Today we’ll spend the day in the national park of the Madonie Mountains for a truly local experience. Our host for this will be Susan's friend Mario, who grew up in these mountains. We'll first stop in the village of Polizzi Generoso for a stroll and a pastry on our way to a ricotta-making experience with a local shepherd. For lunch, we’ll enjoy a typical Sicilian BBQ with music in the village where Mario grew up and which bears his last name! On our way back to Palermo, we’ll stop for a generous "aperitivo" at the Anchovy Museum in Bagheria where we’ll meet Michelangelo. He'll give us a quick tour of the museum, which houses a fascinating collection of objects associated with anchovy fishing and Sea Culture in this area of Sicily. Michelangelo is not just the owner of this museum but is one of a family of fishermen that spans multiple generations. He'll not only regale us with stories, but he may even sing for us and he really can sing!!!

Accommodations: Quintocanto Hotel and Spa, Palermo

Meals: Breakfast, lunch, aperitivo (enough for a light dinner)

This morning we’ll stop at the 5th century BC ruins of Segesta, a truly magical sight with its Doric temple and hilltop theater set amid tranquil, green hilltops and rolling farmland. After touring the archeological site, we'll continue to Marsala for lunch at a sweet little enoteca in the historic center of town. Here you’ll meet the warm and welcoming owners Francesco and his wife Anna who will treat us to a unique Marsala wine and food pairing lunch where we'll learn a bit about this “Vino da Meditazione” that is so much more than something to cook chicken with!

On our way back to Palermo, if time permits, we'll stop in the medieval hilltop town of Erice. At 750m above sea level, this charming little town is home to 150 residents, 80 churches, and ten pastry shops—including Sicily’s most famous, Maria Grammatico, the seventy-year-old subject of the book Bitter Almonds. We can stop here to sample fresh ricotta-filled cannoli, lemon-flavored cuscinetti, Maria’s famous marzipan treats, and more. Tonight we'll have a seafood dinner paired with local wines along the way toward Palermo.

Accommodations: Quintocanto Hotel and Spa, Palermo

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

On our way out of Palermo, we’ll visit the town of Monreale to tour the Norman Cathedral that overlooks Sicily’s Conca D’Ora (Golden Basin), so named for the color of the citrus groves that stretch out on the plains below. Built between 1170-1189, this UNESCO world heritage site and its nearby Benedictine Cloister are considered to be one of the architectural wonders of the world with magnificent Byzantine mosaics estimated to contain some 4,000 pounds of pure gold leaf.

After lunch at a local favorite cafe, we'll head to Agrigento for an afternoon guided visit to The Valley of the Temples, a UNESCO world heritage archaeological site with ancient temples dedicated to deities including Zeus, Hercules, Concord, Pollux, and Castor. After our tour, we'll check-in for an overnight stay at La Mandranova, an extra virgin olive oil, and almond-producing estate where we'll have dinner and spend the night.

Accommodations: La Mandranova, Palma di Montechiaro

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast we’ll do a hands-on cooking class at La Mandranova, followed by a lunch of the traditional Sicilian dishes we prepare. Our menu will feature fresh ingredients from the farm and local producers and of course, La Mandranova’s own EVOO and almonds.

After lunch we’ll depart for Scicli, stopping in the afternoon to visit and taste at Arianna Occhipinti, a biodynamic wine producer in Sicily’s Vittoria DOC region. Arianna began her journey in the wine world at the age of 16 and by 21 had released her first vintages from a small plot of land. She produces wines from native Sicilian varieties using farming and aging techniques that have been in use for centuries. She was recently featured in Stanley Tucci's "Finding Italy." series. We’ll then head to our hotel, a former historic residence in the center of Scicli, for check-in and dinner at a local restaurant.

The beautiful, baroque town of Scicli, whose main pedestrian street is a UNESCO World Heritage Site will be our base for the next 3 nights. Nowadays, Scicli is well known in Europe as a filming location for the Italian TV detective series, Montalbano.

Accommodations: Albergo Diffuso Palazzo Favacchio, Scicli

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today we'll head to Modica for a cooking class in the home of a local chef, that includes a chocolate-making experience. Modica chocolate uses an ancient Aztec recipe brought to Sicily when the island was under Spanish rule. We’ll also visit a truly unique and award-winning chocolate producer, enjoying a stop in the gorgeously restored bottega where we can nibble on samples including those from the aging cellar where chocolates are immersed in flowers, herbs, spices, tobacco, teas, wine, and spirit saturated woods, which imbue the chocolate with subtle scents and flavors. We’ll finish the experience with a chocolate and drinks pairing in the garden of San Giorgio that offers panoramic views of the city below before returning to Scicli for dinner on your own with suggestions. 

Accommodations: Albergo Diffuso Palazzo Favacchio, Scicli

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Today we'll head to Ragusa for a tour of the hidden gems of Ragusa Ibla. Our private guide, Barbara has access to places that are otherwise not open to the public—Circolo di Conversazione (a private club), the Teatro Donnafugata (a tiny and beautiful private theatre in a palace only recently opened for occasional public performances), and the secret, walled garden of Palazzo Arezzo Bertini. Then, we’ll have a special visit with Damiano Rotella and Biagio Castilletti, two of the last artisans in Sicily who are dedicated to painting and restoring Sicilian carts, who learned their craft as young boys, in the workshop of the master craftsman, Domenico Di Mauro. We’ll end our afternoon with free time in Ragusa before returning to Scicli for aperitivo.

Accommodations: Albergo Diffuso Palazzo Favacchio, Scicli

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Aperitivo/Light Dinner

Our next stop will be Ortigia just across the water from mainland Siracusa, where you'll have a free day to wander the city’s most enchanting quarter—a labyrinth of colorful streets lined with eateries and artisan shops and crowned with the spectacular, ivory-hued Piazza del Duomo. Among the attractions in Ortigia is La Giudecca district, the maze of less touristy streets, and the former Jewish Quarter where ancient Jewish baths were discovered by accident while renovating a boutique hotel.

Nearby is the archeological park of Siracusa, where guests can do an optional visit to the impressive remains of the ancient city of Syracuse dating as far back as the eighth century BC. You'll have lunch on your own today before dinner in a local restaurant that's hidden on one of Ortigia's characteristic, ancient streets. 

Accommodations: Grand Hotel, Ortigia

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We depart Ortigia today for a day trip to majestic Mt. Etna—Europe’s most active volcano, a stunning image rising to 3,300 meters directly from the seafloor. We’ll have a visit and tasting at the Girolamo Russo estate, an organic wine producer founded in 2005 by Giuseppe Russo, in memory of his late father. The estate is located in the prestigious Passopisciaro wine-making area.

On Mt. Etna, 500,000 years of volcanic eruptions have created endless soil variations in neighboring plots of land, prompting some wine writers to call it the Burgundy of the south. The estate has 15 hectares of vineyards planted in the black, mineral-rich volcanic soil and surrounded by olive and hazelnut groves. Giuseppe works the vineyards and makes the wines himself, vinifying each parcel separately, to make wines that reflect the diverse character of their terroir.

After our visit and tasting, we’ll have lunch at a little agriturismo at 1,000 meters above sea level surrounded by lava fields with spectacular views of the volcano and the Nebrodi Mountains. In the afternoon, we’ll stop in Taormina for free time to shop and wander aperitivo in a local cafe.

Accommodations: Boutique Resort Donna Carmela, Carruba di Riposto

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Aperitivo/Light Dinner