LAUNCH OFFER - SAVE £500 PER PERSON SICILY UNDER SAIL DISCOVER THE WONDERS OF SICILY ABOARD THE MAGNIFICENT SEA CLOUD II 17TH TO 28TH OCTOBER 2017 Taormina Zadar Sarajevo Sibenik Split Mostar ali he island of Sicily has an incredible wealth of treasures and a geography which lends itself beautifully to Texploration by sea with most points of interest located close to the coast. Owing to its benevolent climate and superb alermo ipari strategic position, the island has been coveted, fought over Trapani and colonised numerous times with the Phoenicians, Greeks, egesta SICILY Taormina Romans, Arabs, Normans, Byzantines and Bourbons having oto all made their mark. grigento racuse oallo agusa From magnificent Doric temples to great Byzantine TUNISIA oo cathedrals and bizarrely styled villas, Sicily has a wealth Valletta of treasures to explore and we have timed our voyage for Backstreets of Taormina MALTA October when the crowds of summer will have departed and the temperatures will be pleasant for our guided tours. The island is a celebration of the greatest achievements of Mediterranean cultures and with such a wealth of ancient VOYAGE HIGHLIGHTS sites, it is certainly not somewhere which should be visited in In addition to our guided exploration a hurry so with six days of our itinerary spent sailing around of some of Sicily’s ancient sites we have the island we have the luxury of time and are able to visit arranged some exclusive highlights the stunning Greek theatre at Taormina, the Norman Royal during our voyage including: Palace and Palatine Chapel in Palermo, the Valle dei Templi • Dinner at the Xara Palace, Relais & Chateaux, a fabulous late 17th century and the beautiful Baroque villages of Noto and Ragusa. Local property in Mdina. guides and our onboard guest speaker will contribute greatly to our enjoyment and understanding of Sicily which is one of • Visit to the Opera dei Pupi, (puppet theatre) for a show, one of Sicily’s strongest cultural traditions. those places once visited you will never forget and will wish to return to time and time again. • Private concert at the beautiful Palazzo Beneventano, a magnificent private 18th century palace. • Guided tour by La Principessa de Raffadali of her 14th century OUR VIEW home, Palazzo Raffadali followed by homemade Sicilian ice- cream. “These days there are many cruises ships in the Mediterranean but surely none as beautiful as Sea Cloud II which we have chartered for this voyage. • Exclusive private concert and cocktail reception at the stunning Our journey will take in some of the most beautiful spots in Sicily and we Palazzo Gangi in Palermo. hope to travel to many of these under sail. Unlike the schedules of the large cruise ships in the region, we will not speed through our itinerary • Visit to an olive oil farm for a tasting of traditional Sicilian foods but take things at a leisurely pace allowing time to relax onboard as we including cheeses, olives and breads accompanied by local sail, enjoy the lecture programme as well as visiting some of the most musicians. important and stunning sights that Sicily has to offer including our visits to three of Sicily’s most beautiful Palazzos.” www.noble-caledonia.co.uk Byzantine Mosaic, Monreale Agrigento Trapani THE ITINERARY Day 1 London to Valletta, Malta. & Chateaux, a fabulous late 17th Palermo Cathedral Day 6 Giardini Naxos for Fly by scheduled flight. On arrival, century property uniquely located Taormina. We anchor this morning transfer to the Phoenicia Hotel (or within the historic city. in Giardini Naxos, the oldest Greek similar) for a two night stay. settlement in Sicily which dates Day 3 Valletta. Spend a morning from 735 BC and our base for our Day 2 Valletta. This morning we at leisure before meeting in the visit to Taormina, a walled town will explore Valletta, the 16th early afternoon and transferring to lying in the shadow of Mount Etna. century ‘Fortress City’ built by the St John’s Cathedral where we will Popular since the 19th century as knights of St John. We will enjoy experience a very special exclusive a holiday resort it nevertheless stunning views across the harbour concert by a local soprano, a has some truly impressive sites from the Barakka Gardens; explore choir and an orchestra before including the Greek Theatre from Merchants street containing the making our way to Sea Cloud II for where there are marvellous views surviving auberges built by the embarkation. Set sail before dinner. over the town and coast. Return Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, to the ship for lunch and enjoy a together with the palace where Day 4 Pozzallo, Sicily. Our first relaxing afternoon at sea. Napoleon Bonaparte is believed call in Sicily is the southern coast