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Essential Sicily - From the Greeks to the Baroque: three thousand years of history
10
days
from
A$11,620
Book today with a deposit from
A$1,743
25th October 2027 - 3rd November 2027
Tour highlights
- Five of Sicily’s seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento and the Roman floor mosaics at Villa Romana del Casale, unequalled in Europe.
- Byzantine mosaics of the highest order: the Palatine Chapel in Palermo, Monreale Cathedral, and the Norman churches of Cefalù.
- A geographically balanced itinerary – based in both Palermo and Catania – covering the full sweep of the island across ten days.
- Option to combine with the 'Opera in Sicily' festival (details available shortly).
Few islands have absorbed so many civilisations and retained the evidence of all of them. Sicily’s art, architecture and archaeological remains accumulate across 3,000 years – Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman, Baroque – and the island carries them still, in its buildings, its landscapes and its food. The setting is as varied as the history: beaches and clifftop towns, as well as its rugged and mountainous interior, and the fertile valleys and monumental bulk of Mount Etna, Europe’s largest active volcano.
Thousands of years of history can be charted through the marks that these cultures have left behind; some of these are lived, such as the influences that have shaped the island’s cuisine, from the Arab-descended spices and sweetness that can still be seen in typical dishes, to the wine-making first introduced by the Phoenicians. The physical evidence of colonisers past is omnipresent; this tour takes in five of the seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Sicily, including some of the finest surviving ancient Greek temples and theatres (the Valley of the Temples), Roman floor mosaics unequalled in Europe (Villa Romana del Casale), the Arab-Norman heritage of Palermo and the spectacular coastal cathedrals in Monreale and Cefalù, as well as the cities of Syracuse and Catania. Beyond this, we also see wall and vault mosaics by Byzantine craftsmen which are unequalled anywhere, and an abundance of medieval churches, Baroque palaces and memorable paintings, sculptures and other works of art.
Martin Randall Travel has been running tours to Sicily for over two decades. Essential Sicily distils that experience into ten days, covering the island’s most important sites at a pace that allows them to be properly absorbed. Based in Palermo for the first half and Catania for the second, this tour gives equal weight to both sides of the island; it is the ideal introduction for a first-time visitor.
This tour is particularly strenuous. Please read the advice under 'Practicalities'.
Itinerary
Fly at c. 9.00am from London City to Palermo via Milan (ITA airways). Transfer by coach to Palermo. The largest and by far the most interesting city on the island, Palermo has been capital of Sicily since the period of Saracenic occupation in the ninth century. It reached a peak under the Normans and again during the Age of Baroque. First of five nights in Palermo.
A morning walk through the old centre includes visits to the Palazzo Abatellis and outstanding Norman buildings including La Martorana with fine mosaics. In the afternoon visit the cathedral, a building of many periods (though largely medieval), with grand royal and imperial tombs, and Il Gesù, grandest of Palermo’s Baroque interiors.
The small town of Monreale dominates a verdant valley southwest of Palermo. Its cathedral is one of the finest Norman churches on the island and possesses the largest scheme of Byzantine mosaic decoration in existence. Cefalù, a charming coastal town, has another massive Norman cathedral.
In the morning see the Palatine Chapel in the palace of the Norman kings. Entirely encrusted with Byzantine mosaics, this is perhaps the finest assembly of Byzantine art to survive anywhere. In the afternoon drive to Segesta; set in an unspoilt hilly landscape, the almost complete but fascinatingly unfinished fifth-century temple at Segesta was built by indigenous, if thoroughly Hellenised, Sicilians. On an adjacent hill is a spectacularly sited theatre with views to the sea.
The Valley of the Temples, the remains of the Greek colony of Akragas at modern-day Agrigento, is one of the greatest sites bequeathed by the ancient world. A relatively late foundation (580 bc), it rose rapidly to riches and constructed eight peripteral temples, the most numerous group in the Greek world. That dedicated to Olympian Zeus was the largest of all Doric temples before being felled by Carthaginians and earthquakes, while the Temple ‘of Concord’ is the best preserved.
Leave Palermo and drive through the hilly interior of Sicily. At Piazza Armerina are the remains of one of the finest villas of the late Roman Empire, whose floor mosaics comprise the most vital and colourful manifestation of Roman figurative art in Europe. Continue to Catania, where the remaining four nights are spent.
Sicily’s second city, Catania was largely rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693 with long straight streets lined with Baroque palaces. In the morning, visit the Roman theatre, before a private visit and lunch at a Byzantine chapel. The afternoon is free.
Drive to Taormina, an extremely pretty hillside town. The cathedral is a well-maintained example of Romanesque-Gothic architecture, and the Teatro Greco (actually largely Roman) is incomparably sited with far-reaching views encompassing smouldering Mount Etna, the Ionian sea and the Calabrian coast of mainland Italy.
Founded as a Greek colony in 733 bc, Syracuse became the most important city of Magna Græcia, and the Archaeological Park has the largest Greek theatre to survive. Santa Lucia al Sepolcro is the church for which Caravaggio painted the Burial of Saint Lucy. Spend the afternoon in Ortygia, the ancient heart of the city, where the pretty streets are also densely packed with ancient structures.
Traces of the Romanesque Cathedral, begun 1078, survive in the eastern parts and the towers, but it was largely rebuilt in Baroque style after the 1693 earthquake. Visit a private palace before the short drive to the airport. Fly from Catania to London City, via Milan (ITA Airways), arriving at c.9.00pm
Expert speaker
Dr Mark Grahame
Archaeologist, lecturer and Member of the Chartered Institute of Archaeologists (MCIfA). He obtained his PhD from Southampton University and his thesis on the spatial layouts of the houses of Roman Pompeii was published as a British Archaeological Report and a series of journal articles. He has coordinated an adult education programme in archaeology at the University of Southampton (2002–2011), has taught courses on the archaeology and history of the Roman Empire for Cambridge and Oxford Universities' Institutes of Continuing Education, and between 2018 and 2024, ran his own heritage consultancy, M-Arc Heritage Ltd.
More tours led by Dr Mark Grahame
Practicalities
Two sharing: A$12,170 or A$11,620 without flights. Single occupancy: A$15,030 or A$14,480 without flights.
Travel by private coach throughout; hotel accommodation as described below; breakfasts; 3 lunches and 5 dinners with wine, water, coffee; all admissions; all tips; all taxes; the services of the lecturer and tour manager.
Grand Hotel Et Des Palmes, Palermo: luxurious 5-star hotel, recently renovated but still retaining many Art Nouveau details. Palace Catania, Catania: A smart modern 4-star hotel, excellently situated in the centre of Catania. Single occupancy rooms are doubles for sole use.
This is a fairly strenuous tour which involves a lot of walking, some of it over rough ground at archaeological sites and cobbled or uneven paving in town centres. Fitness and sure-footedness are essential. There are a few long coach journeys, and the day at Agrigento starts at c. 8.00am in order to travel to the site. Average distance by coach per day: 68 miles.
Typically between 10 and 24 participants.
Before booking, please refer to Smartraveller to ensure you are happy with the travel advice for the destination(s) you are visiting. As a British company we follow the advice of the UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office.
Opera in Sicily, 4–9 November 2027, details available shortly – please contact us to register interest.
Dates & prices
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2027
Date
Speaker
Price
Date:
25th October - 3rd November 2027
Speaker:
Dr Mark Grahame
Price:
from A$11,620
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