek temples and theatres in Syracuse, Agrigento, Selinunte and Segesta, and the Roman villa of Casale near Piazza Armerina, one of the world’s greatest corpora of Roman mosaics. In Norman Palermo’s exotic monuments, its pleasure palaces, courtly chapels, grand cathedrals and graceful tabernacles, you will find an inimitable mix of Arab stone inlay, fretted windows and intricate ceilings, Byzantine mosaics and Frankish sculpture. Sicily reached its zenith in this period. Its subsequent economic decline nevertheless produced Italy’s greatest corpus of literature, and lovely cityscapes inflected by exquisite Baroque churches and opulent palaces. The current owners of two of these palaces – one of them the Palazzo Gangi, made famous in the ballroom scene of Visconti’s film The Leopard – will host exclusive visits. After enjoying the medieval pleasure resort of Cefalù, with its ethereal cathedral, we cross to the Aeolian Islands. We cruise around the volcanic island of Stromboli, whose striking lava flows pour slowly down from its smoking summit, and make a stop on the pretty little island of Panarea. We explore Lipari itself, a Neolithic exporter of obsidian, Greek colony, victim of Arab and Turkish raids and Norman outpost that was later fortified by the Emperor Charles V. Lipari’s quaint fishing villages bask in the sun above the azure sea. We visit Messina to see two masterpieces by Caravaggio, and make an excursion to Reggio Calabria to see the Riace Bronzes, arguably the greatest surviving Greek bronzes. We end in Taormina, the lovely hilltop town looking across to Mt Etna, and view the spectacular ancient theatre.

Testimonials

The trip to Sicily with ASA was a long-intended visit originally fuelled by John Julius Norwich’s history of the Norman kingdom of Sicily. The tour proved to be ‘just right’ in its mix of ancient sites, more recent historical eras, and modern culture, in its mix of organised activities and free time, and in the overall pace of the action. All hotels were excellent. ASA are to be commended for a balanced and well-organised tour.  Greg & Penny, VIC.

An excellent introduction to Sicily and its history, well organised, with very beautiful and interesting places visited.  Rose, QLD.

I wish I had known about ASA years ago! So different to even the best general tours.  Patricia, VIC.

Itinerary

Itinerary

The detailed itinerary provides an outline of the proposed daily program. Participants should note that the daily activities described in this itinerary may be rotated and/or modified in order to accommodate changes in museum opening hours, flight schedules etc. Participants will receive a final itinerary together with their tour documents. Meals included in the tour price are indicated in the detailed itinerary where: B=breakfast, L=lunch, and D=dinner.

Syracuse - 3 nights

Day 1: Friday 5 April, Catania Airport – Syracuse
  • Transfer Catania Airport to Syracuse for participants arriving on AZ1745 from Rome at 1440hrs
  • Welcome Meeting
  • Light dinner at the hotel

Meeting Point: Catania Airport to meet flight AZ1745 arriving at 1440hrs.

Participants travelling on the ASA ‘designated’ flight are scheduled to arrive at Catania’s airport in the afternoon (flight AZ1745 departing Rome at 1320hrs and arriving in Catania at 1440hrs). Participants not travelling on this flight should discuss the meeting arrangements with their ASA consultant. After collecting your luggage, we travel by private coach to the Hotel Gutkowski Ortigia in Syracuse.

This evening, we will gather at our hotel for the Welcome Meeting followed by a light dinner. (Overnight Syracuse) D

Day 2: Saturday 6 April, Syracuse
  • Temple of Apollo
  • Cathedral (Temple of Athena)
  • Arethusa Fountain
  • Museo Bellomo –  (optional)
  • Afternoon at leisure
  • Welcome Dinner

This morning we explore the old town of Syracuse (Siracusa), where we will visit the solid Doric colonnades that survive of the Temple of Apollo and then the Cathedral.

