ART & ARCHITECTURAL TOURS - PO BOX 25062 - SARASOTA, FL 3427-5062
email: iaats@jeanrenoux.com - Phone#: 941 726 1400
SICILY 2025
Palermo - Erice - Agrigento - Siracusa - Catania - Taormina - Palermo
September 20 to October 1, 2025
MAX of 4 travelers or Max of 7 travelers (sorry about that. The group that was coming, although good friends for many years had a terrible argument about money & other ridiculous reasons. I was trying to save the rooms, guides, and other the others reservations . If interested I can put together another tour for October 2nd, lasting the same amount of days. ​
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Sicily is a very beautiful island where I took 9 groups since 2010. All travelers came back ecstatic from that tour,
thanks to the diversity landscapes, cities, wines, food, and the beautiful sites they visited.
DAY1 - SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 20 - Arriving in Palermo
L1-D1
We'll be there to pick you up, hoping you'll have a minimum of luggage for the next 11 days, as the trunk of our minibus isn't huge.
The weather should be nice, but remember to bring rain gear, just in case. A swimsuit might be useful, as some of our hotels have beautiful pools, and the last two days in Taormina will be spent by the sea.
After dropping off your luggage at the Hotel Garibaldi (Via Emerico Amari, 146 - 90139 Palermo – Tel: +39 091 6017011), it will be time for our first Sicilian meal, featuring Palermo specialties.
After lunch we will go to visit the city, one with a very long and eventful history, starting with the Phoenicians, followed by the Greeks, the Romans, the Arabs from 831 to 1072, and the Normans in 1130.
In 1198, Palermo became one of the capitals of the Holy Roman Empire. The Angevins, who were there from 1266 to 1282, experienced problems that undermined the economy and culture, sparking a revolution among the locals that lasted no more than two days, on March 30 or 31, 1282, massacring more than 2,000 nobles in Palermo and nearly 10,000 in the rest of Sicily.
In fact, the origins of the massacre of the French are more complex than that, as they also stem from a conflict between supporters of the Pope, the Guelphs, and those of the Holy Roman Emperor, the Ghibellines. The result was that the King of Aragon received Sicily as a gift, and the kings of Spain controlled the island until 1734.
They left it to a Bourbon, when Charles II became King of Naples and Sicily in 1734. Much happened, until Giuseppe Garibaldi, arriving in Messina in 1860 with a thousand men, seized Sicily, which led to the beginning of the unification of Italy, the creation of the Kingdom of Italy, and Victor Emmanuel, Duke of Savoy, becoming the first King of Italy in 1861.
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Palermo, under the various political structures that have shaped its history, is a city with a wealth of places to visit, with beautiful civil and religious architecture, as well as beautiful public spaces. We'll probably be walking a lot, so wear comfortable shoes.
Our first night in Palermo. Dinner on your own
DAY 2 - SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 21 - ​Palermo - Monreale
B1-L2
We will continue our tour of Palermo in the morning.
After lunch, we will head to Monreale, 10 km from Palermo, to visit an astonishing Norman cathedral, whose walls are covered with 70,000 square feet of Byzantine mosaics on a gold background.
It is certainly the largest mosaic surface in the Mediterranean basin. It was built between 1172 and 1176. It is 335 foot long, 131 foot wide, and 115 foot high.
By comparison, Notre-Dame de Paris is 416 foot long, 157 footwide, and the vault is 108 foot high.
Each of the four sides of the cloister is decorated with 26 Norman arcades supported by small columns grouped in pairs, and in fours, at the corners of the cloister. There are 228 colonnades, all different from each other.
We sleep in Palermo - Dinner on your own
DAY 3 - MONDAY SEPTEMBER 22 - BAGHERIA - CEFALU B2-L3-D2
Not too early in the morning, we will go to Bagheria to visit the strange Villa Palagonia with its decor and sculptures of monsters, both human and animal.The inside is as bizarre as the outside, and I still like visiting it again.