discover the well-preserved Greek to have stayed in 1798. Our final port of Pozzallo from where we theatre with seats carved from Day 7 Lipari, Aeolian Islands. stop will be at St John’s Cathedral. will explore the Baroque villages limestone. Paradise Quarry, now This morning we arrive at the The barrel vault of the cathedral of Noto and Ragusa. Our morning an attractive garden and orange picturesque island of Lipari is painted with scenes from the tour will visit the beautiful antique grove, was the primary source situated in the Aeolian Islands off life of St. John and the floor is town of Noto which was built in of that limestone and is the site the north coast of Sicily. Here we inlaid with the glittering tombs 1703. Here we will see numerous of the curious ‘Dionysus’ Ear’ - a will find an amazing collection of of 400 Knights. Chapels around 18th century palaces of incredible vast grotto with an amplifying ruins from the prehistoric through the sides belong to the different architectural value including the resonance. Return to Sea Cloud II to the Roman period. Lipari town “tongues” of the Order, and in the Duomo, the Museo Civico and for lunch and this afternoon enjoy is a thriving little place prettily oratory is Caravaggio’s intensely the Convento dei Francescani. an orientation walk in the old located between two harbours. moving picture, “The Beheading We return to the vessel for lunch quarter of the town on the island Our morning tour includes a of St. John”. We will return to the and this afternoon you can either of Ortigia where we will see the visit to the upper town set within hotel in the late morning and this choose to relax onboard in Pozzallo Temple of Apollo, considered to be fortress walls, a drive around the afternoon you can choose to enjoy or join a tour to charming Ragusa, Sicily’s most ancient Doric temple volcano followed by a visit to the the hotel facilities or return to a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the Baroque cathedral which Archaeological Museum with Valletta to explore independently. where we will visit the Duomo and was erected over the remains of the its impressive relics from nearby This evening we will drive to Mdina Baroque palaces in Ibla before Temple of Minerva. Before returning excavations. Set sail during lunch which was originally given the continuing to the upper town, San to the vessel we will visit the Opera and enjoy a relaxing afternoon at name of “Citta Nobile” and now Giovanni Cathedral and Church of dei Pupi, the puppet theatre is sea as we head for Palermo. known as the “Silent City”, it lies Santa Maria delle Scale. one of Sicily’s strongest cultural at the heart of the island. Mdina is traditions, appealing to adults and Day 8 Palermo, Sicily. After Phoenician in origin and was the Day 5 Syracuse. Syracuse was children alike. We will enjoy a tour breakfast we tour Palermo, fortified capital of the island before founded by the Greeks in 734 of the museum and be treated famous for its jumbled and the arrival of the Knights. Within its BC and by the 5th century was to one of the shows. After dinner picturesque streets punctuated powerful encircling walls, the city a political and military power this evening we will transfer to the with ornate Baroque churches, towers on a steep hill in the centre throughout the Mediterranean beautiful Palazzo Beneventano, domed Arab mosques and the of the island. Here, for centuries, which rivalled Athens as the a stunning private 18th century glittering Byzantine mosaics the Maltese noble families resided largest and most beautiful city in palace, located in the central square that reveal a unique and diverse and still do so today. We will enjoy the Greek world. We will visit the near the cathedral where we will heritage. We visit the impressive dinner at the Xara Palace, Relais Neapolis Archaeological Park to enjoy a private concert. 12th century cathedral and the Chiesa di San Domenico, Noto Valletta Palatine Chapel in the Norman in its own right and awash with castle before returning to the Medieval atmosphere, Agrigento ship for lunch. This afternoon is not our main reason for calling we will be welcomed as a guest at this southern coast port. of the wonderfully engaging La Close by, is the Valle dei Templi, Principessa de Raffadali at her 14th a series of Doric temples, the century home, Palazzo Raffadali, most captivating of Sicilian Greek for a personal guided tour of her remains and a grouping unique palazzo followed by homemade outside Greece. Surrounded in Sicilian ice-cream. Alternatively, join greenery of olive and almond an excursion to visit the remarkable trees, admire the Temple of Hera, Byzantine mosaics in the cathedral the Temple of Concord, the at Monreale.