Syracuse was the most prominent Greek city-state in Sicily and the heart of Sicilian-Greek civilisation. The ancient city was constructed on the island of Ortigia, still the centre of the old city. Syracuse was ruled successively by the Romans, Arabo-Muslims, Normans and Spanish Habsburgs. These layers of civilisation can all be found in its cathedral. Under its floor have been discovered the remains of pre-Greek huts (8th century BC). Greek colonists built an archaic temple on the site in the 6th century BC. This was replaced in the 5th century BC by the Temple of Athena, which was inaugurated to celebrate the victory of Himera. In the 7th century the Byzantine Bishop Zosimus converted the temple to a church which was dedicated to the city’s patron saint, Santa Lucia (c.281-301 AD). This early martyr took on many of the attributes of her pagan predecessor, Athena. Openings were cut in the temple’s cella to form an arcade to connect the nave to the aisles formed by filling the spaces between the columns of its pteron; we may still discern the massive Doric columns embedded in the medieval flanking walls of the building. Atop these are the remains of triglyphs and metopes surmounted by Norman crenellation. The temple had literally been turned inside out to become a church. Syracuse cathedral became a mosque under the Muslims. The Normans constructed a new façade that was later destroyed by an earthquake and replaced with a grandiose Baroque façade between 1728 and 1754.

We shall arrive at the extraordinary Arethusa Fountain, a natural freshwater spring that wells up just a metre or so from the saltwater of the harbour.

There will also be the option of visiting the Museo Bellomo, a small museum in a medieval palace with a medieval sculpture collection. Its greatest treasure is Antonello da Messina’s Annunciation, a recently restored triptych that is a masterpiece of the Renaissance, executed by Italy’s first painter to use oils. The rest of the afternoon will be at leisure to enjoy the historic heart of this beautiful city before we meet again in the evening to partake in a Welcome Dinner at a local restaurant. (Overnight Syracuse) BD

Day 3: Sunday 7 April, Syracuse – Noto – Syracuse
  • Greek Theatre, Syracuse
  • Quarries – prisons, Syracuse
  • ‘Ideal City’ of Noto: A spectacular ‘Baroque stage set’
  • Palazzo di Lorenzo Castelluccio, Noto
  • Basilica Santuario di Santa Lucia al Sepolcro: Caravaggio’s late masterpiece, The Burial of Saint Lucy, Syracuse

Syracuse was probably the richest city in the Hellenic world. Although it did not control the whole of Sicily, which was made up of independent city-states, it was the major Greek city in the Western Mediterranean and in many ways outshone the Greek and Ionian cities which had originally colonised the island. This morning we will delve into Syracuse’s past by visiting the archaeological complex of the great theatre. We will also visit the quarries where the stone used to build Syracuse was dug, and where the prisoners from the unsuccessful Athenian attack on the city during the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC) were incarcerated.

In 1693 the east of Sicily was devastated by a terrible earthquake which destroyed many of its towns. One of these was the old town of Noto (Noto Antico), which had been built by Muslims high on a crag above the great Val di Noto, which dominates the south-western third of the island. In the 18th century most of these towns were rebuilt, including Noto, which was moved away from its defensible but inaccessible medieval site down to a broad shelf near the Mediterranean. This relocation enabled a regular plan to be adopted with broad, straight avenues that could be used by aristocratic carriages. These avenues, lined with the impressive façades of palaces and monasteries, provided a setting for aristocratic life that would have been impossible in the cramped old hilltop town. The relocation, however, involved difficulties. The peasant population did not want to move because they would have to walk much further each day to their fields. Also, the broad escarpment where the new city was positioned was exposed to pirates that regularly raided Sicily’s shores. Moreover, the plans for the new city were grandiose and could never be funded completely. The project nevertheless proceeded, but because the ordinary people would not move and because of lack of funds, many of the projected buildings behind the façades flanking the avenues were not constructed, giving Noto the fascinating aura of an 18th-century stage set. We shall explore this ‘ideal city’, which is arguably the prettiest of all the 18th-century ideal towns built after the earthquake.

Before returning to Syracuse we enjoy a private tour of the Palazzo di Lorenzo Castelluccio. Built for the Marquis of Castellucio in 1782, the palazzo was abandoned for decades following the death of the last marquis. In 2011 it was purchased by French journalist and documentary filmmaker Jean-Louis Remilleux who spent four years restoring it. A tour of this palazzo provides a wonderful insight into how Noto’s nobility once lived. Its sumptuous rooms contain original frescoes and tiles, faithfully reproduced wallpaper, an exquisite collection of objets d’art, furniture and period paintings. We also view the majolica-adorned stables. The palazzo served as Roxanne’s apartment in the 2021 romantic film, Cyrano.

