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5 must-visit destinations in eastern Sicily

by Excursion

The Sicilian territory lends itself to tourism that can satisfy all types of travellers: lovers of culture, art, nature and food and wine can find the paradise they seek in Sicily.

The diversity of the island’s offer allows for unique experiences for individuals, groups of friends and families. With such a varied tourist offer, we have selected five must-visit destinations in eastern Sicily.

Taormina

One of the most renowned and popular tourist destinations on the entire island, Taormina lies between the slopes of Mount Etna and the Ionian Sea, an enchanting location from which to admire a unique landscape. Percorrendo il bellissimo Corso Umberto è d’obbligo visitare il Teatro Greco, il Duomo di epoca Normanna e la natura incontaminata dell’Isola Bella a poca distanza dal centro cittadino. For those who would like to experience the pearl of the Ionian Sea in a new way, with the discovery of places that have stood the test of time, we recommend our tour Places of Escape: Around Taormina.

Nebrodi Protected Area

During the sultry summer months, some people prefer the cool of the mountains. In Sicily, too, it is possible to enjoy a bucolic holiday and immerse oneself in nature, art and history: the Nebrodi Protected Area is wonderful to visit, even for those who have already experienced the island’s beaches and wish to have a different experience. This is the largest protected area in the region, full of trails and paths through unique habitats. To make the most of the opportunities the park offers, we recommend our Tour Journey to Another Sicily to immerse yourself in the roots of the most authentic Sicily.

Catania

Catania is the second largest city on the island – after Palermo – and is certainly the easiest to reach thanks to the Fontanarossa Vincenzo Bellini International Airport, located a few kilometres from the heart of the city. Once in the centre of Catania, a Unesco World Heritage Site, it is nice to get lost among the Baroque buildings, the churches and the renowned Benedictine Monastery, the Roman amphitheatres, the Frederician Castle and much more. Catania also hosts the third largest religious festival in the world, dedicated to the cult of Saint Agatha. Of great interest is discovering the places that accompanied the life of the patron saint with the Catania and the gifts of Saint Agatha tour. For those wishing to sample the city’s gastronomic delicacies, don’t miss the Flavours, Colours, Lights and Shadows of Catania tour.

Etna

Those who visit Catania remain open-mouthed in front of the undisputed queen of the city: Mount Etna. “A’ Muntagna” with its 3323 metres is the largest active volcano in Europe, and an ideal place for anyone who enjoys hiking and trekking in fine weather, and who will be able to take advantage of the Magmasantissima tour: Etna. For those who prefer to discover the excellent wines produced on the majestic slopes of Etna, we recommend our Iter Vitis tour, a visit to a wine cellar on Etna.

Siracusa

A focal point of Magna Graecia, Syracuse is rich in artistic monuments ranging from Greek to Baroque and modern art. On the island of Ortigia, within the city, you can visit the Cathedral and the Maniace Castle, stroll along the new seafront promenade to admire a unique sunset and enjoy excellent seafood specialities. For those who would like to experience the city of Archimedes in a new way, we recommend the Gardens of Sicily tour, during which you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of one of the most magical gardens in eastern Sicily: Gardens of the Latomie, Villa Reinmann.

Want to discover the best of eastern Sicily in one trip? Contact us for a customised tour!

We are waiting for you in Sicily!

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Why choose Sicily to plan your corporate events?

by ExcursionFood & WineWinter

How could anyone not love Sicily?
Sicily is the largest region in Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.
It is a safe and exclusive destination just few hours by plane from anywhere in Europe.
It is famous worldwide for the beauty  and the richness of its archaeological, artistic and cultural heritage (6000 years of history and a list of 20 Unesco’s World Heritage Sites) and it is also a land of breathtaking sceneries (4 Regional Parks, 77 Nature Reserves and 3 volcanoes), refined cuisine and great wines.

Because of its strategic position, mild climate, amazing natural beauties, millenary treasures and many conventional and alternative conference venues, Sicily is a top destination for corporate events in Italy and one of the best destinations for incentive travel programs in the world.

After all, Sicily is always an exclusive destination where leisure and business activities can be combined for the best possible experience.

Sicily attracts millions of tourists every year.

Sicily boasts many amazing sceneries for outdoor and indoor team building activities for companies that aim to improve their team performances.

Tailor made corporate event in Sicily

We offer to travel on a journey made just for you and your team. Travel on the footsteps of ancestors and build the best personal and meaningful memories.