I discovered this villa while watching a film in 2009, titled Baaria, which takes place partly in the town of Bagheria, with a scene filmed in the villa. Since then, I have returned there 5 times.
After lunch in Bagheria, we'll spend the rest of the day in Cefalù, a pretty little town steeped in history, with a cathedral and a nice beach.
We sleep in Palerme. Dinner together in Cefalù.​
DAY 4 -TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 23 - SEGESTA - ERICE
B3-L4
We leave Palermo for Segesta, an important archaeological site where we will see the Temple of Segesta (or Temple of Hera), a Doric temple, built from 425 BC using local limestone on a hill outside the ancient city. The city of Segesta was destroyed by the Vandals in the 5th century and then by the Arabs, and was never reborn. The ancient theater and temple become the setting for a festival of theater, dance, and music in July and August.
We will have lunch on site, or at a local restaurant nearby, before going to Erice.
Erice is a beautifully preserved medieval village overlooking the west coast of Sicily and offering breathtaking views. Strolling through its cobbled streets, you will discover an ancient temple, a Norman castle, and medieval churches.
The Norman Castello di Venere (Castle of Venus) dominates the landscape of Erice. It was built in the 12th century on top of an ancient temple to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, worshipped here since 1300 BC.
The town is renowned for its almond pastries, and Pasticceria Grammatico is the most popular pastry shop in town. In the early 1950s, its founder, Maria Grammatico, was sent by her impoverished mother to the San Carlo orphanage, where she learned the trade of pastry chef. Also try almond lingua di suocera, ricotta Genoese, bocconcini, belli e brutti, or cassata. Enjoy them with Marsala wine or a typical local liqueur, Monte Erice.
We sleep in Erice - Dinner together.
DAY 5 - WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 24 - SCIACCA - AGRIGENTO - VALLEY OF THE TEMPLES - B4-L5-D4
We leave Erice for Agrigento. We'll stop in Sciacca for a shirt visit & lunch. The town was founded by the Sicani, an indigenous people of Sicily, in the 7th century BC.
It has been known since ancient times for its thermal, sulfurous, and sodium-chloride waters. The town reached its greatest splendor during Norman rule, between the 11th and 12th centuries, when it became the center of a wealthy county.
We'll tour the town, discovering its narrow streets, piazzas, charming little churches, and palazzi, and seeing the ancient synagogues that have existed since 1435.
Then we drive to the Valley of the Temples. I visited Greece at least 10 times, and I realized that to look at Greek temples in good shapes, Sicily was the place to go to, except for the Parthenon. the town was founded in -582 by Greeks from the close-by city of Gela. The arriving colony took the name of the river running there, the Akragas, symbolized by crab found on the coins of the city at the end of the VI century BC
The Valley of the Temples is a very vast site including a large number of temples in different states of decomposition, having suffered degradation over time, with theft of stones to build houses, or the transformation of the Temple of Concord which had been transformed into a church.
We will sleep in Agrigento, facing the illuminated temples.
Dinner together.
DAY 6 - THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 25 - VILLA ROMANA DEL CASALE - SIRACUSA - B5-L6
​We will drive in the morning to visit the Villa Romana Del Casale, a huge Roman villa measuring nearly 60,000 square feet, including the storage buildings.
It is now almost entirely covered to protect it from the elements. This view gives us an idea of ​​what it looked like in 340 AD.
A main attraction is the 37674 square feet of mosaic floors, depicting African animals, or women in bikinis using dumbbells or very heavy balls to perform physical exercises.
It was believed that the bikini was invented by French fashion designer Louis Reard in July 1946, four days after the United States tested the first atomic bomb on the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, in the Pacific Ocean. Obviously, this was not the case, since the house was built 1,675 years ago.
We will the drive to go spend the night in Siracusa, a very beautifly city on the east Sicilian coast.
We sleep in Siracusa. Dinner on your own
Piazza Fontana Pretoria
Teatro Massimo - across from the hotel.
