Walking Sicily – Jewel of the Mediterranean

Day 1

ARRIVE ROME (D)

You arrive today in the eternal city of Rome. Our hotel is very near the airport and offers a complimentary shuttle. Since travelers are arriving throughout the day, we’ll rendezvous this evening for dinner and an opportunity to share more details about our exploration of Pompeii, Amalfi, & Capri during the coming days.

Day 2

ROME – SORRENTO (BD)
Castel Gandolfo – 10 km, rating unknown

Our last several visits to Italy have included highly memorable walks with a friendly group of walkers from the Rome area. This club has offered to host a special walk for us this year in the Castel Gandolfo area just south of Rome. Castel Gandolfo is a historic town above Lake Albano in the wooded Alban Hills, and has been the summer residence of the Pope for hundreds of years. After what promises to be a wonderful cultural experience with our Italian walking friends, we continue south past Naples to the stunning coastal scenery of the Sorrento Peninsula, where we will spend the next three nights.

Day 3

ACTIVITIES FROM SORRENTO (B)
Amalfi Valley Lemons & Legacies Walk – 7 km, rated 2+/3

The Amalfi Coast is one of the world’s most renowned scenic drives. Our coach offers spectacular views high above the sea as it navigates this engineering marvel to the seaside town of Amalfi. One of Italy’s powerful city-states during the medieval period, Amalfi was also the first place paper from cellulose was produced in the west. Today, it is known for vast tracts of lemon groves, which we’ll see during a delightful walk that ends with a visit to the Amalfi Paper Museum.

Day 4

ACTIVITIES FROM SORRENTO (BD)
Isle of Capri Walk – 10 km, rated 2+

We start our day with a ferry ride to the storied island of Capri. Our walk winds through Capri’s captivating combination of charming villas, colorful gardens, splendid sea vistas, and tempting shopping lanes. We’ll also visit the ruins of the villa of the Emperor Tiberius, who ruled Rome from here for the last ten years of his life. We return to Sorrento by ferry for our last night on the peninsula.

Day 5

SORRENTO – MONREALE, SICILY (B)

In one of the most dramatic volcanic explosions in the history of the planet, Mount Vesuvius erupted in the 1st century AD, smothering the city of Pompeii, and preserving it until archeologists unveiled it in the 18th century. After exploring the evocative excavations, we’ll drive up into Vesuvius National Park and hike the last several hundred meters to the infamous throat of Vesuvius itself. We leave Pompeii, Amalfi, & Capri from Naples this afternoon, on a flight to the magical island of Sicily.

Day 1

ARRIVE PALERMO – MONREALE (D)

Our Adventure in Sicily begins in the capital city of Palermo. Upon arrival, you will be met by a representative of WAI and transferred to our hotel in nearby Monreale. Later this evening, you’ll rendezvous with travelers arriving from the Pompeii, Amalfi, & Capri Pre-tour at a Get Acquainted Dinner where we’ll share more about the upcoming days of exploration on the fabled island of Sicily.

Day 2

MONREALE – PALERMO – ERICE (BD)
Medieval Erice Walk – 5 km, rated 3

One of the biggest surprises in Sicily is the number of ethnic and racial outsiders that have dominated this Mediterranean crossroads at various times throughout its long and eventful history. Viking Normans from northern Europe, for example, left their mark on Sicily in the form of beautiful Monreale Cathedral and Cloisters. The 800- year-old gold mosaics covering nearly every surface glisten as if they were crafted only yesterday. We finish our day at the delightful medieval hilltop town of Erice, another Norman accomplishment. From our hotel, we’ll enjoy a walk down cobblestone lanes to castle parapets offering stunning views down onto the Sicilian coastline.

