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PRICE (for more info call 215 735 3250 or BOOKING CONDITIONS)
- Deposit: Euro 300 by December 15th, 2009
- Final Payment by January 31st, 2010
| Participants |
Price per person for double room |
Price per person for triple room |
| 10-11 |
€ 1.050,70 |
€ 1.020,70 |
| 12-15 |
€ 1.017,89 |
€ 987,56 |
| 16-19 |
€ 998,83 |
€ 968,83 |
| 20 and more |
€ 1.086,28 |
€ 1.055,53 |
Inclusions:
The basis prices of both vacation options (groups and individuals) include:
- D1:Coordinated private transfer from Palermo/Trapani Airport to the starting point of the tour
- D8: Coordinated private transfer from Scopello to Palermo/Trapani airport
- 7 nights accommodation on double and triple occupancy (three/four-star hotels and farm)
- 7 breakfast service
- 3 dinners (day 1, 2 and 7)
- Visit to Marsala’s wine-producing firm with wine tasting (Day 3)
- Mafia lecture (on day 5)
- Hike to Zingaro Natural Park (Day 7)
- Luggage transfer
- Technical assistance (simple puncture is not covered)
- Detailed road book and maps
- English-Italian speaking guide all the week
- Van support along the tour
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The price does not include:
- Flights and public transportation
- Travel insurance
- Admissions and entrance fees (when not agreed with tour operator)
- Expense of personal nature such as drinks, phone calls, etc.
- Any item that has not been mentioned in the price inclusion part
Optional services
- Bike hire: Euro 100 (with use of helmet, puncture repair kit, pump and spare inner tube)
- Additional night/s
- Single occupancy accommodation
- Half board service
| Rating |
Easy |
| Accommodations |
The tour is based on a mix of different comfortable agriturismi/hotels.3 and 4 stars. We feel the character of these typically Sicilian accommodations adds value to the trip. |
| Duration |
7 nights/8 days |
GENERAL PLANNING
DAY 1 Arrival to Palermo (Falcone – Borsellino) or Trapani (Vincenzo Florio) airport, a private transfer will pick you up to the B&B Don Carlo http://www.agriturismodoncarlo.it/ close to Buseto Palizzolo in a quiet area of the Trapani province. Delivery of the bikes and intro of the tour. Dinner.
DAY 2 Bike loop to Segesta. The Archaeological site of Segesta is one of the most important and representative in Sicily. The site is renowned for its temple, one of the most iconic views of Sicily, and for the amphitheatre facing the Gulf of Castellammare from the distance, like a shell placed on the hilltop. Segesta, together with Erice and Entella, was a powerful city of the Elymians, a population coming from North-western Turkey, and was involved in several conflicts with Selinunte. The town enjoyed periods of glory during the first Punic War, under the rule of the Greeks and the Romans; it was later destroyed by the Vandals, occupied by the Saracens and ceased to exist in the early Middle Ages. Back to the B&B Don Carlo http://www.agriturismodoncarlo.it/ and dinner.
DAY 3 You’ll pedal totally relaxed. Following a gentle route in the interior you’ll get the Marsala Salt Marches Reserve and Mozia, little uncontaminated Punic Island. Once arrived to the sea you’ll enjoy a magnificent view of the salt marshes reserve and the wind mills. At the landing-stage to Mozia it’ll be possible to visit the Marsala Salt Marches Reserve and discover the process of salt cultivation and look at a wind mill at close range. Then, by a little boat it’ll be possible to go to the suggestive Island of Mozia, Punic fortress, owned and operated by a foundation established by the Whitaker family, winemakers in Sicily. The foundation preserves what Giuseppe Whitaker, English man born (1850) and grown up in Palermo, keen on archaeology, put into light. It is possible to visit the Archaeological Museum and the ruins of a considerable civilization, complete with the harbor and the cemetery. Some of the finds displayed in the Museum have a distinctly Egyptian influence, while others are probably Hellenic. This flat region has always been known for its fine grapes, but it was the Englishman, John Woodhouse, who introduced the wine business in 1796, having already developed a similar product (the Port wine) in Portugal. After Mozia the last kilometers on the sea level will lead you to Marsala where you’ll visit the wine-producing firm with wine tasting. You’ll stay at the Hotel Villa Favorita http://www.villafavorita.com/villafavorita_ita1.html
DAY 4 Another relaxing pedaling day in the countryside behind Marsala. This beautiful ride towards Trapani is an opportunity to see several ruins of farms locally called “bagli”. They are immersed in the vineyards and olive trees fields. In western Sicily, the so called bagli were built with defensive purpose and then, in the XV century, were used in agriculture and included in the interior the houses of the farmers and the storehouses for tools and cattle. As you’ll get the surrounding of Trapani you can enjoy the bird watching of the migratory birds in the WWF protected area. For the night, you’ll stay at the Hotel Relais Antiche Saline http://www.relaisantichesaline.com/home.php
