 |
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Eastern Sicily's TreasuresTimeless landscapes and Baroque treasures
Eastern Sicily’s wealth of architecture - a blend of Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman and Baroque - and fine countryside offer much of beauty and historic interest to explore. Your starting point lies close to the imposing snowy cone of Mount Etna. From here, with the freedom of a hire car and two nights at three different hotels you have time to explore your surroundings at your own pace. Using our notes, choose from easy strolls or more challenging walks. You can also admire the Baroque architecture and atmospheric ruins, particularly peaceful in autumn and spring. Then return to relax in the quiet of our delightful hotels, each of them offering an individual charm and elegance, sometimes echoing features of the island’s history and culture. Nights: 6
Starting point: Villa Paradiso dell’Etna (4*), San Giovanni La Punta. This idyllic hotel has been carefully converted to retain the aura of a private Sicilian villa. It is set in grounds luxuriant with citrus groves, palms and sub-tropical shrubs, while its delightful breakfast room offers panoramic views of Mount Etna. Each room is individually decorated with 19th-century Sicilian antique features. Day 1: we suggest a walk (5km, grade 1-2, 35 minutes' drive from your hotel) along a nature trail across the north-eastern slopes of the Etna Park. Observation posts along the way allow you to view the volcanic craters of Mount Sartorius, dating from the eruption of 1865. If you don't wish to follow our suggested walk, the hotel can organise various activities (pay locally), including a gastronomic tour that introduces you to Sicily's honey, wine, olive oil, pistachios, almonds and cheeses, or a guided excursion up the slopes of towering Mount Etna to the craters and lava fields around 2,000 metres above sea level (weather dependent). Accommodation: Villa Paradiso dell’Etna, as above.
Day 2: today you head southwards to Siracusa, a one-hour drive. It is well worth stopping en route at Catania, Sicily’s second city, which has been declared a Unesco World Heritage Site in recognition of its late Baroque architecture. On arrival in Siracusa, take time to wander around this fascinating city and absorb its varied atmosphere. There are two main parts: Tyche, and Ortigia Island, where you find the labyrinthine Old Town and the old Jewish quarter. Accommodation: Hotel Gutkowski (3*), Siracusa. Your second, delightful, hotel offers a friendly, welcoming ambience, and is set by the sea in historic Ortigia. It has been restored in a fresh, contemporary style from traditional artisans’ dwellings, with the cool colours of furnishings reflecting the sea views from many rooms. You stay on a bed and breakfast basis, leaving you free to take your pick of Siracusa's restaurants. Day 3: we recommend you spend your day in Siracusa visiting its superbly preserved Greek threatre and Roman amphitheatre, both so well preserved they vividly evoke the distant past, and then exploring the intriguing streets of the old quarter on Ortigia Island. For more walking, we suggest a route to the Necropolis di Pantalica (10km, grade 2, up to an hour's drive from the hotel) which explores the area around Sicily's most important Bronze Age settlement. Your path passes the foundations of a Bronze Age palace, numerous cave-tombs in the limestone, the necropolis itself and a 'village' of cave dwellings before passing through the Anapo Valley, characterised by orchards, willows and plane trees. After crossing the river, you ascend through almond and carob groves, passing close to more cave-tombs, only to descend once more into a small valley dotted with natural pools, on the other side of which is a cave that is home to hundreds of bats. A more strenuous walk (10km, grade 2-3) explores Sicily's 'Grand Canyon' and is full of interest: following paths cut into the steep rock face, you walk through a wild and romantic gorge in which ancient burial chambers have been found in the limestone cliffs. Accommodation: Hotel Gutkowski, as above.
Day 4: today you head on to Ragusa, a two-hour drive. It is well worth detouring via Noto, a small Baroque jewel, and you may also have time for a gentle stroll in the peaceful Vendicari Nature Reserve, carpeted with aromatic herbs. Its scrubland and wetlands are used as a stopping off-point point by migratory birds on their journey between Europe and Africa, making it one of the most important migration bases in the Mediterranean. Accommodation: Locanda Don Serafino (4*), Ragusa. Located in the Baroque part of the town, this is an intimate (and romantic) hotel that has been imaginatively converted from a 19th-century mansion. The exposed stonework, original archways, spiral staircase and other such features lend it great character, while the ten bedrooms are all very well-equipped. Our arrangements include dinner on your first night at the La Rosa family's restaurant, a short stroll away, where you can enjoy refined cuisine in the atmospheric setting of an 18th-century mansion's former stables. On your second night and for even greater indulgence, you could treat yourselves to dinner at the town's renowned Michelin-starred restaurant (pay locally). Day 5: spend your last day exploring Ragusa and nearby Scicli, the Baroque parts of which are now Unesco World Heritage Sites in recognition of the handsome architecture - the outcome of extensive rebuilding after Sicily’s major 1693 earthquake, when craftsmen evolved their own Sicilian Baroque style with many curves, flourishes, and putti (little angels). In addition, Scicli was once an Arab stronghold and later a royal city under Norman rule, and boasts a ruined Arab castle. Alternatively, we suggest a walk (10km, grade 2) that starts in Ragusa itself then follows an old cobbled mule track through terraced carob and olive groves into a wooded valley, from where you return the same way. Accommodation: Locanda Don Serafino, as above.
Other information: if you would like to see the brochure page, you can download this (and the pages for any other holidays you are interested in) by using our brochure creation system. Similar holidays: Western Sicily's Highlights (grade 2), Citrus Groves & Dramatic Coast (grades 1 & 2), Timeless Northern Extremadura (grades 1 & 2), Andalucia & Southern Extremadura (grades 1 & 2) Prices & travel
Room upgrades: Ragusa, junior suite £12pp/n; San Giovanni, suite £52pp/n Extra night prices:
Recommended destination airports: Catania or Palermo > Notes on prices > Any queries? Let us call you back  |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Siracusa, one of eastern Sicily's many treasures 