Upon returning to Syracuse, we shall see Caravaggio’s late masterpiece, The Burial of Saint Lucy, one of the great artist’s most powerful works. (Overnight Syracuse) B

Agrigento - 2 nights

Day 4: Monday 8 April, Syracuse – Piazza Armerina – Agrigento
  • UNESCO World Heritage-listed Roman Villa of Casale, Piazza Armerina
  • Dinner at local restaurant

This morning we drive inland from Syracuse, through the region that the 19th-century writer, Giovanni Verga, made famous in his novels about the horrors of peasant life in Sicily. One of his short works became the libretto of Cavalleria Rusticana.

Outside Piazza Armerina we will visit the Roman villa of Casale, located at the centre of an imperial latifundium, or agricultural estate. The villa is decorated with an important series of floor mosaics depicting hunts, chariot races and the capture of animals for the Colosseum in Rome. These mosaics, one of the most extensive mosaic series extant, reflect the influence of Roman Africa upon Sicily. Their vivid style and depiction of exotic animals clearly connect them to the mosaic styles of Libya, Tunisia and East Algeria. In the afternoon we drive to Agrigento, where we are based for two nights. (Overnight Agrigento) BD

Day 5: Tuesday 9 April, Agrigento
  • UNESCO World Heritage-listed Valley of the Temples
  • Lunch at a local restaurant
  • Archaeological Museum, Agrigento

Greek Akragas (Roman Agrigentum) on the south coast of the island was founded by the Sicilian city of Gela in 581 BC. It was ruled by tyrants in the 6th century BC, was sacked by Carthage (406 BC) and conquered by Timoleon (340 BC). It was taken by the Romans (261 and 210 BC) and then became a Muslim city in 827 AD. It was conquered by Count Roger of Normandy in 1087. We shall first visit the Valley of the Temples, spectacularly located above the Mediterranean. We shall view the temples of Zeus, Hercules, Concord, and Hera. The Temple of Concord is the best-preserved Greek temple after the Theseion in Athens.

After lunch at a local restaurant overlooking the Valley of Temples, we will head to the Archaeological Museum, which houses a vast collection and some excellent models of the temples found in the Greek archaeological site. (Overnight Agrigento) BL

Palermo - 4 nights

Day 6: Wednesday 10 April, Agrigento – Selinunte – Segesta – Palermo
  • Temples and City site, Selinunte
  • Temple and Theatre, Segesta

The Greek city of Selinus (Selinunte) is of great significance because, like Agrigento and Segesta, it preserves monuments from the Greek Archaic period; few temples of such antiquity remain in Greece. Unlike many other sites from antiquity, Selinus was never over-built in later eras and therefore affords a clearer understanding of the layout of Greek cities than many of its counterparts. Its isolation on the lonely shores of southern Sicily gives it a particularly evocative quality. We will visit the acropolis, the fortified citadel of the Greek polis, and also several temples, reconstructed during the 19th and 20th centuries.

In the afternoon we visit the Greek site of Segesta. This city, whose well-preserved temple and theatre have few parallels, was founded by the Elymni. Its temple, which remained unfinished, gives a fascinating insight into how Greek temples were built. Its present state probably resulted from Segesta’s defeat by Selinus in 416 BC. High above the sacred area of the city stands a 3rd-century theatre, looking out over a vast panorama, a vivid indication of the importance of siting and orientation to Greek cities and shrines.

In the early evening we will arrive in the Sicilian capital Palermo, where we will be based for four nights. (Overnight Palermo) B

Day 7: Thursday 11 April, Palermo
  • Church San Francesco d’Assisi
  • La Martorana (Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio)
  • Church San Cataldo
  • Private lunch and tour of Palazzo Alliata di Pietratagliata, by special appointment
  • Museo Archeologico Regionale ‘Antonino Salinas’
  • Church Santa Cita

Our morning’s program commences with a visit to the Church of St Francis of Assisi, which contains works by the Baroque master, Serpotta. The renowned Baroque sculptor and architect left an indelible mark on art history with his intricate stucco decorations adorning churches and buildings. His masterful work in the 17th century epitomizes the exuberance and dynamism of the Baroque style in Sicilian architecture.

