2nd day: Morning guided tour of the city of Palermo At 10.00 am meeting at the hotel reception with the local specialized guide.Our wolking tour in Palermo will start from Palazzo dei Normanni, where you will follow the different stages of its historical urban development . Along the ax wich crosses ancient Cassaro, we will discover discover some of the footprints of the Phoenician settlement, the Cathedral, the hybrid styles of the San Cataldo and Martorana churces and the artistic masterpieces of the spanish rule. We will then continue the visit of the famous Opera House Teatro Massimo that profs both the 19 th-century urban renovation and the new season of hopes called Spring of Palermo due to its re-opening in 1997. We will continue the tour among the narrow steets of some ancied Arabic city markets such as "Capo". At 13.00 our tour guide will greet you and guests good advice for your free lunch and for other sites that you can visit free, for example the Mafia Museum.

The Cathedral of Palermo was founded by Gualtiero Offamilio, archbishop of the town from 1169 to 1190. It was a mosque in Islamic times and converted into a cathedral church by Roberto the Guiscardo after the conquest of Palermo. Its exclusive elements are the inlays and the architectural and sculptural plastic that reflects the penetration of Romanic art and the first Gothic decorative taste in Sicily, expanding the spectrum of the Arab-Norman syncretism with new elements in an original and multiple composition and exhibition of the Mediterranean arts. The building underwent a late-eighteenth-century renovation carried out on a project by Ferdinando Fuga. This period dates back to the Norman-Swabian royal and imperial sarcophagi in the first two chapels of the right aisle, where the remains of Roger II and his daughter Constance, of Emperor Henry VI, of Frederick II and his wife Costanza D’Aragona are preserved.

The background of blue skies, contrasting with the dark grey habits of the monks, creates a fine colouristic effect. The traveller and merchant Ibn Jubayr said of Palermo in 1185, that the “Church of the Ammiraglio is one of the most magnificent monuments of the Christians that there are no words to describe it and so silence surrounds it, because it is the most beautiful monument in the world”. He was very impressed by the gold and colours of the mosaics. The cycle of mosaics, which entirely cover the vaults and the arches of the Greek cross of the original Byzantine church, is one of the most important in the world. It naturally culminates in the dome, in the centre of which is the full-length enthroned figure of Christ Pantocrator, making a blessing gesture with his right hand and holding the Gospel in his left. The Earth is depicted as a stool beneath his feet.

However Patricolo’s 1882 renovation work mercilessly demolished the palace, isolating the little church. It has been open to the public for only a century, as it was previously reserved for the ceremonies of the Knights of Jerusalem. The heavily restored exterior is a rectangular structure of tufa blocks with three blind arches containing single-lancet windows on each façade. The central apse juts out slightly on the eastern side. The whole structure is topped by a finely carved cornice. A narrower rectangular drum runs along the entire length of the roof, with three windows on each of the long sides and one on the short sides. It is topped by three cupolas, which have become one of the symbols of Palermo. Originally faced with opus signinum, they are now painted red. The archdiocese has entrusted the church to the Palermo section of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.

We leave Palermo at 09:00 am and arrive in Segesta at 10:30 am. Segesta was one of the three cities founded by the Elymians, whose origins, according to the mythical tradition, date back to the Trojans. Mostly integrated with the Greek culture in its architecture, the city developed during Classical times, after which it first became the site of a Muslim community and then of a Norman overlord. Here we will admire a majestic Doric temple, which is located into wonderful scenery of rocks and vineyards, and then will reach the Acropolis, where a charming ancient theater still stands. From there, you can enjoy a stunning view on the temple below and the marvelous landscape around it. Finally, a short walk will lead us to the remains of the first Muslim mosques built in Sicily and to a Medieval fortress.

Erice ancient and fortified settlement of Erice, which is closed by huge city walls of Phoenician origins. Its strategic position, which is emphasized by the presence of monumental city gates, gave wealth and prestige to the settlement throughout the centuries, as demonstrated by the several architectural Norman remains. Aragon and Spanish rules spread inside the narrow alleys of the urban layout. We will walk among the shady streets, tasting the delicious local pastry following the monastic tradition and enjoying an amazing view on the wonderful maritime landscape below. The driver will accompany you to the highest part of Erice, to the Castello di Venere. He will give you a paper guide of the village and he will meet in the lower part of the village (it will be easier for you to make the visit downhill instead of uphill, the meeting point is called Porta Trapani which is located near the Cathedral.

Pick up at 09:00 we will be in Piazza Armerina at 11:00. Villa Romana of Casale, originally the property of a powerful Roman family, it dates back to the 4th Century A.D. This majestic Imperial villa, standing tall in the Province of Enna (perhaps the most "Roman" of places on the Island), is a magnificent rural abode, fascinating, above all, for its captivating mosaics, considered the most beautiful and best-preserved of their kind. The fruits of meticulous labor, these precise yet moving images make for a significant adornment to what remains of this extravagant residence - made a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We start from Piazza Armerina and take a lunch break and we wish in 30 minutes we arrive in a cellar with restaurant and our driver can make the reservation for you but we must communicate first. We arrive in Taormina before 5.00 pm. End of driver service for today. For this visit we recommend having a tour guide. We can book a guide for you and it has an extra cost of € 120.00

Today is your last day in Sicily and our driver will accompany you to the airport. If we have free time, if your flight leaves in the afternoon, we can pay a visit to the Etna volcano. Some places can be undoubtedly stated as the most enchanting of the earth, and if Mount Etna inside looks like hell, we can rightly say that, outside, it is the nearest thing to Paradise” (P. Brydone) Mount Etna is the highest volcano in Europe, and one of most active of the world. It’s impressive size ( more than 3327 meters high. Its spectacular eruptions and its fiery lava flows, has always aroused the interest of scientists along with the curiosity of visitors from all over the world.Since 2013 Mount Etna is in the Unesco’s World Heritage List for its geological peculiarities of planetary relevance. For this experience the travel times are: from Taormina to the volcano 70 minutes - walk around the Silvestri crater 30 minutes - transfer from Etna to Catania airport 70 minutes.