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Malta
Day 1: Arrive Malta
Arrive Valletta, capital of Malta (UNESCO Heritage Site). Transfer to hotel.
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Day 2: Full Day Tour: Valletta
Visit St. John’s Cathedral, a historical gem which houses famous tapestries by the artist Caravaggio.
Then the Grand Master’s Palace & Armory, National Museum of Archaeology followed by a visit to the Upper Barracca Gardens.
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Day 3: Full Day Tour Senglea, Cospicua and Vittoriosa
The Three Cities offer an intriguing insight into Malta and its history. Largely unvisited, these cities are a slice of authentic life as well as a glimpse into Malta's maritime fortunes.
They rightly claim to be the cradle of Maltese history, as Vittoriosa, Senglea and Cospicuahave provided a home and fortress to almost every people who settled on the Islands. Visit the Inquisitor’s Palace.
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Day 4: Blue Grotto Caves, Marsaxlokk, Tarxien, The Hypogeum
Visit Mnajdra (UNESCO World Heritage Site), a megalithic temple complex found in an isolated location on the southern coast.
Visit the Ħaġar Qim megalithic complex.
Afterwards, continue to one of Malta’s natural wonders: the Blue Grotto. We take a boat to visit Blue Grotto, the largest cave and see the site where the now destroyed Arch stood.
Visit the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum of Paola, a subterranean structure dating to the Saflieni phase (3000-2500 BC) in Maltese prehistory.
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Day 5: Gozo Island
The island has been associated with Ogygia, home of the nymph Calypso in Homer's Odyssey.
Visit the temples of Ggantija (Palace of the Giants), which consist of two megalithic temples surrounded by a massive common boundary wall, that date to 3600-3200 BC.
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Day 6: Central Malta: Mosta, Mdina, Rabat & the Domus Romana, Dingli
A full day tour of the central part of the island visiting Mdina the old capital city of the island, Rabat its suburb town and surrounding areas.
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Sicily, Italy
Day 7: Depart or Ferry to Pozzallo-Drive Ragusa- Siracusa
Those ending the tour will transfer to the airport according to your flight schedule.
Those continuing to Sicily, transfer to the port for the 1 hr 45 min ride to Pozzallo on the southern tip of Sicily. On arrival, we are met by our driver and drive approx. 40 minutes Ragusa, a hilltop city.
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Day 8: Siracusa (Syracuse)
We will enjoy a full day tour here including the archaeological area. The central Archaeological Park Neapolis comprises the Roman Amphitheater, the Teatro Greco and the Orecchio di Dionisio, a limestone cave shaped like a human ear. The Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi exhibits terracotta artifacts, Roman portraits and Old Testament scenes carved into white marble.
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Day 9: Piazza Armerina-Agrigento (Porto Empedocle)
Visit Piazza Armerina, splendid art city woven into the heart of Sicily, boasts a slew of monuments that tell of its glorious past. Meanwhile, the apple of the citizens' eyes is the Villa Romana del Casale; originally the property of a powerful Roman family, it dates back to the 4th Century A.D. This majestic Imperial villa was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.
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Day 10: Agrigento Full Day Tour
Agrigento is a hilltop city on Sicily's southwest shore. Founded in 581 B.C. by Greek, Rhodium-Cretan colonists, it become Akragas the following century, and was one of the most resplendent centers in the Mediterranean.
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Day 11: Selinunte-Mazara del Vallo
Catania is located on the east coast of Sicily on the Ionian Sea and is the second largest city in Sicily. It sits under the imposing shadow of Mount Etna, or A Muntagna, as the locals call it. The volcano has had a significant influence on the city's history and its actual existence, having destroyed the city on several occasions.
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Day 12: Mazara del Vallo
We start with a walking tour of Piazza della Repubblica the city’s central piazza.
We shall tour Cattedrale del Santissimo Salvatore (aka Basil Cathedral), an imposing sight with its glistening cluster of emerald-green, ceramic-tiled domes. Originally dating to the 11th century, it was completely rebuilt in baroque style in the 17th century.
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Day 13: Mazara del Vallo – Segesta-Palermo
The Tempio di Segesta (Temple of Segesta) is perhaps the best-preserved Doric temple in the world, and the only freestanding limestone temple in Sicily.
This afternoon, a walking tour starting from the heart of Palermo, the Politeama Square with its magnificent theater built in 1874. We’ll walk down via Ruggiero Settimo, an elegant street with shops that runs through the city to the Central Station.
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Day 14: Palermo
Full day tour of Palermo, capital of Sicily. Visit the Regional Archaeological Museum Antonio Salinas.
Afterwards a walking tour of the historic part of the city, including the the wonderful Quattro Canti Square, the Royal Palace and the oldest street in Palermo, dating to the Phoenicians, passing thru the historic Vucciria market (La Vucciria).
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Day 15: Palermo – Tindai – Cefalù – Messina
Depart at 8:30 am and drive 1.5 hr to Cefalù, a coastal city in northern Sicily. We visit its’ Norman cathedral, a 12th-century fortress-like structure with elaborate Byzantine mosaics and soaring twin towers and the Mandralisca Museum, nearby; home to archaeological exhibits and a picture gallery with a portrait by Antonello da Messina.
Afterwards, a 2 hr drive to Tindari with its imposing Sanctuary of the Black Madonna, which nowadays is a destination for religious pilgrims.
Continue 1 hour to Messina, a harbor city in northeast Sicily, separated from mainland Italy by the Strait of Messina.
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Day 16: Messina
Morning walking tour including the world’s largest Astronomical Clock (Orologio Astronomico) which is set in the Bell Tower. At noon a complex system of counterweights, leverages and gears, determines the movement of the gilded bronze statues located in the façade.
Afterwards, visit the Regional Museum to see the amazing XVII century Caravaggio and Antonello Da Messina paintings.
This afternoon independent.
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Day 17: Messina – Savoca – Taormina – Catania
Depart at 9 am to Savoca (one hour drive) the small medieval town where in 1970 Francis Ford Coppola set the first film of the famous "Godfather" trilogy.
Continue, 1 hr drive to Taormina, a hilltop town on the east coast of Sicily, located near Mount Etna, an active volcano with trails leading to the summit.
We visit Teatro Antico do Taormina, Porta Messina (landmark stone doorway to the city), Porta Catania (arched entrance to the old city), Duomo di Taormina (medieval Catholic church), Palazzo Corvaia (10th century medieval palace), Chiesa Madonna della Rocca (historic chapel built into a rock with striking panoramas), Taormina Castle (historic landmark atop a mountain with sweeping views of the city and coastline).
We shall then venture into Piazza Duomo for lunch, pay direct.
Continue 30 minutes to Catania.
Catania is located on the east coast of Sicily on the Ionian Sea and is the second largest city in Sicily.
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Day 18: Catania: Excursion to Mount Etna
We enjoy a half day visit of Mt. Etna with lunch at a local farmhouse.
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Day 19: Depart
Transfer to the airport.