We then walk to ‘La Martorana’ (Santa Maria dell’Ammiraglio), which is a centrally-planned Byzantine church decorated with, arguably, the finest mosaics in Sicily (1140). It was built by Roger I’s admiral, George of Antioch, and in 1433 was presented to a monastery founded by Eloisa Martorana, after whom it was later named. In 1588 it gained a Baroque façade. The companion to the Martorana is San Cataldo, a small, fascinating church. This cuboid building was never completed because, when the patron died, work on it ceased. Although San Cataldo never gained its mosaics, there is the hidden benefit of being able to clearly discern the structure of an Arabo-Norman church. Nearby is the Bellini restaurant, where Lampedusa wrote much of his great novel, The Leopard.

The highlight of the day is a visit to Palazzo Alliata di Pietragliata, where the Princess Signoretta Alliata Licata di Baucina will welcome the group and show us her historic home, where we will enjoy an exclusive buffet lunch. The crenellated tower, the tallest in the Palermo at the end of the 15th century, stands out imperiously, making the main façade, embellished with mullioned windows, unique and distinctive. The interiors, splendidly maintained, preserve some of the most significant and exquisite testimonies of Sicilian Rococo.

After lunch we visit the city’s archaeological museum, Museo Archeologico Regionale ‘Antonio Salinas’. This museum is newly reopened after a long period of renovation. The collection includes the metopes from the temples at Selinunte and treasures from other archaeological sites in Sicily.

We then walk to one of Serpotta’s last commissions, the Santa Cita oratory. Here, in the elaborate High Baroque style, we find scenes representing the twelve feasts from the life of Christ, presented in the same stage-like boxes that we encountered earlier at San Lorenzo. A highlight of the decorative scheme is the representation of the important Battle of Lepanto that covers the rear wall of the room. (Overnight Palermo) BL

Day 8: Friday 12 April, Palermo – Monreale – Palermo
  • La Zisa, 12th-century palace in the Arabo-Norman style
  • Cathedral and Cloister, Monreale
  • The Palermo of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s novel, The Leopard: Private tour of the Palazzo Gangi, by special appointment

Outside Palermo’s city walls, in the Conca d’Oro, the Normans laid out a royal park in the Islamic style, with palaces and hunting lodges. The Zisa Palace was built here by William II (1166-1189). This cuboid structure takes the form of an Islamic hall with a central cruciform reception chamber flanked by smaller rooms. The roof has muqarnas or stalactite decoration, corbels, and walls decorated with blind arcades. Water runs in a narrow channel through the palace. The building evokes the poetry of Islamic palatial life.

The Normans built a number of cathedrals in Sicily; the counterparts of their great shrines in Normandy, England and southern Italy. The most interesting of these are Monreale and Cefalù, in which naves of western inspiration are appended to apses that echo those of centrally planned Byzantine churches like Hosios Lukas in Greece. Between each apse and nave is a strange gabled crossing which provides a fluid spatial transition between these two heterogeneous spaces. This gable replaces the central dome in a Byzantine shrine which invariably possesses an image of ‘Christ Pantocrator’. The absence of such a dome at Monreale and Cefalù necessitated that the ‘Christ Pantocrator’ image inhabit the conch of the apse.

We ascend the hills which surround the Conca d’Oro to Monreale, where we visit the cathedral and its cloister. Whereas Cefalù’s apsidal area resembles those of tall, narrow, centrally planned Byzantine churches, Monreale’s is wide and airy. Its nave resembles those of Early Christian basilicas in Rome. The apsidal ‘Christ Pantocrator’ is less ethereal at Monreale than at Cefalù, and the wall mosaics which celebrate the lives of Christ, the Virgin and Saints Peter and Paul, are more lively than those in the Martorana or Cappella Palatina. This reflects the influence of the western narrative tradition upon Monreale, the last of the Sicilian churches to be constructed.

The exterior walls of the cathedral’s apse are enlivened by splendid blind arcades. These are articulated by sophisticated geometrical patterns of coloured stone inlay. Their forms are thought to derive from Arab sacred geometry and astrology. To the south of the cathedral is its cloister – a masterful fusion of Islamic form and Norman decoration. The arches of the cloister, like Monreale’s apse, are patterned with inlay. In one corner, a fountain shaped like a palm tree is surrounded by a small arcade; an architectural representation of an oasis. The columns of the cloister, in contrast, are topped with storiated capitals like those of Cluniac monasteries and churches on the pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostela.

