Daily Itinerary Sicily Sketch Tour
Monday SEPTEMBER 5th - Tuesday SEPTEMBER 13th 2022
8 Nights / 9 Days
2 nights in Palermo
2 nights in Taormina
2 nights in Siracusa
2 nights in Aci Castello near Catania
Benvenuti in Sicily! Welcome to Sicily!
Today we meet on Monday morning Sept 5th, in Palermo at 9.00am.
Meet in the foyer of our hotel for a chat about the tour and all the exciting places we’ll go and where we’ll sketch.
Best Western Ai Cavalieri Hotel
Address: Via Sant'Oliva, 8, 90141 Palermo PA, Italy
Phone: +39 091 583282
(If you’d like to book Sept 3rd and 4th prior, let me know and I’ll advise you the extra cost)
Palermo.
Day 1-2: Monday 5th, Tuesday 6th.
We will be walking the streets and taking in the atmosphere to start each of day.
Our first sketches will take place where we can sit and enjoy a coffee and start with a simple scene. There’ll be many sketch tips and techniques for you as I demo each location.
We’ll have our Welcome dinner together that night.
Highlights:
La Vucciria food market.
Piazza Caracciolo, for street food.7 am and 7 pm Monday – Saturday.
Arancini (Italian rice balls) and Sfincione (Sicilian pizza)
Cattedrale di Palermo: Mon-Sat from 7am-7pm and Sun from 8am-7pm.
Palazzo Dei Normanni: Mon-Sat from 8:30 am-4:30 pm. Sun from 8:30 am-12:30 pm.
Teatro Massimo: The largest opera house in Italy and the third-largest in the world.
St John of the Hermits: Mon-Sat from 9:30am-6:30am and Sun from 9:30am-1:30pm.
The Ballaro market: Mon-Sat 7:30 am-8:30pm/Sun 7:30am-2pm.
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Taormina.
Day 3-4: Wednesday 7, Thursday 8th.
Hotel Isola Bella
Via Nazionale, 196, 98039 Taormina ME, Italy
Phone: +39 0942 24289
After breakfast we’ll take private transport on the 3hr 15min journey from Palermo to Taormina. This is where we’ll be seeing aqua water and golden sand amidst historical castles and abbeys. We’ll settle into our hotel and take a sketch stroll around the town.
Highlights:
Cefalu—a stunning hamlet by the sea—before continuing to the east coast of the island. Corso Umberto and pick a bar or restaurant to spend at for the evening.
Greek Theatre which dates back to the 3rd Century
Piazza IX Aprile, which has the best view of the city and Mt Etna
Chiesa Madonna Della Rocco Mon-Sun 8:30am-7pm.
By the way! The Godfather fans can visit a few of the movie’s film locations in the town of Savoca, just outside Taormina, which was used as the fictional town of Corleone.
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Siracusa
Day 5-6: Friday 9th, Saturday 10th
Hotel Relax
Viale Epipoli 159, 96100 Siracusa
Phone +39 0931 740122
After breakfast we take private transport from Taormina to our hotel in Siracusa just a 45min journey.
Highlights:
The Fontana Diana at the Piazza Archimed: Dating back to 1907, this is a major feature in the city of Siracusa, which is dedicated to the Goddess, Diana.
Ortigia, which is accessed via a bridge and is famous for its incredible Baroque style Piazza del Duomo–one of the best in Italy.
Modica, famous for the Modica chocolates.
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Avi Castello near Catania
Day 7-8: Sunday 11th, Monday 12th
B&B Oasi Perla Del Mare
55 Via Sciarelli, 95021, Aci Castello
Phone +39 349 814 8566
After breakfast we’ll take private transport from Siracusa to our B&B near Catania.
We can walk out to Castle Normanno built in 1076 by the Normans, sitting high above the rugged rock formation on the foreshore of the village.
There is much history here and we’ll sketch the local scenes, colourful fishing boats and try the local dishes.
Day 9. Tuesday 13th
The tour will finish here on Tuesday September 13th. We will arrange transport to take you back to the airport at nearby Catania. If you can make your flights in the afternoon we’ll to avoid a morning rush.
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Day 7 - 9. Siracusa
Highlights:
The Fontana Diana at the Piazza Archimed: Dating back to 1907, this is a major feature in the city of Siracusa, which is dedicated to the Goddess, Diana.
Ortigia, which is accessed via a bridge and is famous for its incredible Baroque style Piazza del Duomo–one of the best in Italy.
Modica, famous for the Modica chocolates.
The tour will finish here on Tuesday September 13th. We will take you back after breakfast to the airport at Catania.