San Cataldo Church
Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary - Palermo
The cathedral was built in the 12th century by the Norman Archbishop of Palermo, Walter Ophamil, on the site of a very ancient Roman Empire Basilica converted into a mosque in the 9th century by the Arabs. The towers date from the 14th and 15th centuries, and the Catalan Gothic porch from the 15th century. The Baroque nave was widened at the end of the 18th century.
Mosaics in the nave
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CEFALU - The beach on the right side of the photo is quite long.
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Sciacca, on the Southern coast of Sicily
Telamon is a male figure used as a pillar to support an entablature or other structures. This one is 24 ft long
The crab on a coin from Akragras -
VI century BC
The villa is enclosed to protect it from the elements. It gives an idea of the size of that magnificent & large house.
1675 years ago women would train in bikini with dumbells
Loading an elephant on a Roman ship
Tiger hunting
DAY 7 - FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 26- SIRACUSA - B6-L7
Syracuse, has a long history since it was founded in 733BC.
Numerous important greek figures were responsible for its amazing reputation as a city of art, philosophy, and science. It was the birthplace of the mathematician Archimedes; Aeschylus known as the father of Greek tragedies; or Plato the Greek philosopher of the Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms. He was deeply involved in Syracusan political history, making several journeys to backs and forth between Athens a Siracusa.
We will visit the very interesting Jewish Quarter, with a still-intact mikveh. Jews arrived in Sicily around the year 70, often as prisoners of war, the one Titus was waging against the Hebrew state. They remained peacefully throughout Sicily until 1492, when, under Spanish rule, Queen Isabel la Catolica and her husband Ferdinand II expelled the Jews, as they had done in all their possessions, or forced them to convert to Catholicism.
Many fled to the south of France, the Maghreb, or the Ottoman Empire.
We will also visit Greco-Roman ruins, the Ear of Dionysius, and the Ortigia district, an island connected to the rest of the city by two bridges, where there stands the beautiful Cathedral of Syracuse, where Doric columns that were part of the cella of the temple dedicated to Athena, built in the 5th century, are still visible on each side of the nave.
The cathedral was rebuilt in the Baroque style and then with Rococo elements after the earthquake of 1693. The cathedral was the first Christian church in the West. During the Arab conquest, it was not destroyed, but its predecessor, in the Byzantine style, was transformed into a mosque.
The Ortigia district is of great beauty, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 in the Baroque style.
We will also have a look at the Burial of Santa Lucia (1608), a painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, known as Caravaggio, a very important painter who employed close physical observation with a dramatic use of chiaroscuro (contrast of light against darkness) that came to be known as tenebrism. He made the technique a dominant stylistic element, transfixing subjects in bright shafts of light and darkening shadows. The light coming from high on the left of the painting. Known to have created probably less than 80 paintings in his short 39 years life. I like that artist very much and so far, I went to many different countries and museums, to look at 61 of them. ​​
We sleep in Siracusa. Dinner on your own
DAY 8 – SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 27 - CATANIA – B7-L8
Catania is the second largest city in Sicily after Palermo.
Catania was founded in the 8th century BC by Chalcidian Greeks.
10 miles West of the city is an important US Navy base providing Command Control & Logistic Support to US & Nato Operating Forces.
During the Renaissance period, Catania was one of the most important cultural, artistic & political centers of Italy
The first Sicilian university was founded in 1434, in Catania.
Vincenzo Bellini, composer of the opera Norma, was born in Catania.
The city has been buried under the lava of Mount Etna seventeen times, which explains why we will be visiting the underground Greek and Roman ruins.
There are at least 90 churches in Catania, but rest assured, we won't visit them all.
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The city, despite the use of lava rock during reconstruction, is a very pretty city with a lot to see.
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The Etna seen from Catania
Fountain of Artemis (Diana in Roman
mythology) by Giulio Moschetti 1907
A small street in Ortigia
Street of the Jewish Quarter
A mikveh is a bath used for ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve
ritual purity.
The Greek theatre of Syracuse overlook the modern city of Siracusa. It was built in the 5th century BC, rebuilt in the 3rd century BC and renovated again in the Roman period.