There are 4 key elements for a successful incentive in Sicily:

1) Exclusive and unusual locations
Finding the perfect accommodation in one of the best Sicily destinations is just the first step.
2) Unforgettable gala dinners and parties
Great unconventional meeting venues, sometimes more interesting than the usual corporate hotels
3) Great ways to spend your leisure time
Let your trips be driven by deep emotions inspiring rare and wonderful experiences and confirm awareness of our great cultural legacy.
4) Exciting activities to improve group relationship and performance
Team building activities have a fundamental role for companies that aim to improve their own team performances.

“Every great journey starts from a wish… “

Contact us and tell about it and we will help you make your dreams come true.


Credits photo pantarheiwedding.it

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Sicily is becoming a first-choice destination for grooms and brides

by with No Comment Excursion

Sicily is becoming a first-choice destination for grooms and brides, and it’s no surprise!

Here are some good reasons why Sicily is chosen as one of the most-wanted destinations for weddings in Italy and why every year more and more people decide to get married and host their party on the island.

Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterrenean, is charming and enjoys a warm climate year-round. Each season has something appealing with the spring and summer months offering the best of “dolce vita”.
No matter couples organize either a big party or an intimate celebration, their memories of the island take a special place because they feel like being at home.

Guests can obviously taste authentic, traditional dishes or opt for a chef who has interpreted Sicilian traditions with his own twist. Also vegetarians and vegans will be satisfied!
Natural beauties and gorgeous landscapes are the perfect frames for a countryside wedding, a romantic vineyard wedding with the colors of autunm on Etna’s slopes, a sparkling seaside celebration on the beach in a summer night.
Sicily is easy to reach from any main European city and by spending a few more days in Sicily guests can experience other top highlights exploring historical sites or relax at lovely beach clubs. They will never forget!

After tying the knot and celebrating in a stunning location, couples, instead, can continue their honeymoon in a romantic sicilian journey.
Come and experience the charm of Sicily by choosing the island for your wedding. Sicilytudine will help you to make sure  it’s an occasion that lives on in your hearts!

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Wild Flowers and Fresh Snow in Sicily

by with No Comment ExcursionWinter

Alternative tours amid Nature and antiquities are definetely possible from March to October across the region of the Madonie Mountains.      

This part of Sicily is mostly a regional park where guests’ mind is often geared for small details while wandering an unspoiled upland, carpeted with cyclamen and asphodel, borage and wild orchids and covered by large forests,totally unexpected in a Mediterrenean island. Goatherds share the envinronment with foxes, deer and birds of prey and here, up on the Madonie, you can still hear sheepbells and the deeper clang of cowbells. while tasting a spread of local delicacies, bread and wine, salads and salami, cheese and fruit like sweet blood oranges,  during a picnic under some gnarled old holm oak.     

It is so easy to venture far of the beaten track and, through a gap in the hills ahead, see the Sea, blue and homeric, just as you have imagined it as well as the chief landmark Mount Etna covered in snow.         

Medieval towns and villages, like Gangi, Petralia Soprana, Castelbuono tell how Sicily was tossed down through centuries where cultural brilliance has alternated to exhaustion and decay, and such a past left its mark in castles, narrow streets and concealed courtyyards as well as in the rich interiors of churches and noble palaces. 

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Taormina and Fontana Vecchia House

by with No Comment ExcursionHeritage

A house of words: wonderful, beautiful, tranquil, serene, awe-inspiring and certainly good fortune are just a few adjectives that come to mind when describing the villa, one of the best-kept secrets in Taormina.            

When Truman Capote, the author of Breakfast at Tiffany’s, discovered Fontana Vecchia in April of 1950, the villa’s charm and beauty immediately beewitched him. He could hardly believe his fortune when he discovered this villa had been the home of D.H. Lawrence and felt it might be inspiring and lead to a brilliant future as a writer.

He wrotes: “…We had just had luck, at least I hope it is luck, but plenty of room and a wonderful view. It costs $50 dollar a month, which is rather a lot, at least by italian standards, but I like it tremendously. When we rented the house it was spring in the month of April, the valley was covered with wheat as green as the lizards that ran between its stalks.     

The sicilian spring usually begins in January, and it makes its appearance as a bouquet of colors worthy of a queen, in the garden of a wizard when everything has bloomed: the mint blossoms on the banks of streams, dead tree branches are encrusted with bushes of wild roses, and even the rough harsh cactus produces its tender shoots. April is the most cruel month: but not in here.
In Taormina is bright as the snow on Etna’s summit. Children playing are climbing along the slopes of mountains and fill their bags with flower petals for the festival remanbrance of a Christian saint, and the fishermen are passing with baskets filled with pearl coloured fish adorn themselves by wearing a geranium behind the ear.            