Day 3

ACTIVITIES FROM ERICE (B)
Phoenician Mozia Island Walk – 5 km, rated 1

Our day begins with a drive to the centuries-old salt works of Mozia, featuring rectangular plots of land flooded with sea water, then harvested for the salt after days of evaporation under the dry Sicilian sun. A ferry here takes us to nearby Mozia Island, inhabited over 2700 years ago by Phoenicians – one of the first foreign invaders to leave their legacy in Sicily. A visit to the museum offering Phoenician artifacts extracted from the island precedes an easy circular walk along the sea past several archeological digs. We have the afternoon free back in Erice to enjoy more of the charms of this walled hilltop town.

Day 4

ERICE – AGRIGENTO (BD)
Selinunte Greek Temples & Quarries Walk – 10 km, rated 2

Selinunte is a Grecian ghost town of limestone columns situated dramatically on the Mediterranean coast. Our walk winds between temples vacated in 404 BC in the face of Carthaginian invaders, and continues along stone streets that once hosted a flourishing city from the Classical period. After lunch, part 2 of our walk explores the nearby limestone quarry which supplied Selinunte’s stonework. Walking among columns only partially freed from living rock is a poignant reminder of the haste with which the workers fled the rampaging Carthaginians.

Day 5

AGRIGENTO – SIRACUSA (BD)

From Agrigento, our route takes us through remote Sicilian countryside to an ancient Roman villa outside the hill town of Piazza Armerina. Reminiscent of Pompeii, Villa Roma di Casale was preserved by a mudslide, offering us a beautiful set of floor mosaics that reveal much about life in a 2nd century Sicily controlled by the mighty Roman Empire. We continue to southeast Sicily for a night in the oldest part of the ancient Greek city of Syracuse.

Day 6

SIRACUSA – TAORMINA (BD)
Ionian Antiquity in Syracuse Walk – 5 km, rated 1+

Our hotel is situated in Ortegia, an island jutting into the sea that was once defended against invading Romans with the ingenious war machines of brilliant scientist Archimedes. The walk here takes us down narrow lanes, little changed since the medieval period, past Greek ruins, and along the azure waters of the marina. Following lunch, we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the Greek theater that predates the Roman period, before continuing north to delightful Taormina.

Day 7

ACTIVITIES FROM TAORMINA (B)
Ionian Antiquity in Taormina Walk – 5 km, rated 1+

Taormina shares the Grecian heritage of Syracuse, and has gracefully blended its ancient attractions with contemporary shops and tempting cafes, along with breathtaking views out over the sea. Our walk explores these charms of Taormina during the morning hours, followed by a free afternoon to sample Taormina on your own.

Day 8

TAORMINA – GALATI MAMERTINO (BD)
Milazzo Cliffs & Seacoast Walk – 10 km, rated 2

We depart Taormina reluctantly this morning, en route to Milazzo. Here we’ll participate in a walk that offers far-reaching panoramas over the northwest coastline of Sicily. From Milazzo, our coach turns inland through traditional mountain villages little changed for hundreds of years. We’ll spend one night in a country inn where we’ll be welcomed after dinner by a toe-tapping, foot-stomping troupe of Sicilian folklore musicians and dancers.

Day 9

GALATI MAMERTINO – MONREALE (BD)
Galati Mamertino Mountain Sicily Walk – 10 km, rated 2+

The dramatic mountain scenery of northern Sicily is the highlight of this morning’s walk which ends in the picturesque hamlet of Galati Mamertino, where our friends will introduce us to local artisans skilled in handiwork passed down through generations of Sicilian families. Leaving Galati Mamertino, we are bound for Monreale, where we’ll spend our last night of our Sicilian Adventure. A delightful puppet show revealing time-honored medieval tales of Sicily precedes our Farewell Dinner, where we’ll remember together the highlights of our journey of discovery on this beautiful island.

Day 10

RETURN HOME FROM PALERMO (B)

Following transfers to the Palermo International Airport, we’ll say goodbye to our walking companions and the fabled island of Sicily. We return home with a new appreciation for the history, scenery, and culture of Sicily - Jewel of the Mediterranean.