DAY 5 Today is a relaxing day in which you can have a rest in the comfortable hotel or taking a chance to have a visit of Trapani centre or Favignana or Levanzo island. Today is also perfect to enjoy a bike loop to visit the medieval town of Erice, on the top of the hill you can see from your hotel. You can get the town by the cableway too (close on Monday) or by the bike. Erice is located on the top of the homonymous Mount that towers above Trapani. The town nowadays has a very pleasant medieval atmosphere, but in ancient times it was an important religious centre for the Elymians, a population that lived in western Sicily before the Greek colonization. Here they built a temple to the goddess of fertility where the Phoenicians worshipped Astarte, the Greeks Aphrodite and the Romans Venus. Erice was contended by the Syracusans and by the Carthaginians till the Roman conquest in 244 BC. During the Arabian invasion it was called Gebel Hamed (Mount of Hamed). In the XII century it gained again some of the lost importance and then followed the political fate of the Island. Don’t miss the “genovesi calde” at the Grammatico pastry 200 m on the main road of the town! Mafia’s lecture. For the night, you’ll stay at the same hotel, the Hotel Relais Antiche Saline http://www.relaisantichesaline.com/home.php
DAY 6 Today is a rolling leg. You’ll get the sea hamlet of San Vito Lo Capo with its amazing sandy beach. “Saint Vitus Cape” is a charming coastal town in the Trapani area with a great beach. Extending below Mount Cofano, a high pointed limestone cliff visible from a distance, San Vito is near the Zingaro Nature Reserve and the hamlet of Scopello, where some scenes of the movie Ocean’s Twelve were filmed in 2004. San Vito is known for its annual couscous festival (see below). A good place for a vacation, and with Erice and Segesta it represents one of the Sicily’s historic jewels. Don’t miss the traditional couscous or kuskus is a Berber dish which is known in all of the North Africa area. It is consisting of spherical granules made by rolling and shaping moistened semolina wheat and then coating them with finely ground wheat flour. You can enjoy it with the vegetables or the fish. The Couscous Festival at San Vito Lo Capo is a combination of culture, tradition and culinary art. This event is held in Sicily in September. The best chefs from the Mediterranean area compete with their best recipes. For the night, you’ll stay at the Hotel Egitarso. http://www.hotelegitarso.it/
DAY 7 Today is the free bike day. A wonderful hiking through a panoramic trail will lead you to the little hamlet of Scopello. A private shuttle will take you to the San Vito Lo Capo entrance of the Zingaro Natural Park. You’ll enjoy a wonderful rolling – seacoast hiking to Scopello. Your bikes will be transferred to Scopello with your luggage, at the Agriturismo Tenute Plaia http://www.plaiavini.com/ and you’ll enjoy a nice dinner together.
Zingaro Nature Reserve. The coastline that stretches between Scopello and San Vito Lo Capo has become a nature reserve, the first established in Sicily, since 1980. It is one of the unspoiled and most charming areas in Sicily and can be explored only on foot. The reserve is a place of great value not only for the beauty of the little bays where you can stop for a refreshing swim, but, above all, for the presence of endemic species both animal and vegetal and the woods of dwarf palm. You can stop for a swim at any of the little bays along the coast path or climb up the mountain to enjoy a wonderful view on the Gulf of Castellammare. Visiting the Museum of Contrada Sughero it’ll be possible to discover usages and customs of the people that lived in the Park at the beginning of the twentieth century. The ancient village of Scopello, a tiny hamlet developed around an ancient ‘baglio’ dating back to the 17th-century. The so-named ‘bagli’ were built with defensive purposes in western Sicily since the Roman times and, afterwards, used rurally as housing to the farmers, storage and cattle stalls since the 15th century. It is one of the most picturesque places in the province of Trapani and is known for the tuna fishing yards, which were one of the most productive in Sicily during the 1500s.
DAY 8 Coordinated transfer to Palermo or Trapani airport
Departure and end of our services.
AN OUTLINE OF SICILIAN HISTORY AND POPULATIONS
The earliest inhabitants of Sicily of whom we hold record are the Sicans in eastern Sicily, village dwellers settling near Agrigento during the Bronze Age; and the Sikels who probably came from mainland Italy, then settling in the centre of the island and cohabiting peacefully. Elymians: The Elymians arrived around 1200 BC during the Iron Age. Not much is known of their origins, but it is believed that they came from the region of Troy. They settled in the west and founded the towns of Segesta, Erice and Entella, where interesting relics are still visible. Elymians laid the foundation for the temple of Segesta, further elaborated by the Greeks after the conquest of the city. It also seems that we owe them the tradition of growing cereals in western Sicily, endless fields which are still peculiar to this area.
Phoenicians: The Phoenicians were skilful sea traders who discovered a sailing route to Sicily around 1000 BC keeping such knowledge as a commercial secret. They founded trading colonies in safe natural harbors, like in Mothya and Palermo, thus establishing trade relations with the Elymians.