Upon returning to Palermo the highlight of today, and perhaps of your whole tour, is a visit to the exquisite, untouched 18th-century Gangi palace. It was in the ballroom of Palazzo Gangi that Luchino Visconti filmed the famous ball scene for his cinematic adaptation of Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa’s melancholic, ironic novel, The Leopard. You will be shown around this private palace, which is almost exactly as it was in the age when the novel was set. (Overnight Palermo) B

Day 9: Saturday 13 April, Palermo
  • Oratorio San Lorenzo
  • Private tour of Palazzo Conte Federico, by special appointment
  • Palazzo dei Normanni: Cappella Palatina and Royal Apartments
  • Lunch at local restaurant
  • ‘Teatro dei Pupi’ – traditional Sicilian puppet show

In the morning we pay a visit to San Lorenzo, a neighbouring oratory decorated with the cycles of the life of St Laurence and the Passion of Christ. Also by Serpotta, each scene in the narrative is presented in a small stage-like box that enclosed the space and allowed the master sculptor to convey an illusionary sense of depth, with the main figures in each scene dramatically interacting. The viewer is given the impression that he or she is looking through a window into the lives of Christ and St Laurence.

Before our group meal at a local restaurant, we shall be guests of Contessa Alwine and Conte Federico as we visit Palazzo Conte Federico, by special appointment. This is the private home of Count Federico, whose line can be traced back directly to the Emperor Friedrich II. Palazzo Conte Federico is, in fact, the oldest continuously inhabited palace in Palermo. It was built into the Punic-Roman city walls which originally surrounded ancient Panormus. One of its rooms is part of a tower of Arabo-Norman origin and is one of the few standing sections of the old city wall. Above its double-arched Norman windows are the coats of arms of the imperial Hohenstaufen family of the kingdom of Aragon and the city of Palermo. The palace also has medieval, Renaissance and Baroque rooms and, therefore, encapsulates the history of the city in its layout, decoration and furniture. High painted ceilings from the 14th century, Baroque ceiling frescoes by Vito D’Anna and Gaspare Serenario, various sculptures, Marabitti’s lion fountain (17th century) and the grand stairway with the interior walls by Marvuglia, are features of Conte Federico’s fine home.

Palermo, founded by the Phoenicians, eclipsed Greek Syracuse under the Muslims, who made it capital of Sicily. The Normans also made it their royal capital and many of the most beautiful monuments of the city and its surroundings come from this period. We spend the remainder of today in Palermo, exploring the town with its combination of Byzantine, Arabo-Muslim and Norman styles. We will visit Palazzo dei Normanni (Palazzo Reale) and the Cappella Palatina (Palatine Chapel), which show this fusion of elements. The Palatine Chapel takes the form of a western basilica but its nave has one of the finest Muslim wooden ceilings extant. Below this are Byzantine mosaics and Muslim inlaid stone dados.

In the late afternoon, we attend a special puppet show performance, enacting the wars of Charlemagne and his knights against the Arabs at one of Palermo’s few remaining traditional puppet theatres. This lively performance, in which there is much fighting and spilling of puppet entrails (in the form of streamers), draws upon theatre traditions of the 19th century which romanticised Sicily’s past; it was at this time that literature began to emphasise the island’s ‘exotic’ heritage. The epic cycles told in the puppet shows, however, draw upon more ancient sources. When the art of puppetry was introduced to Sicily in the early 19th century, it fused with the craft of the Sicilian storyteller who entertained people in the streets of the cities, towns and villages. This form of entertainment is thought by some to have its roots in the Norman period.  (Overnight Palermo) BL

Lipari - 3 nights

Day 10: Sunday 14 April, Palermo – Cefalù – Milazzo – Lipari (Aeolian Islands)
  • Cefalù Cathedral
  • Hydrofoil from Milazzo to the Aeolian island of Lipari

This morning we check out of our Palermo hotel and drive to Cefalù, where Roger II built an Arabo-Norman pleasure-palace and his cathedral. The west end of Cefalù Cathedral is a particularly noteworthy fusion of Arab and Norman architectural elements. Whilst its general massing could be called Norman, the twin bell towers which dominate it may be based upon North African minarets. Cefalù’s Christ Pantocrator is more ethereal than those of the Cappella Palatina and Monreale. Cefalù’s mystical image is probably of purely Byzantine provenance, whereas the more vivacious and worldly Monreale Christ Pantocrator was made by Byzantine-trained Sicilian craftsmen. From Cefalù we drive east along the north coast of Sicily to Milazzo. From here we take a hydrofoil to the Aeolian island of Lipari. (Overnight Lipari) BD

