SICILY THE CLASSICAL & JEWISH HERITAGE Sicily - the historic melting pot for various people and customs. A constantly changing landscape with crystal clear sea, volcanic mountains, wide forests, flowering fields and lush green vineyards in spring. Mythical Trinacria, the triangular shaped country of Sicily, was already inhabited in prehistoric times. The island has had the fortune of being ruled by different people of varying beliefs from north to south, resulting in a unique blend of elsewhere unknown architecture and art, influenced by, amongst others, Greeks, Arabs, Jews and Normans. It is exciting when you search for what is distinctive of each art form and then find out that this is neither Arabic, Jewish, Greek nor Byzantine - but truly Sicilian. Sicily's Jewish heritage goes back two thousand years. Ever since Roman times, there has been significant Jewish settlements on the island. It s known that the Romans brought Jews as slaves here after the destruction of Jerusalem in 63, but probably there was already a Jewish population living here even before that. Rabbi Akiva visited the city of Syracuse during one of his voyages. During the Middle Ages there were Jewish housing quarters, called giudecche, in fifty Sicilian cities and while Jews were persecuted in other parts of Southern Italy, they could live a normal life here. Under the tolerant rule of the Normans, Jewish society flourished in medicine, philosophy, literature and culture. Sicily has it all - wonderful beaches, beautiful scenery and magnificent cultural treasures. During late spring, the ever-present sea changes in all shades of blue and the flowering fields shine in all imaginable colors on the undulating hills preceding the mighty interior mountains. Time seems to have stood still here, amongst the small villages where the population live in a genuine way without stress from the modern world. The climate is one of the best in the Mediterranean so in this season you should be able to enjoy pleasantly warm weather. During this week we will get many impressions and will surely be intrigued by this beautiful island which has had so many rulers and been praised in poems and literature since ancient times.
Our tour will be led by our English speaking, very knowledgeable ciceron Mr Moshe Ben- Simon. Our comfortable hotels will be of Italian middle class standard in Palermo and Syracuse. PRELIMINAIRY ITINERARY Day 1 - Thursday 9 of May: Stockholm Palermo Those arriving with the flight from Stockholm, Gothenburg and Copenhagen are met by our English speaking guide and private bus transport for the transfer to our hotel in Palermo, hotel Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa. During the afternoon you will have time to stretch your legs after the flight and stroll in the city. We then meet for a walking sightseeing with our English speaking licensed Palermo guide. We will see parts of the historic center. Palermo was founded already in the 7th-century by the Phoenicians and is a city brimming of art history with UNESCO World heritage sites. We will stroll past majestic palaces with beautiful facades from different eras. In the evening we are served a welcome dinner. (D) Day 2 Friday 10 of May: Palermo After breakfast we will meet up with Moshe for an interesting city walk with the Jewish and Classical heritage on our agenda. More than 500 years after the Jews were expelled from Spain and Sicily, - when 30,000 Jews were forced to leave their homes in 1492, Jewish life in Sicily once again starts florishing. A former Christian church is turning into a synagogue, and the Archbishop of Palermo has received the Wallenberg Medal from the Wallenberg Endowment for saving the Jewish culture in Sicily. The morning's walk takes place in the neighborhoods where Sicily's largest Jewish community lived and around the area of Piazza Pretoria with the beautiful
facades of the church La Martorana. We will visit the Oratorio di Santa Maria del Sabato, on the small street Vicolo Meschita, which has recently become the city's synagogue. The city archives is a very important part of the tour and we will visit it. In Palermo there were two Mikveh, one at the old synagogue, which was destroyed to make way for the church of San Nicolò da Tolentino and the oldest one in the monastery Casa Professa. In its underground there are still remains of the baths. In the afternoon we will visit the Cathedral of Palermo and its chapel, from the 1100s, on the UNESCO's World Heritage List because of the magnificent mosaics. Every new ruler in Palermo tried to surpass the former one by hiring the best craftsmen to improve the cathedral and the result is astonishing. During our stay in Palermo, we will meet Evelyne Aouate, President of the Sicilian Institute of Jewish Studies, as well as a Delegate for Palermo section of the Jewish Community of Naples. Her work of tracing and visualizing the island's Jewish heritage is fascinating