The Ear of Dionysius was created out of a limestone quarry. Caravaggio gave it that name because of its shape similar to the human ear,
& to the echoes heard in the cave.
The square of the Siracusa Cathedral.
One of my favorite place to have lunch.
The Duomo of Siracusa. Come from the latin DOMUS, meaning house, & in Italy, God's House.
Burial of Santa Lucia
(1608)
by Caravaggio
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Theatro Bellini
Fontana dell'elefante. Strange story of a Bishop who supposedly rode the elephant to go to Constantinople. but there is more to learn about the Catanian male pride attached to that statue.
Part of the underground visit of the Greek & Roman ruins.
The Greek Theater, that was under the ashes & lava
Santa Elemosina Church
Catania Duomo (Cathedral)
Duomo Square
DAY 9 - SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 28 - ETNA - TAORMINA
B8-L9-D5
In the early morning we will go to the Etna volcano. There are several ways to visit it. It depends on the weather, because at over 2000 meters it can be cool, not to say cold. One year, in May, the weather in Taormina, near the volcano, was magnificent, but up there, we found ourselves in a small snowstorm. We quickly returned to the refuge to drink hot chocolate. Leaving Catania at 9 a.m, one hour later we will take the cable car, to reach 8202ft. There we will ride a 4X4 taking us to 9350 ft. (the summit of the Etna is 11,155 feet).
Then we will walk to observe craters and recent lava flows, led by volcanologists, not amateurs. (People affected by cardiopathic diseases, asthma and hypertension are not allowed on the 4x4 tour). I will stay with those who cannot go on the 4x4, in the restaurant, the tourist shop, & will take them to an old crater which is very close, and only less than 10mn walk.
The cable car last descent to our car, is at 3:50 pm.
We won't miss, otherwise we will have to walk more than 1 miles.​
Then we'll go to the hotel to rest a short while before going to Taormina, a very pretty little town with a beautiful ancient theater, built by the Greeks and later modified by the Romans. We will have dinner together in the town. ​
Etna cable car
The 4x4 taking some of us to sights of lava
Etna - June 12 2025 - 11-01 am
A semi-buried house in lava & ashes
Taormina - Piazza IX Aprile
Two ladies at bottom of stairs, & 7people a little further down, had traveled with me between 5 & 8 times.
Greco-Roman theater - Taormina
DAY 10 - MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29 - AROUND TAORMINA
B9-L10
Today we'll start a little later to explore the small villages around Mount Etna and also dip our toes in the sea.
DAY 11 - TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 - ON THE WAY TO PALERMO B10-L11-D6
On the way to Palermo, we will see some interesting villages.
If you are interested, on the way, there is a huge Luxury Outlet Shopping Village. (Guci, Dolce Gabanna, Brooks Brothers & many less expensive shops. The center is less expensive than normal stores of same brands) . I always stop there,if I can to buy shirts drying in 3 hours, that are perfect when traveling.
In Palermo, we could a little extra shopping, and waling around the town .It will then be the time for last dinner together.
DAY 12 - WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1ST
B11
It's time to go home. You will be dropped off at Palermo Falcone Borsellino Airport.
These are the names of two Sicilian judges who fought the Mafia and were assassinated in 1992, 56 days apart, by bombs exploding as they drove by. The MAfia knows not to go after Tourists. It is a bread , butter & jam for Sicily. No reason to worry.
I have been there twelve times, 9 of which I took groups.
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What is iincluded in the TOUR:
-All hotels have A/C, private bathe in suite, WiFI.
-11 Breakfasts - 11 lunches - 6 dinners
-Transportation from Palermo Airport to Palermo Airport.
-Accident/medical/luggage insurance.
-Entrance to any and all sites, museums, etc.
-Private guides except Etna, where the Volcanologist may have other participants added to the group.
What is not included:
Airfare to Palermo & back to US
Wine and any alcohol during meals
5155 in double occupancy
600 supplement for Single traveler.