Sicily, a large piece of Italy half-way to Africa, is the largest island in the Mediterranean. Its extensive forests and fertile soil combined with its strategic significance to attract the Phoenicians who founded trading colonies here from the 10th century BC, the Greeks who colonised the eastern end of the island from the 8th century BC, the Carthaginians who came to rescue their Phoenician cousins from Greek domination in the 6th century BC, and the Romans who made Sicily the embryo of their future empire when they annexed it in 227 BC.
While the island's proximity to the Italian peninsular put it at the centre of the Western Empire, it made it rather inaccessible once the authority of Rome had declined in favour of Byzantium and it was the Arabs who recalled it to life. Palermo, conquered in 831, became the new capital of a semi-

independent emirate of the Muslim empire, under whose tolerant and innovative government the countryside was repopulated with Berber settlers who introduced advanced methods of irrigation and new crops, while the coastal cities became a melting-pot of mediterranean trade where Orientals, Jews and Greeks exchanged goods and services with Amalfitans and Pisans. It was of this enlightened, industrious and cultivated society that the Normans became masters at the beginning of the 12th century. Our tour concentrates on the Greeks and the Normans in Sicily because the monuments and artefacts that these two societies have left behind are quite extraordinary, of a kind or of a quality not to be seen anywhere else in the Mediterranean.

Fly to Palermo where we will stay for 5 nights in a 4 star hotel.

We spend the day in Agrigento, the ancient city of Akragus. With three magnificent 5th c BC Greek temples on a ridge overlooking the sea, a ruined but colossal temple to Olypian Zeus and an excellent museum of artefacts from the site, it is one of the best 'Greek' sites in Europe.

Today we take a tour of Palermo, capital of a Norman empire in the 12thc. We visit the Cathedral, the Chapel of the Norman's Royal Palace (spectacular mosaics) and the Martorana Church. The afternoon will be spent in the Archeological Museum, the most important collection in Sicily. At the end of the afternoon we drive up the hill to visit the magnificent Norman cathedral of Monreale once again spectacularly decorated inside with 12th century mosaics of biblical scenes covering every inch of wall. There is also a beautiful cloister.

We drive south today to the evocative and very extensive temple and acropolis site of Selinunte stopping at the quarries of Cave de Cusa whence the stone for the temples was taken.

This morning we drive to Marsala and take ship for the island of Motya, just half a mile off shore. A Phoenician stronghold from the 8thc BC, this beautiful island belongs to the Foundation Joseph Whitaker under whose auspices this rare and important Carthaginian site was excavated. On our way back to Palermo in the afternoon, we go up to Segesta where there is a single beautiful Greek temple set in romantic isolation on a lonely hillside, and a remarkably complete Greek theatre with a stunning view out over undulating hills and a patchwork plain to the bay of Castelamare.

We check out of the hotel, and go to Piazza Armerina where we will visit the ruins of an immense and luxurious Roman villa with room after room of pictorial mosaic floor. After lunch we visit Morgantina. High up on a hill, Morgantina is an extensive Hellenistic town site where the whole structure of urban life in the 3rd c BC can be seen on the ground. From here we go down to Syracusa where we will spend the remaining 2 nights half board in a 4 star hotel in Ortygia, the ancient heart of the city.

We spend this morning in Syracuse, one of the most important cities of Magna Graecia, visiting the rock-cut Greek theatre, the quarries where the invading Athenians were imprisoned in 415 BC (as Thucidydes relates) the Cathedral (a recycled Greek temple), and the excellent Archeological Museum . The afternoon is free to explore Taormina, which is a very attractive little town with lots of smart shops, but also a spectacular Roman theatre.

Check-out. On our way to Catania Airport, we will pause to visit - if possible - the 17thc town palazzo of an aristocratic family, and thence continue to our homeward flight from Catania airport.

• Accommodation -

Excursions as outlined in the itinerary.

Entrance fees to all places mentioned in the itinerary

Services of an experienced lecturer/tour leader -

Local guide where required by local legislation

All tips and gratuities

• Insurance
  • It is a condition of booking that you have adequate travel insurance to cover your needs when you travel with us. This will need to cover a missed departure, any emergency that may arise while you are travelling with us, and should also enable you to claim back from the insurance company any monies already paid to us or due to us in the event of your having to cancel the tour after booking and before the departure date.
    
    If you have difficulty finding cover due to your age, it may be of help to know that there are at least two companies who provide Travel Insurance to those over retirement age:-
    • Age Concern - Tel 0845 601 2234 Click here for Website
    • Saga - Tel 0800 559 3231 Click here for Website
  
  
• Walking - Most of our tours involve a good deal of walking.
• Sites and Museums - Archaeological sites in some countries can be rough and uneven underfoot and do not always conform to western standards of health and safety.