Sicilian Sunset

Depart for a visit to the splendid city of Palermo, the Capital of Sicily, a city rich in history, art, culture and traditions. Palermo is a city whose millennial history has given it a remarkable artistic and architectural heritage that ranges from the remains of the Punic walls to Art Nouveau villas, noble palaces and seventeenth-century squares, baroque churches and neoclassical theatres. Once the residence of emirs and kings, it preserves monuments of the Arab-Norman period including the beautiful Cathedral, the Church of the Martorana, among the most fascinating Byzantine churches of the Middle Ages in Italy, and the Palatine Chapel, from the historical-artistic point of view among the highest examples of the coexistence among cultures, religions and ethnic groups. Continue with a visit to Teatro Massimo and the controversial Piazza Pretoria Fountain, enriched by sixteenth-century sculptures and located on the edge of the ancient Kalsa district. Finally reach Monreale, where you will be enchanted by the beauty of the imposing Arab-Norman Cathedral, regarded as the eighth world wonder, and by its splendid Cloister, an admirable masterpiece of art, sculpture and inlay of hard stones. Overnight in Monreale.

Depart for the legendary Segesta which will leave you spellbound for the suggestive Solitary Temple, a perfectly preserved example of refined Doric style, not to miss its Theatre, carved into the hill rock. Virgil reports the legend that Segesta was founded by Enea to rest the old men and women after they had set fire to the ships shortly before resuming their journey. Continue towards Erice where you have the overwhelming impression that time has never passed. The small medieval village, which stands on San Giuliano’s Mountain, amazes for its simplicity and charm. The town of Erice practically preserves its medieval centre intact, perfectly integrated with the morphology of the mountain and harmoniously merged with the splendid surrounding nature. Erice houses more than sixty churches, some of which are architectural documents of great value and of precious historical evidence. Among them you are given the opportunity to visit the church of San Martino, San Cataldo, San Giuliano, San Giovanni Battista. Continue towards the extreme side of western Sicily, where you can be amazed by the typical candour of the white salt pans and works of Trapani. The traditional and still flourishing salt extraction is well documented by the Salt Museum, housed in an old mill. It will be impossible not to admire the suggestive panorama offered by the island of Mothia, located in the centre of the Stagnone and by the salt pans that stretch along the coast between Trapani and Marsala.

Overnight in Marsala.