And what will you be doing in Sicily, you ask? 

If you like you can begin your day with a gentle group practice of pranayama and meditation. This will be followed by an optional yoga class.

During the afternoons, you’ll be invited to immerse yourself in lively group discussions.

Before dinner each afternoon, Diana offers her  Reiki Healing sessions.  Emma, our local massage therapist, will be available for you to relax and enliven your body with a massage.

Our partner, Elio, will be joining us for dinner each evening which is prepared by our personal chef, Ricky along with his wife..  As we feast on another delicious presentation of Sicilian cuisine, we can all share our day’s delights.

Our guided excursions for the first week are:

1. A full-day trip to the UNESCO site Mt. Etna with a guided volcanologist tour to the summit.
   • We will visit the Silvestri Craters and if you like you may join us for a short meditation and yoga practice.
   • We stop at a honey and wine shop for a tasting on our way back to the villa.
2. A half-day trip to the beautiful city of Catania and its bustling market.
   • Catania is an ancient port city on Sicily’s east coast. The city’s wide central square, Piazza del Duomo, features the whimsical Fontana dell’Elefante statue and richly decorated Catania Cathedral.
   • At La Pescheria, the weekday fish market where we will purchase the ingredients for that evening’s dinner.
3. A full-day trip to Syracuse and the ruins.
   • Become inspired by the beauty and resilience of Syracuse, the land of myths and legends. We will visit the Greek and Roman ruins and spend time in the old city.
   • There is a boat ride around Ortygia Island included while we are in Syracuse.
4. A full-day trip to Palermo where we will be able to purchase something to eat at the famous Ballaro Market and enjoy like a true Sicilian.
   • Palermo is the capital of the Italian island of Sicily. The 12th-century Palermo Cathedral houses royal tombs, while the huge neoclassical Teatro Massimo is known for opera performances. Also in the center are the Palazzo dei Normanni, a royal palace started in the 9th century, and the Cappella Palatina, with Byzantine mosaics.

The excursions for the second week are:

1. A full-day trip to Armerina to see the remains of the Villa Romana dei Casale and a visit to the Sicily Outlet Village.
   • Piazza Armerina is home to the Roman Villa dei Casale and its famous mosaics, the ‘finest mosaics in situ anywhere in the Roman world,’ as described by UNESCO, which inserted it into its World Heritage list in 1997.  Villa Romana was a lavish patrician residence built at the center of a huge agricultural estate at the end of the 4th century AD. It is thought to have belonged to a member of the Roman senatorial aristocracy, who traded in exotic animals.
   • After visiting the Villa, we will stop at the large Sicily Outlet Village https://www.siciliaoutletvillage.com/en/
2. A half-day trip to Acitrezza Acicastello on the Ionian Sea with a boat ride (and possible swimming).
   • Acitrezza, a village of Acicastello, is a small, very charming fishing village. The landscape is dominated by the 8 Faraglioni (volcanic stacks), and lava cliffs that were formed before Etna.  These cliffs inspired the Odes of Homer for his Odyssey.  The seaside town of Acicastello is among the most famous and sought after of eastern Sicily. It maintains a unique charm with its clear waters of the sea heaving themselves onto ridges of lava stone in the shadows of the Norman castle from which the town takes its name.
3. A full-day trip to Taormina and Savoca (the town of Godfather fame).
   • Enjoy some retail therapy in Taormina, you’ll surely find the perfect treasure to bring home while strolling through the streets exploring all the shops!
   • On the way back to the villa,  we stop in Savoca, the town of “The Godfather” fame.  This is the town where Michael Corleone becomes love-struck with Apollonia Vitelli in the movie.
4. A full-day trip to the Valley of the Temples and the Scala dei Turci.
   • The Valley of the Temples is certainly the most important testimony of the ancient, classical culture of Sicily. It brings together the temples of gods goddesses as well as the area of the necropolis and sanctuaries outside the walls.  This splendid archaeological park consists of eight temples (and various other remains) built between about 510 BCE and 430 BCE. The Valley of the Temples site was recognized by UNESCO in 1997.
   • The Scala dei Turchi, or Stairs of the Turks, is a rocky cliff on the coast of southern Sicily. It has become a tourist attraction, partly due to its mention in Andrea Camilleri’s series of detective stories about Commissario Montalbano.

For more information check our website https://charetreats.com/under-the-sicilian-sun/ or call us at +1.201.805.5570.  We guarantee you won’t regret joining our Eat. Sip & Connect Under the Sicilian Sun vacation retreat.