HYBLAEAN MOUNTAINS TREKKING, BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE, ART AND CULTURE, 9-16 May 2020

Image: Simona Di Salvo [CC BY-SA 2.5]

The Hyblaean Mountains are a Sicilian mountain range of stunning natural beauty thanks to their caves, gorges and canyons created and shaped by ancient rivers. Because of the fertility of the area and the natural protection the mountains offered to the local population, the Hyblaean Mountains were inhabited since prehistorical times. Today, the villages on this territory emanate a unique graceful charm, with their rich baroque churches and palaces. You wouldn’t see time go while exploring the rural houses and buildings in Pantalica or losing yourself among the historical 121 Language Tuition [email protected] Ballingarry, Kilchreest Loughrea www.121languagetuition.com Co. Galway

alleyways of . In the farmyards, it is still possible to eat freshly made ricotta cheese or pick a carob from a tree. Nature plays an important role in this land and over the centuries the local population transformed a limestone plateau in a beautiful patchwork of dry stone walls that marked the boundaries between different properties and cultivations. Small plots were intensively cultivated with olive, carob and fig trees, wheat and citrus fruit and connected by a networksof trazzere, small paths hundreds of kilometres long. Today many of these paths are covered with concrete and the prickly pear bushed gradually took over. Our language tour combines more formal Italian language classes with guided, contextualised use of the language against a unique backdrop of natural and manmade wonders. An ideal cultural trip to combine Italian language learning with carefree, relaxing walks through amazing landscapes and villages. Throughout the trip and during the walks you will be able to interact in Italian with the locals, the tour guides and your course teacher, who will participate in all the activities listed in the programme. This will give you the chance to practice your Italian and receive encouragement, clarification and feedback even outside the classroom. Moreover, our classes take inspiration from and seamlessly blend with the authentic cultural experience that the different locations and tours offer. Learning won’t stop when classes end but you will be too busy enjoying yourself to notice!

Price: € 1150

The price includes The price does not include

 16hrs language course + learning material;  Return flights;  Hotel accommodation in double rooms. Single room supplement: €15 per night.  Lunches, except on the day of the trips to the winery and the agriturismo;  Dinners and breakfasts from the evening of the first day until the morning of the last day;  Travel insurance; *  Wine and local food tasting at Cantina Gulfi Wines;  Any other costs not specified here.  Return bus transfers from/to Catania airport;  Private bus for transfers during the week;  Visit of Siracusa.

*Each participant is required to organise insurance cover prior to arrival. You can organise your own insurance or opt for Ciao Trekking’s Global Assistance Insurance policy. If you prefer to organise your own cover, please communicate your insurance company and policy number to us before arrival. 121 Language Tuition [email protected] Ballingarry, Kilchreest Loughrea www.121languagetuition.com Co. Galway

Ciao Trekking offers Global Assistance Insurance at the cost of 30€ per person for the entire trip. This should be purchased before arrival. In order to organise the cover for you, we will need the following details: name, surname, place of residence, date and place of birth.

Payment: Deposit: €395 at registration. - Balance: € 755 due date to be notified PAYMENT BY BANK TRANSFER. PLEASE EMAIL US FOR DETAIL

Minimum number of participants: 8 Maximum number of participants:12

ITINERARY

Day 1

Scicli

11:00am Meeting point: Catania airport (please confirm time of arrival). Check-in at the hotel and short briefing to describe the trip more in details. In the afternoon, visit to Scicli – a town with impressive Baroque architecture and art, made famous by the popular fiction Montalbano. Scicli is one of the main Sicilian Baroque towns, together with , Ragusa, Modica and Siracusa. The Chiafura hill, a characteristic area of ancient Scicli, preserves wonderful rural houses built in the rock. Italian writer and poet Pier Paolo Pasolini visited this enchanting area in the 1950s and fell in love with it. Dinner Trail: Urban trail Level: easy

Day 2

Pantalica

9:00am to 1:00pm: Italian Language Course. Packed lunch. Visit to Pantalica. One of the highlights of the journeyduring this journey. Pantalica is one of the most important Natural Reserves in Sicily and a Unesco World Heritage archaeological site since 2005 with approximately 5000 tombs dating back to 1370 B.C. Dinner in Scicli.

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Details of this trek: 3 hrs, including breaks. Ascent/Descent: 100m Loop: Marked trail Level: easy

Day 3

Ragusa Ibla, Cava San Domenico

9:00am to 1:00pm: Italian Language Course. Packed lunch. Visit to Ragusa Ibla, another Baroque city whose main features are the stone houses and palaces decorated in a Baroque style. We will also walk along the Cava di San Domenico canyon which narrates the history of this area – with its ruins of water-mills and very ancient tombs. Dinner in Scicli. Details of this trek: 4 hrs, including breaks. Ascent/Descent: 100m Trail: Urban trail Level: easy.