May, and spring has reached its twilight: the sun expands more wider, and one remembers that the African continent is just 80 miles away. In June the wheat is ready for the harvest. With a definite melancholy we listen to the rusting of scythes operating in the gold coloured fields”


T. Capote paints a surreal picture of Fontana Vecchia, “…it is very like living in an airplane, or a ship trembling on the peak of a tidal wave. There is a momentaneous feeling each time one looks from the windows, steps onto the terrace, a feeling of being suspended, like the white reeling doves, between the mountains and above the sea. If we do not go to the beach, there is only one other reason for leaving the house: to shop in Taormina, and have an aperitif in the piazza at Wunderbar. Taormina is as scenically extravagant as Goethe claims.”             

T. Capote shared his villa with his lover, dancer Jack Dunphy for 13 months. If the villa’s old walls could speak, what a story they could tell. There was a day at Fontana Vecchia when Capote is said to have swapped lovers with Tenessee Williams, though it is uncertain if Williams and Capote ever engaged in sex. Williams was often seen sipping drinks with Capote at the famous Wunderbar.

” We do not have many visitors at Fontana Vecchia; its too far a walk for casual callers, and days go by when no one knocks at the door except the ice boy.”             

At their departure in mid September 1951, Truman and Jack stuffed their belongings into the little Renault, they said farewell for the last time to Taormina, whose appeal had depended, more than they had thought, on the charms of Fontana Vecchia and good fortune must have smiled on Capote for he went on to become the most photographed writer of his generation. 

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Traveling to Sicily in winter

by with No Comment ExcursionFood & WineWinter

Traveling in Sicily offers unique emotions, the island is famous for being a destination for surprises and sensational discoveries, at any time of the year. Autumn in particular, represents a season that invites you to travel to the heart of this magnificent land, if only for the temperatures that are considerably lower.

Known as the harvest period, autumn in Sicily will allow us surprising tours and food and wine discoveries, thanks also to the wine routes that offer visitors the opportunity to visit ancient cellars, typical regional dishes and experience the atmosphere of the past.

Starting from the center of the island, an extremely interesting route is that of the Wine and Flavors route of the Nisseni Castles. We are in the heart of Sicily, where time seems to have stopped, far from the mass tourist spots.

The “Nisseno” – this is the name of the area – offers a fascinating panorama, full of castles such as those of Butera, Falconara, Caltanissetta and Mazzarino; for the monuments of the past we mention the archaeological areas of Gibil-Gabib or the abandoned sulfur mines of Caltanissetta.

In this splendid area the Riesi DOC wine is born, a Nero d’Avola that is deliciously accompanied with other local products, such as almonds and honey, or traditional dishes, such as the “muffolette” of golden bread or the “mbruliata” of stuffed bread. All strictly seasoned with Dop oil produced on site.

An ideal destination for lovers of unusual places is the “Fortress of Wine”, also known as the Solicchiata Castle. The Castle is located in Adrano, a small town located in the heart of the Etna Park and, due to its particular activity, is an example of a unique company of its kind: it is the only castle in Italy used as an oenological establishment.

The fortress, in the past, was the only Italian winery to receive the authorization from the Royal House of Italy to raise the flag with the Royal emblem on the plant, thanks to the excellent quality of a particular supply of wines donated to the rulers of the weather. In this enchanted place the first “Etna Rosso” was born, to be tasted with delicious local products. A jewel of Sicily that is the most awarded Italian winery in the world.

Going down towards Catania, don’t miss the Sagra della Mostarda e del Ficodindia. This event, organized for several years, leaves visitors with the delicious scent and unparalleled taste of hot mustard, served in the typical terracotta bowls.

In the cool autumn, Sicily is a riot of festivals, parties and occasions for tasting the food and wine of the region. It is possible to take a ride on board the Etna wine train or on the carriages of the train of taste, which from Messina reaches Caltagirone; also known are the train of cheese – which leads from Syracuse to Ragusa – and that of ancient grains, which from Palermo reaches San Cataldo. The latter is a real vintage train, with carriages called “centoporte” and original electric locomotive.

An important Sicilian event – which every year receives particular success and great participation – is the Ottobrata Zafferanese, which takes place in Zafferana Etnea. Here the flavors of the Sicilian food and wine tradition blend harmoniously with music, art and crafts. Every weekend in October between Piazza Umberto, the Villa Comunale and in other corners of the town, producers and stalls of grapes, wine, honey, mustard, prickly pears, pomegranates, walnuts, hazelnuts, chestnuts, pistachios, nougats and fine oil give life to an incomparable show dedicated to the exaltation of taste.