and we will learn from her studies. Return to the hotel. In the evening, a common Shabbat dinner is waiting. Our guest during dinner is Evelyn. (B/D) Day 3 Saturday 11 of May. Palermo Monreale Our day begins in the Zisa quarters where the Palazzo della Zisa, of Norman-Arabic origin, was built in the mid 12th- century. At that time this area was a remote and pristine rural area and the castle was built as a royal summer residence. This is the place where we have a very famous tombstone with texts in four languages, Hebrew, Latin, Greek and Arabic aswell as a Hebrew candelabra holder. We continue with a visit in the cathedral of Monreale, south from Palermo. The breathtaking golden mosaics from the 12 th and 13 th century depicts scenes from the Old and New Testament. In the Palazzo Reale we will enjoy the interior decoration of the cathedral s Palatine chapel. It is not only amazing but among the worlds finest examples of Byzantine art equal to those in Ravenna and Istambul. We will have lunch together during the visit. In the afternoon we will make a walking tour of the Kalsa quarters narrow alleys, passing through colorful folklore and small shops until we reach the church Chiesa della Magione. In its monastery there is a 14th century tombstone with Hebrew inscriptions. The day ends with a visit to the Palazzo Steri Chiaramonte, which was transformed from an uncomfortable medieval castle
into a luxurious patrician palace during the 14th century. The Spanish Viceroy lived here during the 16th century but in the coming centuries it became a customs office and the place of the infamous court of the Inquisition with adjacent prison. Since only a couple of years ago, Chanukka candles are lit outside the palace. The palace is today a part of the University, but from the time when it was a prison of the Inquisition, you can still see the prisoners' desperate inscriptions on the walls, many in Hebrew. The inquisition was particularly hard in Sicily and many of those who were burned to death were New Christian Jews who were accused of not being Christians in soul and heart. In the 1950s, the palace underwent extensive restoration under the guidance of the famous Italian architect Carlo Scarpa and became the seat for the city's university management. In the palace we can admire the renowned artist Renato Guttuso's famous work Vucciria from 1974, depicting the market with the same name in crisp colors. Evening at your own disposal. (B/D) Day 4 - Sunday 12 of May: Erice Trapani Marsala The medieval Erice was said to have had a Jewish quarter, a giudecca, but today few people know much about its former design and size. Pleasant Erice with narrow alleys and beautiful squares is an ancient city with ancestors of Phoenicians and Greeks, surrounded by walls with watch towers. Since all cultures around the Mediterranean passed through Erice, this city has become a melting pot of cultures and it is a special experience to visit the city, situated on a cliff above Trapani's beautiful bay. The Jewish heritage that is best preserved here is a gravestone and burial site, located between Trapani and Erice. Vast areas along the sea coast offers views of salines and in Mozia salt has been extracted since ancient times. The first basins were built about 3,000 years ago by the Phoenicians and the small island off the mainland, which can be seen in clear weather, is considered to be the first Phoenician and Punic settlements on the island. We have lunch in the area. Upon arrival to Marsala, we will visit a museum of Flemish tapestries from the 16th century, which some experts say represents the Jewish war that broke out in 66 AD, opposing the Roman occupation under Emperor Nero. Other experts claim that it is about the religious war between the Catholic emperors Karl V and Filip II of Spain and Protestants in the Netherlands and Germany. We will visit a well renowned enoteca in Marsala for a wine tasting. Return to Palermo and evening for your own use. (B/L) Day 5 Monday 13 of May: Palermo Piazza Armerina - Agira Syrakusa After breakfast we check out of our hotel and we leave Palermo to head across the mountaineous island to one of the pearls from the Roman era, the patrician villa of Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina. The royal family of Massiminianus Ercules spent a lot of time in tehir country house with terme, banquets and the mosaic floors were beautifully laid by North African artisans. The most famous of which are the Roman ladies in bikini. Lunch will be served before we continue to
