Sicily Baroque Self-Guided

Day to Day

Tour Map

Day 1: Benvenuti in Sicilia!

We welcome you at Catania airport and, after about one hour of transfer, we reach the elegant Villa Trigona Hotel, surrounded by greenery in the Sicilian countryside.

After the bike fitting and a tour explanation, you can go for a short bike ride and discover the enchanting mosaics of Villa Romana del Casale, considered the best-kept Roman mosaics in the world, a real must-see place.

You'll have dinner at the hotel. The host Emanuel, the last heir of the noble Trigona family, will introduce you to the amazing local cuisine, as well as tell you about the history of the place, of course.

Day 2: From Piazza Armerina to Caltagirone

We leave the lush gardens and orchards of Piazza Armerina to move the most typical landscapes of the interior of Sicily, made of bare hills drawn by fields and dry stone walls. For lunch we stop in the beautiful old town of Caltagirone where we visit the workshop of a local potter, in addition to making a stop on the wonderful staircase of Santa Maria del Monte. In the afternoon we continue through the countryside of Caltagirone where we spend the night in a cozy rural residence.

Day 3: From Caltagirone to Ragusa

The first part of the day is across olive groves and vineyards as far as the eye can see, along an undulating route. After lunch we begin the climb to the Ibleo plateau through the characteristic white limestone walls, with breathtaking views over the surrounding valley. The stage ends in one of the most magical places in Sicily: Ragusa Ibla, a wonderful monumental city known throughout the world, as well as for its beauty, for the quality of its gastronomy, awarded with three-starred restaurants.

Ragusa combines two rather different city centers. Ragusa, the new town, was reconstructed from the ground up, in the new style, after the destructive earthquake occurred in 1693. Here you can make a wonderful itinerary among churches and palaces that are symbols of the late Sicilian Baroque, a renowned UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Day 4: Modica loop tour

Today we allow ourselves an easier day, both to have more time to devote to the beauties of Ragusa, than to go to discover Modica, another casket of south-eastern Sicily, where we will taste the famous chocolate (ciucculatta muricana) still made according to the ancient Atzeca recipe, imported from the Spaniards in the Modica County in the 16th century.

Day 5: From Ragusa to Noto

Our ride starts on the Ragusa Countryside. An up and down on tiny roads till Castelluccio Necropolis, with over 200 tombs carved in the steep walls of the nearby quarry. The most monumental is the so-called "grave of the prince" with a statement consisting of four fake pillars. Then a long and gradual descent takes us to the perfumed citrus orchards of Noto Valley, preparing us for the last ascent of the day to the flamboyant baroque of Noto. Its Cathedral is one of the best symbols of baroque architecture in the world.

Day 6: From Noto to Siracusa

Magnificent Ortigia and its Cathedral

Today we'll conquer the sea bastions on the island of Ortigia, the ancient Greek settlement originating the most powerful Greek colony in the Mediterranean. Ortigia, in just a square kilometre, boasts a number of impressive buildings and monuments, here stands out the wonderful Cathedral of Syracuse (Cathedral of the Nativity of Mary Most Holy). It was a Greek temple dedicated to Athena, then converted in a church by the Normans. Its Doric columns along the walls closing the side aisles are still very evident both inside and outside. An aperitif on the ancient walls, in front of the sunset over the sea, and a dinner in one of the several good restaurants in town, will close the day through south-western Sicily.

Day 7: Arrivederci!

Sadly today we leave, but we are sure that we will meet again on the roads of the Mediterranean!