Tasting Eastern Sicily

We begin in Catania, made an UNESCO site for its late Baroque buildings. Our late afternoon walk allows us to explore up close the city’s famed architecture, on a fun and informative walking tour before dinner tonight in a local restaurant featured in the Slow Food Osterie di Italia guide book.

Slow Food is a non-profit organization founded in 1986 that promotes “good, clean and fair food” (the motto of Slow Food International). Today, Slow Food includes upwards of 100,000 members in more than 150 countries.

Our dinner tonight features recipes from nearby Slow Food Presidia (worldwide initiatives to support quality production methods that are at risk of extinction) such as prosciutto from black pigs raised in the Nebrodi Park, Magghia Masculina (anchovies caught with a traditional fishing method) and Ragusano cheese from the Modicana breed of cow.

Explore the slopes of the UNESCO site of Mount Etna on an easy 1-2-hour hike with a local guide, and learn more about the highest active volcano in Europe. Today you can also decide to remain in Catania instead and explore the city at your own pace, even better while indulging on some local sweet delicacies such as fruit-shaped marzipan or a “granita” (a concoction similar to sherbet and made with fruit flavorings, water and sugar).

Then we’ll stop at a winery to learn about the distinctive local red grapes Nerello Cappuccio and Nerello Mascalese and white grapes Carricante. Here on the slopes of the volcano Etna, these native grapes are naturally grown and transformed into noble nectars that we’ll of course have the chance to taste while sampling other local delicacies during lunch.

In the afternoon we’ll transfer to Taormina for more exploration of one of the most picturesque of Sicily’s hilltop towns, that is worth dedicating some time. Today you can visit its Greek theater, ample the charming stone streets and admire the beautiful panoramas. Tonight we’ll enjoy another delectable meal featuring local fish and more Sicilian recipes in Catania before our tomorrow’s departure.

We start with an exploration of the acclaimed fish, vegetable and fruit market of Catania, an exciting experience for its colorful arrays and the locals that meet here for their daily grocery shopping. Then we transfer to one of the most affluent of Sicilian provinces, Ragusa, and reach one of its most famous towns, Modica, another UNESCO site worth a visit and tasting to one of the oldest pastry shops of Sicily. Here, after lunch on your own,  you’ll learn how chocolate is made following an ancient Aztec recipe, that the Spanish brought to Sicily during their presence in this area.

From Modica, we continue to the UNESCO site of Ragusa famous for its Baroque architecture, best on display in ancient Ibla, the lower part of town, which we have time to explore over the next two days. Here, for two nights, we stay in a lovely albergo diffuso or “dispersed hotel”. The term references the determination to rescue semi-deserted towns by constructing new hotels in a manner that scatters the services across existent, historic buildings. In other words, rather than tear everything down to construct a single typical new hotel, the developer renovates the old structures, and places various hotel services within them. For example, guest rooms might be across the way from the breakfast room, which is a few doors down from the concierge. Dinner tonight is in another restaurant featuring local ingredients and traditional recipes.

Our day starts with a pleasant 2 hour walk through Ragusa town and one of its canyons with a local guide. Stop by a local mill to learn about ancient grains and also meet a cheese maker to hear about the traditional methods of production, including ricotta and Ragusano Dop, made from the milk of the native Modicana cow.

Ingredients for lunch today are sourced mostly locally and include some of the most important elements of Sicilian cuisine, such as olive oil savored with a local expert. This region surely offers the quintessential expression of the Mediterranean Diet, now listed as a UNESCO World Intangible Cultural Heritage site.

Enjoy the rest of the time in Ibla at your own pace and tonight dinner is on your own, so please ask us for suggestions.

Transfer to the UNESCO site of Siracusa and specifically to its beautiful old section called Ortigia, where we’ll explore a unique setting right on the sea and featuring Baroque buildings and stunning piazze (town squares) with a local guide. In the next days you’ll have the chance to discover more of the incredible preserved history here in the Roman remnants at the local archeological park and the largest Greek theatre of Sicily. 