Day 4

Vindicari and Marzamemi

9:00am to 1:00pm: Italian Language Course. Lunch. Visit to the Orientata Natural Reserve in Vindicari, one of the first Sicilian Natural Reserves created to protect the endemic flora and fauna of this beautiful area. We will visit a watch tower dated around 1400 A.C. and a tonnara. Then will visit Marzamemi, an ancient fishermen borgo in the Noto Valley. Dinner in Scicli. Details of this trek: 3 hrs, including breaks. Loop: Marked trail. Level: easy

121 Language Tuition [email protected] Ballingarry, Kilchreest Loughrea www.121languagetuition.com Co. Galway

Day 5

Chiaramonte Gulfi – Guided Tour of Oil Mill And Dinner At Cantina GULFI.

9:00am to 1:00pm: Italian Language Course. Lunch. Visit to Chiaramonte Gulfi, a mountain borgo named “the Balcony of Sicily”, thanks to its position that overlooks Sicily from North to South-West. Here several small museums tell ancient stories and cultural Sicilian traditions. In the later afternoon, visit to Oleificio Cutrera; visit followed by dinner at Cantina Gulfi (winery) where local Hyblaean wine and food will be served. Details of this trek: 5 hrs, including breaks and dinner. Trail: Urban trail. Level: easy

Day 6

FULL DAY: Ancient Noto . Breakfast. Transfer to ancient Noto, one of the oldest and most important trade centres in East-Sicily: thanks to its location it has been a focal trade centre in the for centuries. We will walk through ruins that will tell us the long, eventful history of this town. In the afternoon, visit to Noto town to admire its Baroque architecture and art. The town is part of the Unesco World Heritage. Dinner in Scicli. Details of this trek: 4 hrs + 2hrs of guided tour in Noto town. Packed lunch. Loop: Marked trail. Ascent / Descent: 200m. Level: medium

Day 7

Hike along Ciccio Pecora railway; lunch in an Hyblaean masseria

Breakfast. Transfer to the Hyblaean plateau, specifically: Monterosso Almo. We will follow the old railways tracks which used to connect Ragusa to Siracusa – called by the locals “Ciccio Pecora Railway”. Lunch at a typical Hyblaean masseria - local food and wine tasting.

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Dinner in Scicli. Details of this trek: 3 hrs including breaks. Loop: Marked trail. Ascent / Descent: 100m. Level: medium

Day 8

Visit to Ragusa. Retrun to Catania airport

Breakfast. Transfer to Siracusa: guided tour of the city. Siracusa has very ancient Greek origins; it develops along the Eastern side of the island and it is very famous for its ancient ruins. Its central Archaeological Park in the Neapolis boasts a Roman amphitheatre, a Greek theatre and the Orecchio di Dionisio, a limestone cave shaped as a human ear. Visit to Ortigia Island, an enchanting isle with fascinating and evocative alleys and lanes. Return to Catania’s airport. Trail: Urban trail. Level: easy

FURTHER DETAILS:

Meeting point: Sunday 9th May 2020, pick up at 11:00am from Catania airport (please confirm time of arrival).

Trip ends: Sunday 16th May 2020, arrival at Catania airport at 6:00pm (please confirm time of departure).

HIGHLIGHTS of the trip: canyons, gorges, archaeological sites, Baroque architecture and art, culture and local food & wine. The language course will be taught by highly qualified teachers who will accompany participants during the walks, treks and visits so that opportunities for oral interaction are maximised and effective communication skills constantly improved.

Type of trip: non-itinerant Difficulty: medium Duration: 8 days / 7 nights

Recommended equipment: trekking gear, rucksack, hiking boots, walking poles, hat, sunscreen, sweater, waterproof jacket, gloves, torch, swimsuit, water bottle and personal hygiene items.

Please note: the itinerary may be subject to change due unforeseeable adverse weather/sea

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conditions. Should it be necessary to make changes, the sequence of the treks and walks can be rearranged.

Guide: Salvatore Marletta, contact +393334987946 Email: [email protected]; [email protected]

Language Course Teacher: Dr Francesca Magnoni, contact: +393484948866 Email: [email protected]

Traveler ContaInformation

121 Italian Tuition Phone Email

Paolo McLoughlin +353877741916 [email protected]

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121 Language Tuition [email protected] Ballingarry, Kilchreest Loughrea www.121languagetuition.com Co. Galway

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121 Language Tuition [email protected] Ballingarry, Kilchreest Loughrea www.121languagetuition.com Co. Galway