Christmas in Sicily 2010
:At a glance ...
Dates: from Sunday, December 19, 2010 to Sunday, January 2, 2011 (14 nights)
Departure from USA: December 18, 2010
Arrive Palermo: December 19, 2010
Depart from Sicily (Catania): January 2, 2011
Cost: per person (double occupancy)
2.660.00 euros
single occupancy supplement: 300.oo euros
Included meals: all breakfasts, 8 lunches, 7 dinners
Entrance fees for all excursions included in the trip: included
Included Gratuities: hotel staff, restaurants and drivers
Air arrangements: Not included
Transfer from Palermo Airport (Dec.19, 2010) to Hotel: not included
Transfer to Catania Airport (Jan. 2, 2011): not included
Transfers from Palermo Airport and to Catania Airport can be organized upon request at additional cost to be paid on site.
Lodging: Hotel Garibaldi (Palermo), Park Hotel Paradiso (Piazza Armerina), Grand Hotel Ortigia (Siracusa), Excelsior Palace Hotel (Taormina).
If for some reason the originally requested hotel is not available, a substitute hotel will be offered at no additional cost and will be of similar category whenever possible.
Itinerary at a glance: 3 nights Palermo, 1 night Piazza Armerina, 4 nights Siracusa, 6 nights Taormina
Highlights: Palatine Chapel in Palermo, Cathedral of Monreale, Valley of the Temples (Agrigento), Villa Romana del Casale, Ortigia and Taormina
Enjoy a cooking class with a local expert and taste excellent Sicilian wines in one of the best local wineries.
DAILY SCHEDULE
Day 1: Arrival / Welcome / Orientation
(Sunday, December 19)
Arrive in Palermo
AFTERNOON: settle in and relax before meeting for an informal gathering and reception to welcome you to Sicily
Dinner @ the Hotel
Meals: dinner
Cathedral
Day 2: Exploring Palermo
(Monday, December 20)
MORNING: Neighborhood walk
Walk through town with visit to Ballarò open market.
Take part to a demonstration done by a ciraro (wax sculptor) of the making of a wax figure for the Nativity, with the same method used in the Baroque period. 
AFTERNOON: A visit to the Palatine Chapel in Palermo, which was the crowning architectural achievement of Norman kings of Sicily, then on to Chiesa della Martorana, a church distinguished by an elegant Norman campanile, which dates from 1143 and is famed for its spectacular mosaics.
FREE TIME for the remainder of the afternoon.
Meals: breakfast and dinner
Palatine Chapel
Day 3: Palermo and Monreale
(Tuesday, December 21)
MORNING : visit Teatro Massimo, the main opera house in Palermo and one of the largest theaters in Europe.
AFTERNOON: Depart for Monreale. Visit the Cathedral, built by William II.
The interior is covered with magnificent golden mosaics.
Meals: breakfast
Day 4: Departure from Palermo
(Wednesday, December 22)
MORNING: Depart for Agrigento, where the Valley of the Temples draws visitors from around the world.
The area was a large Greek settlement 2500 years ago and the archaeological park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, holds some of the largest and best preserved Greek temples
outside of Greece.
AFTERNOON: Visit the Cistercian Monastery of Santo Spirito, founded around 1290, and the nuns who live in it.
Transfer to hotel in Piazza Armerina
Meals: breakfast and dinner
Day 5: Transfer to Siracusa
(Thursday, December 23)
MORNING: Depart for Siracusa, a city famous for its rich Greek history, culture, and artistic heritage, who had an important role in ancient times as one of the top powers of the Mediterranean world.
Enroute visit Villa Romana, a luxurious Roman estate from the III- IVcentury AD with spectacular floor mosaics.
AFTERNOON: Continue onto Siracusa via Caltagirone (the arab Cal’at Ghiran castle of vases) famous for the production of pottery and terra-cotta wares since the Arab conquest of the island. 
Visit Scala di Santa Maria del Monte with its 142 steps decorated with majolica tiles, and the Ceramic and Nativity Museum.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 6: Exploring Siracusa and Ortigia
(Friday, December 24)
MORNING: Guided Visit of the archaeological area and the Archaeological Museum Paolo Orsi, Sicily's most extensive archaeological museum, with its collection of artifacts from the Paleolithic to the Byzantine era.
AFTERNOON: Guided Visit of Ortigia, the hub of the old city, site of the 18th-century Duomo and the ruins of Sicily's earliest Doric Temple, dedicated to Apollo, and of the delightful Fonte Aretusa and the Piazza dedicated to Archimede, one of the greatest scientists of antiquity and a native of Syracuse.
Meals: breakfast and dinner
Day 7: Siracusa BUON NATALE
(Saturday, December 25)
MORNING: Lecture - Sicilian Cuisine
AFTERNOON:Lecture - Contemporary Italian Society
After dinner: group game – Tombola
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 8: Excursion to Noto and Giarratana
(Sunday, December 26)
MORNING: Depart for Noto, famous for its Baroque monuments, built after the famous 1693 earthquake.
Lunch @ Agriturismo Giannavì
AFTERNOON: Visit Giarratana, rich agricultural center where we will see a Live Nativity, and Museo all' aria aperta (dwellings from time gone!)
Meals: breakfast and lunch
Day 9: Transfer to Taormina
(Monday, December 27)
MORNING: Departure for Taormina
Enroute visit Acireale and its permanent Nativity, arranged in 1752 in a lava ravine, the so called Grotto of the Crib. It comprises 32 life-sized figures with waxed faces, dressed in sumptuous clothes.
Lunch @ Linguaglossa on the slopes of Mount Etna 
where you will taste local specialities and wine.
Meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner
Day 10: Visit Taormina (Tuesday, December 28)
MORNING: Visit Greek Theater 
AFTERNOON: Castelmola (by public bus). Enjoy one of the best views in the world! Meals: breakfast
Day 11: Giardini Naxos - cooking class
(Wednesday, December 29)
MORNING Depart (by public bus) for Giardini Naxos, where we will take part in a cooking class followed by lunch.
FREE PM in Taormina Meals: breakfast and lunch
Day 12: Ride on the Circumetnea
(Thursday, December 30)
MORNING: Take a ride on the Circumetnea railway. 
The picturesque carriages climb up the slopes of Etna and bring you back to a time when the pace of tourism was much slower than today. You will also see barren stretches of black lava, alternating with luxuriant vegetation.
AFTERNOON: Lecture - Mafia
Meals: breakfast Day 13: Taormina - New Year's Eve
(Friday, December 31)
FREE DAY 
CENONE @ Excelsior Palace Hotel
Meals: breakfast and dinner
Day 14: Savoca and Forza d'Agrò
(Saturday, January 1, 2011)
MORNING: Excursion to Savoca and Forza d'Agrò, two charming medieval towns which owe their fame to the movie The Godfather
Group Lunch @ Forza d'Agrò
FREE PM in Taormina
Meals: breakfast and lunch
Day 15: Departure Day
(Sunday, January 2, 2011)
Meals: breakfast
If there is interest we will help participants explore options to extend their stay in Italy.
Important information about your itinerary
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the information provided. Itineraries are based on our best information at this time. Circumstances beyond our control may require us to adjust itineraries or other details.