Cooking, Culture, & Country Life
Day 1: Arrival at Palermo airport. Meet your driver and guide and start your adventure! You’ll be enchanted by Palermo’s wide boulevards, traditional Sicilian Old Quarter, and baroque palaces, the food market of “Capo”, full of color and folkloric. Here you will taste typical street food such as “pani ca meusa”, “panelled”, “arancini”… Lunch at leisure. Then you’ll discover the Arab-Norman magnificence of the Monreale Cathedral, before visiting the Regaleali, Tasca D’Almerita Wine Estate, one of the most important wine-producing estates in Sicily. Here Fabrizia Tasca Lanza, the cooking teacher and cookbook author, conducts cooking classes, as she has for more than 15 years, at Casa Vecchie, in the middle of the vineyards. Dinner and overnight stay.
Day 2: Breakfast in the kitchen. Today Fabrizia Tasca will share her knowledge of local cuisine and its history and you will learn how to prepare the caponata, arancini, and cannoli with ricotta cheese. Lunch is included. In the afternoon you will explore the countryside and enjoy the vineyards. A look at the wine cellars of Regaleali with her immense barrels and tasting of the various wines will accompany the dinner. Overnight stay.
Day 3: Breakfast and departure for Agrigento to visit the beautiful Valley of the Temples. Lunch will be served at the Mandranova Olive Estate situated in the surroundings of Agrigento Visit the oil press and have a professional Olive Oil Tasting during the dinner.
Day 4: Breakfast and transfer to Piazza Armerina where you’ll view the extraordinary floor mosaics in the Roman Villa del Casale. Visit Caltagirone whose ceramics are a symbol of Sicily and enjoy shopping! Transfer to Siracusa and overnight stay.
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Day 5: Breakfast and visit of the city. Meet Mrs. Fiora to enjoy a wonderful visit at the Historical Ortigia Food Market followed by a funny cooking class at her home. Lunch is included. During the afternoon meet a private guide to visit the Siracusa and Noto, the capital of Baroque in Sicily.
Day 6: Breakfast and departure for Catania, this city is dramatically situated between the Ionian Sea and the looming bulk of Mount Etna, so it often rains ash upon its streets. You will visit its impressive Duomo and experience the city’s strong personality during a visit to its ebullient Pescheria, the daily fish and vegetable market. Drive to the famous Cyclops Coast through Acireale, its most important town, and Acicastello. Accommodation in a luxury farm on Mount Etna.
Day 7: Breakfast in hotel. Meet your private naturalistic guide as driver and explore the Etna Volcano. Lunch will be served in a local winery. Afternoon at leisure to visit of Taormina Sicily’s most famous city. Overnight stay.
Day 8: Breakfast and departure for Catania.
Content Courtesy, Essence of Sicily
Who is Essence of Sicily?
Essence of Sicily is a specialist boutique DMC offering luxury & unique experiences in Sicily and Aeolian Islands to suit any individual or group. Their customized luxury tours are chosen to offer a balance of Sicilian history, culture and cuisine, bringing you all the best that the beautiful island has to offer. All of the tours go above and beyond the normal remits – with private guides, private transfers and personalized service, tailoring the experience exclusively for the clients.