JUN 07 - 17, 2014
This trip offers a sumptuous variety of things to do and see and I am looking forward to seeing Greek temples, baroque palazzos, a Norman Cathedral, the Teatro Greco, Mount Etna, the mountaintop town of Erice, the winding streets of Taormina. Also intrigued by dinner with a principessa in Palermo and lunch with a baron in Siracusa. Also visits to wineries, and a relaxing stay at a spa resort on the Mediterranean Sea.
June 7-8, 2014
New York***Rome***Palermo
Flew from New York JFK Airport to Rome via Delta Airlines DL444, changed planes and arrived in Palermo at 1:45 pm and was met by the Tauck representative.
Palermo International Airport
Checked in at the Grand Hotel Wagner.
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I went out for a walk and saw the Teatro Politeama, which opened with a performance of I Capuleti ei Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini in 1874. The theatre is now home to the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana. Next I went to the Teatro Massimo which opened on 16 May 1897 with a performance of Verdi's Falstaff. Unfortunately there was no opera during my three nights in Palermo.
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Later, I met the Tauck group for cocktails and hors d'oeuvres at the hotel's top floor reception room before heading over for dinner at Cin Cin, a very nice restaurant that also gives cooking lessons. Great food and delicious dessert, Semifreddo al Marsala e uva sultanina!
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June 9
Monreale (Norman Cathedral)***Palermo Cappella Palatina)
Monreale This morning we drove to the town of Monreale to see the famous Norman Duomo (Cathedral). The Cathedral, one of the greatest extant examples of Norman architecture in the world, was begun in 1174 by William II, and in 1182 the church, dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, was, by a bull of Pope Lucius III, elevated to the rank of a metropolitan cathedral.
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The Benedictine cloister is well preserved, and is one of the finest both for size and beauty of detail now extant. It is with pointed arches, supported on pairs of columns in white marble, which are alternately plain and decorated by bands of patterns in gold and colors, made of glass tesserae, arranged either spirally or vertically from end to end of each shaft. The marble capitals are each carved with foliage, biblical scenes and allegories, no two being alike.
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Stopped for a much needed refreshment: Aperol Spritz
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Lunch was at a nice resort set in a cave on a hill overlooking Monreale. Food was very mediocre.
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Back in Palermo we visited the Cappella Palatina, the royal chapel of the Norman kings of Sicily situated on the ground floor at the center of the Palazzo Reale. It was commissioned by Roger II of Sicily in 1132 to be built upon an older chapel (now the crypt) constructed around 1080. It took eight years to build, receiving a royal charter the same year, with the stunning mosaics being only partially finished by 1143.
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Next was tour of the city including the Palermo Cathedral which was erected in 1185 by Walter Ophamil, the Anglo-Norman archbishop of Palermo and King William II's minister, on the area of an earlier Byzantine basilica; the Fontana Pretoria or the Fountain of Shame because of its many nude statues; and other famous buildings.
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Took a short nap before heading out with some co-travelers to an outdoor ristorante where I had a campari soda with my caprese, followed by delicious slices of venison.
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Recommended movie for this trip was The Leopard (Il Gattopardo) with Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, directed by Luchino Visconti.
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June10
Segesta***Erice***Dinner at Palazzo Raffadali
Segesta (Ancient Greek: Ἕγεστα Egesta; Sicilian: Siggésta) was one of the major cities of the Elymian people, one of the three indigenous peoples of Sicily, located in the northwestern part of Sicily in Italy in the province of Trapani. It was built sometime in the late 5th century BC but was never actually finished.
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Next stop is the mountaintop town of Erice, not a Greek colony, as the Phoenicians founded it, but was largely Hellenized. It was destroyed in the First Punic War by the Carthaginians.
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Lunch was at La Rustichella Pizzeria.
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We next visited La Pasticceria, Maria Grammatico's sweets shop where she made beautiful marzipan fruits by hand.
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Dinner tonight is at the 14th century Palazzo Raffadali, the home of Principessa di Raffadali. A short talk by the principessa and a tour of her home including her bedroom then cocktails followed by dinner and afterwards coffee, dessert and after dinner drinks in the library.
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June 11
Corleone***Sciacca
Today we will visit the town of Corleone which is famous for being the location of the CIDMA, an association that documents the Mafia and anti-Mafia movement.
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Next we visited an Agriturismo, the Casa Mia at the Principe di Corleone winery where we sampled several wines. We tasted some good wines here and food was good too. Started with Zahar, their sparkling wine, and a chardonnay, a cabernet sauvignon and a dessert wine with lunch.
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The luxurious Verdura Golf and Spa Resort was our next stop and couldn't wait to go to the beach the minute we got there. The room was great, there were two long infinity pools, four other heated pools with cascading waterfalls and a spa.
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Dinner was at the outdoor restaurant. Dinner was not memorable and there were flying insects buzzing about.
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