Day 11: Monday 15 April, Aeolian Islands: Lipari – Panarea – Stromboli – Lipari
  • Morning at leisure in the town of Lipari
  • Cruise to the islands of Panarea and Stromboli

Our morning is at leisure to relax and enjoy the town of Lipari. We then spend this afternoon and evening on a cruise to the islands of Stromboli and Panarea, some 20 kilometres away. We shall disembark on Panarea, where there will be time to explore the village or simply relax and enjoy the view. We then continue on to Stromboli. After time to stroll about this charming island we return to our boat to enjoy the sunset spectacle of the regular spurts of lava and sparks that erupt from the summit to illuminate the night sky. Upon returning to Lipari, we will have a late supper at our hotel. (Overnight Lipari) BD

Day 12: Tuesday 16 April, Lipari
  • Lipari Archaeological Museum
  • Lipari Island Tour

Lipari has known human habitation since at least the 6th millennium BC. With Sardinia, it was one of the earliest (Neolithic) exporters of obsidian, which found its way all across Europe. It was colonised by the Greeks, then raided by the Arabs from Sicily, who depopulated the island and then used it as a base to attack the coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy, Sardinia, Corsica and the south of France). The Normans eventually drove them from the island and the Pisans forced them from the Tyrrhenian. The Turks later raided Lipari and enslaved its population. The Emperor Charles V repopulated Lipari, and caused massive defensive fortifications to be built.

This morning we shall visit Lipari’s major archaeological museum, and then, after lunchtime at leisure to explore the quaint old town, we will board our coach for an afternoon tour of the island. Lipari’s landscape is very beautiful, and its coasts afford spectacular views of its fellow islands. (Overnight Lipari) BD

Taormina - 2 nights

Day 13: Wednesday 17 April, Lipari – Milazzo – Messina – Reggio Calabria – Taormina
  • Hydrofoil from Lipari to Milazzo
  • Museo Regionale Interdisciplinare incl. works by Carravagio: Adoration of the Shepherds and Resurrection of Lazarus
  • Lunch at a local restaurant, Reggio Calabria
  • ‘Riace Bronzes’, Reggio Calabria

Early this morning we take the hydrofoil back from Lipari to Milazzo. We drive to Messina, where we will visit the city’s regional museum to view two of Caravaggio’s last works, the Adoration of the Shepherds and Resurrection of Lazarus. We also view works saved from churches after the disastrous tidal wave of 1908. Among these is a beautiful figurative San Gregoria polyptych by Antonello da Messina, who is often credited as the first (Renaissance) Italian to work in oils. There are also Byzantine mosaics a fine small medieval sculpture collection and the ram bow of an ancient Roman warship.

Our coach takes us onto a ferry to cross the Strait of Messina to Reggio Calabria on the Italian mainland. Here, after lunching together at a local restaurant, we view the famous ‘Riace Bronzes’, the monumental Greek bronze figures found in the sea off Riace in 1972. These are some of the most significant works of Greek antiquity to be seen anywhere. We then take the ferry back to Messina and continue south to Taormina, where the evening will be at leisure. (Overnight Taormina) BL

Day 14: Thursday 18 April, Taormina
  • Graeco-Roman Theatre, Taormina
  • Fondazione Casa Cuseni, Taormina
  • Afternoon at leisure
  • Farewell Dinner

Mount Etna dominates Taormina’s southern horizon, acting as a backdrop to its ancient theatre. When the Romans incorporated Greek and Carthaginian Sicily into their empire they transformed Taormina and its theatre. The theatre, which was once a simple conch carved out of the mountainside looking out at Etna, gained a monumental backdrop like Roman theatres elsewhere. Taormina was fortified during the Middle Ages and small palaces were built by its major families.

We shall spend this morning exploring Taormina and its ancient theatre. We will proceed to visit Fondazione Casa Cuseni, a villa where notable figures such as Pablo Picasso, Greta Garbo, Coco Chanel, Bertrand Russell, and Roald Dahl all stayed. This historic villa was built in 1905 by British painter Robert Hawthorn Kitson, the son of a wealthy industrialist from Leeds. It was then Daphne Phelps, Kitson’s niece, who studied with Anna Freud and was a friend of Albert Einstein, who devoted the greater part of her life to the preservation of the house, which she inherited from her uncle in 1948. Daphne Phelps loved to surround herself with artists and thinkers and turned the villa into a hotel for artists and researchers.