Before hotel check in we’ll stop by an agriturismo, which is a unique type of accommodation in Italy. Typically, it features room and board in a farmhouse, which has been either partially or totally transformed to provide accommodation and meals.

This is certainly the case at our agriturismo, that is also still a working farm, the main house of which dates back to the fifteenth century. In its gardens you can find orange, lemon, carrob and olive trees that we’ll explore with the owner after a visit to his local museum of old farming tools.

Today you will taste your way through an unforgettable lunch featuring more Sicilian recipes, such as caponata (sweet and sour cold salad of eggplant, celery, bell pepper, capers, olives, and tomato sauce), cannoli (pastries filled with ricotta), homemade bread and local olive oil that you’ll taste with the owner, while learning more about their method of production. Tonight dinner is on your own and we’ll be glad to give some suggestions.

Today you can join us for an easy 1-2-hour hike by the sea in the Nature Reserve of Vendicari with a local guide and learn more about bird migrations and tuna fishing ancient technique.

If you like you can also remain in Siracusa Ortigia for more exploration and soak in the atmosphere either on foot or simply relaxing at a local bar sipping a nice espresso. At this point, you’ll surely have tasted the most typical and unique of Sicilian dishes such as arancini (fried rice balls traditionally filled with meat and tomato sauce or mozzarella and ham) or a gelato. 

If you haven’t, today you can fill in any blanks during lunch on own and why not doing it in another UNESCO site in Noto? This Baroque town features stunning architecture and one of the best gelato in the region!

Save some appetite for our final dinner tonight and let’s celebrate sharing our great memories of an unforgettable tour and, who knows, maybe also singing along some Sicilian songs!

At 8:30am we offer one 1-hour group transfer to Catania airport. Should you have more time, please join us on a post-tour extension to the UNESCO site of the Aeolian Islands.

Minimum of 6 participants, maximum of 16, with a maximum guide-to-guest ratio of 1 to 8

DATES (2 nights following our Sicily Tour)    
For more info, dates and availability please contact us.

TOUR PRICE 
Per person in double occupancy: from $990

Single Supplement: from $190

For travel in 2021 and beyond, your tour is carbon neutral! In addition, we donate more than 1% of your trip price to food-literacy and environmental non-profits that share our values.(Details here)

The Aeolian Islands draw their name from Greek mythology and Aeolus, God of the Winds. Today, just two of the seven islands of this volcanic archipelago still experience eruptions: Stromboli and the aptly named Vulcano. In 2000, the Aeolian Islands earned UNESCO status.

Your two-day extension begins with a transfer to Milazzo port to catch your ferry and start the exploration of the island of Lipari where our hotel is based. Enjoy lunch on your own in a romantic little piazza before checking in at your hotel.

In the afternoon feel free to join us for a hike, affording breathtaking sea views of the caldera of the nearby Vulcano island. Dinner tonight will be in a restaurant offering typical Aeolian recipes.

Start with a morning ferry ride from Lipari to the island of Salina. The tiny, charming village where we disembark is worth a look around. From here, we head inland for a hike to admire the views. If the landscape seems familiar it may be because it was featured in the film “Il Postino” that was filmed here!

One of the highlights today will be lunch featuring locally-made products, including caponata (a kind of sweet and sour cold salad of eggplants, celery, bell peppers, capers, and olives), fresh oregano, cucunci and capers (the fruit and the flower of the plant, respectively, both cured in salt), pasta and other delicacies, all served with Malvasia wine. Capers are a Slow Food Presidium, a local initiative to protect a unique food that was at risk of extinction. 

After our ferry back to Lipari, we’ll share a second dinner to commemorate our delicious experience visiting and tasting this enchanting corner of Italy, the heart of the Mediterranean!

On your last day, you have a ferry ride back to Milazzo and then we offer one 2-hour group transfer to Catania Fontanarossa airport to catch your next connection. Buon viaggio! (Safe travels!)