Relaxed arrival at the airport, transfer to the hotel in the Catania area

We drive by jeep to the Etna area, where we experience, among other things:

• Visit of the lava tongues of the different years
• Chapel rescued from lava eruption
• Roads and houses destroyed by lava
• Trees suffocated and carbonized by lava
• Lava tunnel where you can walk with a protective helmet
• Hike in the cold Sartorius crater

We drive to the Catania market to shop and then to cook:

In an old windmill we meet Alida, a Dutch woman who has lived in Sicily for 50 years, and cook with her. Her husband is an artist and painter

In the late afternoon, we start at Taormina and visit the Greek Theatre

For evening planning:

Leisure and free dinner in a restaurant in Taormina, for example:

• Villa Ducale
• La Bottega del Formaggio
• Pizzeria Le Tre Vie
• Antipasteria Siciliana

So “Taormina by night” – and back to the hotel

Barons Palatania welcomes us in his house. He shows the rooms in his small castle and tells of the “making-of” of the trilogy “Godfather”.

At the end, he shows us in his living room all the most important scenes of the film, which were shot in the “Castello degli Schiavi”. You get the desire to see the film for the first time in whole or again 🙂

Afterwards it gets fruity: We visit an orange or lemon producer and make a sample of freshly picked oranges and lemons. A treat – combined with a small snack and Pane Cunzato.

We continue to Siracusa for the overnight stay.

Half-day visit of “Archaeological Zone”, Ortigia and Cathedral in Siracusa together with a local guide. You will learn a lot here

• about the Greeks in Sicily
• 2,500 years of history
• and Archimedes: “Give me a fixed point where I can go, and I move the earth!”

We continue to Marzamemi – a largely unknown village, but very romantic.

Dinner in Marzamemi,

Overnight stay

We are in the footsteps of Commissioner Montalbano.

Noto

Ancient Neton (Latin for Netum, now called Noto Antica or Noto Vecchia), which was founded by the Sikelians, came early into the sphere of influence of Syracuse, about 6 km northwest of the city today. Among the Arabs (from 862) Noto gained supra-regional importance in the Middle Ages and was until 1091 the last Muslim bastion in Italy. The present town was built in 1703 southeast of Noto Antica, which was completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1693. Thereupon Noto was rebuilt uniformly in the style of the Sicilian baroque.

After visiting Noto we go to Marco and see the production of almonds. We will discover many products that can be made with almonds – even an almond drink. Almond is the most exported fruit that goes from Sicily to the whole world (yes, correctly understood, it is not the oranges). At Marco we will enjoy a barbecue and bake pizza in the oven.

Ragusa

The city center consists of two parts, which are separated by a gorge. To the east, on the site of the old town, lies the lower town of Ragusa Ibla with magnificent buildings in the style of the Sicilian Baroque from the 18th century. Here is a large part of baroque churches and palaces.

The upper town of Ragusa Superiore, which was also rather sober and geometrically laid out in the 18th century, lies on a hill in the west. This is where the greater part of the city’s inhabitants lives. Next to the city’s administrative buildings is the Cathedral of San Giovanni Battista.

Scicli

The village was founded by the Sicels. In the Middle Ages the place came under Arab rule until it developed into a royal city under the Normans. Under Frederick II, the city was owned by the Counts of Modica. In 1693, the city, like the entire Val di Noto, was destroyed by an earthquake. It was then rebuilt in the style of the Sicilian Baroque.

Continue to Modica

The town was founded by the Sicels under the name Motyka and later inhabited by the Greeks and Romans, but hardly any traces of their presence have survived. The Arabs conquered the city in 845 and named it Mohac. In the 11th century, the Normans, led by Roger I, took over the city. Modica, like other towns in Val di Noto, was destroyed by the powerful earthquake of 9 January 1693, which killed 60,000 people in Sicily. Rebuilt in the style of the Sicilian Baroque, Modica is now a quiet regional centre with one of the most beautiful cityscapes in the style of the Sicilian Baroque, despite two floods in 1833 and 1902.

In Modica you will experience a chocolate tasting: real Cioccolato di Modica awaits you. Chocolate from Modica is a chocolate made in the Sicilian city of Modica. It is a speciality officially recognised by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry policy as “Prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale italiano” (Traditional Italian agri-food product). Chocolate from Modica is made according to a traditional recipe “cold” (“a freddo”) and is not conchiered. The recipe was probably handed down by the Counts of Modica from Spain. Their noble house was the most influential feudal power in southern Italy in the 16th century, during Spanish domination of Sicily. Even today, a similar form of preparation exists in Spain in the form of chocolate “a la piedra”; such varieties are also known in Mexico and Guatemala.

Today our tour ends. The transfer will take you to Catania Airport.