The remainder of the day will be at leisure before we meet up again for a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant. (Overnight Taormina) BD

Day 15: Friday 19 April, Depart Taormina. Tour Ends
  • Airport transfer from Taormina to Catania Airport for departing on AZ1724 at 1100hrs

Participants travelling on the ASA ‘designated’ flight will transfer to Catania airport in the morning (flight AZ1724 departing Catania for Rome at 1100hrs).  Alternatively, you may wish to extend your stay in Italy. Please contact ASA if you require further assistance. B

Accommodation

Accommodation

A special feature of this tour is our stay in several heritage hotels. ASA has selected 3-star and 4-star hotels, many of which are themselves historical buildings and/or are located in historical centres. All rooms have en suite bathroom. Further information on accommodation will be provided in the ‘Tour Hotel List’ given to tour members prior to their departure.

  • Syracuse (3 nights): 3-star Hotel Gutkowski Ortigia – a boutique hotel located on the island of Ortigia. guthotel.it
  • Agrigento (2 nights): 4-star Colleverde Park Hotel – a modern hotel located near the Valley of the Temples. www.colleverdehotel.it
  • Palermo (4 nights): 4-star Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa – located in the heart of the historic centre, the hotel incorporates 3 adjacent buildings that once formed a grand monastery; it retains a number of historic features including a beautiful interior cloister. www.piazzaborsa.it
  • Lipari (3 nights): 4-star Hotel Tritone – located close to the town centre, set within a beautiful, lush garden. www.hoteltritonelipari.com
  • Taormina (2 nights): 4-star Villa Fiorita – housed in an antique building in the centre of Taormina, this boutique hotel is situated just a short distance from the ancient Greek Theatre. www.villafioritahotel.com

Note: Hotels are subject to change, in which case a hotel of similar standard will be provided.

Single Supplement

Payment of this supplement will ensure accommodation in a single-occupancy room throughout the tour. In all hotels on the tour, this will be a double/twin room for single occupancy. The number of rooms available for single occupancy is extremely limited. People wishing to take this supplement are therefore advised to book well in advance.

How to book

How to Book

ASA RESERVATION APPLICATION FORM

Please complete the ASA RESERVATION APPLICATION and send it to Australians Studying Abroad together with your non-refundable deposit of AUD $1000.00 per person payable to Australians Studying Abroad.

Practical Information

Practical Information

The number of flags is a guide to the degree of difficulty of ASA tours relative to each other (not to those of other tour companies). It is neither absolute nor literal. One flag is given to the least taxing tours, seven to the most. Flags are allocated, above all, according to the amount of walking and standing each tour involves. Nevertheless, all ASA tours require that participants have a good degree of fitness enabling 2-3 hours walking or 1-1.5 hours standing still on any given site visit or excursion. Many sites are accessed by climbing slopes or steps and have uneven terrain.

This 15-day Cultural Tour of Sicily and the Aeolian Islands involves:

  • Moderate walking and standing during site visits; walking tours may include steep slopes, flights of stairs, cobbled streets, visits to hill-top towns and uneven ground at archaeological sites.
  • Some days involve long stretches on winding coastal roads and there are several days of long-distance coach journeys.
  • Visiting a range of towns and villages on foot, involving walks uphill from bus parks to historic town centres and other sites.
  • Using stairs in museums (lifts are not always available).
  • 3-and 4-star hotels with four hotel changes.
  • You must be able to carry your own hand luggage. Hotel porterage includes 1 piece of luggage per person. Porterage is not available at the Milazzo and Lipari ports and you will need to manage your own luggage on and off the boat.
  • Return hydrofoil transport from Sicily to the Aeolian Islands (Day 10 & Day 13) and ferry to & from Reggio Calabria (Day 13).
  • Cruise to the islands of Stromboli and Panarea (Day 11) with a late return to the hotel (approx. 9pm).

It is important to remember that ASA programs are group tours, and slow walkers affect everyone in the group. As the group must move at the speed of the slowest member, the amount of time spent at a site may be reduced if group members cannot maintain a moderate walking pace. ASA tours should not present any problem for active people who can manage day-to-day walking and stair-climbing. However, if you have any doubts about your ability to manage on a program, please ask your ASA travel consultant whether this is a suitable tour for you.