Arkimedes city, Syracuse. During the overland tour, we will stay in Agira, where we will visit Europe's oldest Aron, which is very rare because it is made by stone instead of wood. Its original place was in Agira's synagogue, but since the synagogue was left to its desolation, the Aron is today kept in the church of Chiesa Collegiata del SS Salvatore. Arriving in Syracuse to the centrally located Gutkowski hotel, with official star category 3 but with 4-star service and good location in Syracuse s old town of Ortigia. (B/L/D) Day 6 Tuesday 14 of May: Syracuse through time Syracuse was one of Magna Gracia's most significant cities, and it was here that Archimedes proclaimed his famous "Eureka". Today we will enjoy this wonderfully beautiful city. In its cathedral, Santa Lucia's relics are preserved. She was born here in the 3rd century AD as a daughter in a wealthy family, but died of martyrdom in the early 300's. Santa Lucia is, of course, the city's patron saint, and on December 13 the city celebrates processions and other events. Syracuse was a powerful Greek colony, and here the mathematician and physicist Archimedes was born here in the late 280's BC. Archimedes was commissioned to produce weapons when Syracuse went into war with the Romans. In 1693, Syracuse suffered a powerful earthquake, and many of its old buildings were completely destroyed, that is the reason why the architecture seen today is primarily late Baroque and Renaissance style. The Jewish Assembly in Syracuse was the second largest on the island until the fateful day of 1492 when Emperor Ferdinand in Spain decided to expel all Jews from Sicily. The people were forced to choose between selling their entire property and leaving the island or converting into Christianity. The first Jewish settlement in Syracuse was in the Acradina quarter. Nearby is the new city - the archaeological area of Neapolis, where we make an interesting walk around the Roman Amphitheater and the ancient quarries - Le Latomie - with almost subtropical vegetation. We have lunch in Ortigia. The afternoon is devoted to the Jewish quarter of Syracuse's oldest district in its Old town the island of Ortigia. The giudecche of Syracuse are today called Via della Giudecca Street. Here were the homes, synagogues, schools and shops of the Jewish population and also several Mikveh, some of them are still here to be seen. (B/L) Day 7 Wednesday 15 of May: Volcano Etna - Taormina Majestic Etna is one of Europes most famous volcanoes, still active. Several poets and writers since Antiquity has written about it. We will travel to the crater rim of Silvestri and admire the powerful mountain before we continue down towards the sea for a visit in the charming city of Taormina. Taormina has been a popular tourist city since the 19th century when that eras noble men performing their Grand Tour. In the spring of 1767, Goethe visited the city and considered it the highlight of his journey in Italy. Taormina is located on Monte Tauroberget and built on a terrace between mountain and sea, loved by the royalty, writers, famous actors and politicians. Views to the mighty volcano Etna and to the sea, the abundant vegetation and its favorable climate make Taormina one of the most beautiful and romantic resorts in Sicily. We visit the well-preserved ancient theater, from which you have the classical view of the Mediterranean, Etna and the Italian mainland. There was also a Jewish quarter around the medieval monastery of San Domenico. In the evening we will enjoy our farewell dinner. (B/D)
Day 8 Thursday 16 of May: Syracuse Catania airport During the day those who have flights booked to Stockholm will travel home via Frankfurt. (B) TRAVEL FACTS Length of stay: 7N/8D: 9 16 May Base price per person in double room: 24.790 SEK Single room supplement: 4.390 SEK (limited) Double as single supplement: 5.590 SEK (limited) Flight deduction - land arrangement only 2.350 SEK Included in the basic price; returnflights from Stockholm/Goteborg/Copenhagen/to Palermo and return from Catania, flight supplements, transports according to the program, entrances and guiding according the program, 7 nights stay at good middle class hotels sharing in double room, 7 breakfasts, 4 lunches with wine/water, 1 shabbat dinner, 3 dinners with wine/water, a donation to the synagogue in Palermo, English speaking tour leader and English speaking licensed guides, tax. Not included anything not mentioned above. Our hotels (or similar) are : 9 13 of May: Hotel Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa, via Cartari 18, 901 33 Palermo Website: https://piazzaborsa.it/ 13 16 of May: Hotel Gutkowski, Lungomare di Levante Elio Vittorini 26, 961 00 Siracusa Website: http://www.guthotel.it/ The above rate in the base price is based on the flight tariffs and taxes valid in September 2018. We reserve ourselves for price and program changes outside our control and refer to Swedish current travel laws. For this trips implementation we require minimum 30 participants. Please read our Travel laws (only Swedish law applies) on FAVORITRESORs website: www.favoritresor.se For more information and reservation please contact: Annika Blixt, Favoritresor, phone: 08-660 18 00 FAVORIT Kultur och Temaresor AB Hornsbruksgatan 19, 4 tr 117 34 Stockholm tel. 08-660 18 00 www.favoritresor.se