Greeks: The Greeks arrived around 800 BC, establishing strongholds on the eastern coast at Naxos (735 BC) and Syracuse (734 BC), going forth into the next century with the foundation of Lentini, Catania, Megara Hiblaea, Zancle, Gela and Selinunte. The Greeks greatly influenced all aspects of everyday Sicilian life, and their traditions persevered even after their downfall.
Romans: During the Punic wars begun in 264 BC, Sicily again found itself in an important strategic position between Italy and North Africa, so much that Rome eventually controlled the entire island by 210 BC. Under the Roman rule, the cities lost some of their autonomy. Extensive rural estates were established in the hinterland where luxurious villas were built (typified by those at Piazza Armerina, Patti and Eloro). The Romans also laid out a good road network around the island. In the early imperial period, Sicily lost importance as a Roman province.
Barbarians: During the 5th century AD, Sicily was the prey of Vandals and Ostrogoths of Germanic origin, who invaded it in turn on their way from North Africa.
Byzantine: In AD 535 Sicily was conquered by Byzantium by the hands of Belisarius. For a short period of time, Syracuse even became the capital of the Byzantine Empire in place of Constantinople in 663.
Arabs: Under the pressure of the Saracen invasion (827), fights for the possession of the Island went on for some 50 years. Palermo fell to the Arabs in 831; Syracuse in 878. The Muslim rule was marked by a spirit of tolerance. Palermo in the 9th century was among the greatest artistic and scholarly centers of those times, surpassed in size only by Constantinople. The fertility of the island was fully exploited, with the development of extensive irrigation systems and the earliest cultivations of cotton, oranges, lemons, sugar cane, among others.
Normans: In 1060 the Norman Count Roger de Hautville (1031-1101) seized Messina with a handful of knights. By 1091 Roger was in control of the entire island. The Norman rule was characterized by its efficiency, and willingness to adapt to the pre-existing Arabic, Greek, and Roman traditions. In 1130 Roger’s son, Roger II (1093-1154), was crowned King of Sicily. At that time he was probably the wealthiest ruler in Europe, and his court in Palermo the most magnificent. In the meantime, Messina flourished as a stop-over base for the Crusaders.
Swabians: In 1194 the crown of Sicily was claimed by the Emperor Henry VI of Swabia, son of Fredrik ‘Barbarossa’, on the grounds of his marriage to Constance, daughter of Roger II. The last of the Hautevilles was sentenced to death. He was then succeeded as Emperor of Germany and King of Sicily by his son Frederick II, stupor mundi or the world’s astonishment, whose reign was marked by a prolonged struggle with the Papacy. His splendid court in Palermo, drawing on Islamic and Jewish as well as Christian cultures, became famous throughout Europe for its splendor and culture. The Swabian line ended with the beheading of Conradin in 1268.
Anjouins: The Pope invested Charles of Anjou with the crown of Naples and Sicily. The hated Anjouin rule was, however, soon terminated by the rebellion known as the Sicilian Vespers, which broke out at Palermo at the vesper hour on Easter Tuesday 1282. A French officer insulted a Sicilian bride on her way to a church while searching her for concealed weapons was immediately killed, and all Frenchmen in Palermo were massacred thereafter.
Aragonese: Every Sicilian town, except Sperlinga, followed suit by massacring or expelling the French garrison, and the Sicilians summoned Peter of Aragon to be their king. From that day for over four centuries Sicily was ruled by the Aragonese princes, Spanish and Bourbon kings, a period in which the rebellious spirit of the islanders laid dormant.
Spanish: By the 16th century, Charles V moved the centre of power towards the West of the Mediterranean. After the discovery of America, Sicily lost much of its strategic importance. Savoy and Habsburg: The 18th century saw the power on the island passing quickly from hand to hand, first to the Savoy family during 1713-20, then to the Habsburg during 1720-34.
Bourbons: In 1734 Sicily returned under Bourbon domination. After Napoleon failed to invade the island, the British established sound trade relationships with Sicily. After the uprising of 1848 against the Bourbons of Naples, the Sicily had a brief spell of constitutional government.
Savoy (Italians): In 1860 Garibaldi fired the imagination of the Sicilian people, landing at Marsala with his “Thousands” and led an attack against Naples, thus paving the way for the Italian unification. The tough Piedmontese rule of Prime Minister Cavour soon proved unpopular though.
The Northern Italian cities took up a dominant position over the South, and the economic status of Sicily was bound to lag a long way behind that of the rest of Italy. Violence also increased in the unbending interior. By 1900 Sicily was one of the main areas of emigration from Italy and 40 percent of Sicilians were still illiterate in 1931. The geographical position of Sicily meant that the Allies chose the island for their first important attack on the Axis in Europe. The occupation of Sicily by the Allies in 1943, the so-called Operation ‘Husky’, was accomplished in just 38 days.
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