Please note: it is a condition of travel that all participants agree to accept ASA’s directions in relation to their suitability to participate in activities undertaken on the tour, and that ASA retains the sole discretion to direct a tour participant to refrain from a particular activity on part of the tour. For further information please refer to the ASA Reservation Application Form.

Tour Price & Inclusions

Tour Price & Inclusions

AUD $9980.00 Land Content Only – Early-Bird Special: Book before 30 June 2023

AUD $10,180.00 Land Content Only

AUD $1380.00 Single Supplement

Tour Price (Land Content Only) includes:
  • Accommodation in twin-share rooms with private facilities in 3- and 4-star hotels
  • Breakfast daily, lunches & evening meals indicated in the itinerary where: B=breakfast, L=Lunch & D=dinner.
  • Drinks at welcome and farewell meals. Other meals may not have drinks included.
  • Transportation by air-conditioned coach.
  • Transportation by boat between Sicily and the Aeolian Islands; Sicily and Calabria as detailed in the itinerary.
  • Excursion by public boat from Lipari to Panarea and Stromboli (please note: the itinerary may be altered in the event of bad weather or volcanic activity).
  • Airport-hotel transfers if travelling on the ASA ‘designated’ flights.
  • Porterage of one piece of luggage per person at hotels (not at airports or ferry terminals).
  • Lecture and site visit program.
  • Tour handbook.
  • Entrance fees to museums, monuments & puppet show.
  • Use of audio headsets during site visits.
  • Tips for the coach driver, local guides and restaurants for included meals.
Tour Price (Land Content Only) does not include:
  • Airfare: Australia-Catania, Catania-Australia
  • Personal spending money
  • Luggage in excess of 20kg (44lbs)
  • Travel insurance
Tour Map

Tour Map

Gallery
Terms & Conditions

A non-refundable deposit of $1000.00 AUD per person is required to reserve a place on this ASA tour.

Cancellation Fees

If you decide to cancel your booking the following charges apply:

  • More than 75 days before departure: your initial deposit of $1000.00 is non-refundable.**
  • 75-31 days prior 50% of total amount due
  • 30-0 days prior 100% of total amount due

**$500.00 of this amount (ie 50% of your deposit) may be credited to another ASA tour departing within 12 months of the original tour you booked. We regret, in this case early-bird discounts will not apply.

We take the day on which you cancel as being that on which we receive written confirmation of cancellation.

Unused Portions of the Tour

We regret that refunds will not be given for any unused portions of the tour, such as meals, entry fees, accommodation, flights or transfers.

Will the Tour Price or Itinerary Change?

If the number of participants on a tour is significantly less than budgeted, or if there is a significant change in exchange rates ASA reserves the right to amend the advertised price. We shall, however, do all in our power to maintain the published price. If an ASA tour is forced to cancel you will get a full refund of all tour monies paid. Occasionally circumstances beyond the control of ASA make it necessary to change airline, hotel or to make amendments to daily itineraries. We will inform you of any changes in due course.

Travel Insurance

ASA requires all participants to obtain comprehensive travel insurance. A copy of your travel insurance certificate and the reverse charge emergency contact phone number must be received by ASA no later than 75 days prior to the commencement of the tour.

Final Payment

The balance of the tour price will be due 75 days prior to the tour commencement date.

Limitation of Liability

ASA is not a carrier, event or tourist attraction host, accommodation or dining service provider. All bookings made and tickets or coupons issued by ASA for transport, event, accommodation, dining and the like are issued as an agent for various service providers and are subject to the terms and conditions and limitations of liability imposed by each service provider. ASA is not responsible for their products or services. If a service provider does not deliver the product or service for which you have contracted, your remedy lies with the service provider, not ASA. ASA will not be liable for any claim (eg. sickness, injury, death, damage or loss) arising from any change, delay, detention, breakdown, cancellation, failure, accident, act, omission or negligence of any such service provider however caused (contingencies). You must take out adequate travel insurance against such contingencies. ASA’s liability in respect of any tour will be limited to the refund of amounts received from you less all non-refundable costs and charges and the costs of any substituted event or alternate services provided. The terms and conditions of the relevant service provider from time to time comprise the sole agreement between you and that service provider. ASA reserves the sole discretion to cancel any tour or to modify itineraries in any way it considers appropriate. Tour costs may be revised, subject to unexpected price increases or exchange rate fluctuations.

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