Ancient Sicily

Even the most worldly surveyor of ancient civilisations is mesmerised by the monumental grandeur of Agrigento – “Athens with improvements”, according to one 19th century visitor. Our circuit of historical Sicily, starting in the heart of Palermo, travels via Agrigento and Syracuse to Taormina – Goethe’s “patch of paradise”, characterised by idyllic coastal vistas.

As well as absorbing the monumental magnificence of Sicily’s classical heritage, we will examine later cultural influences, from the extraordinary Arabo-Norman architecture of Palermo to the UNESCO-listed Norman-Byzantine cathedral of Monreale, built by William II.

Palermo, like Monreale, reveals a fusion of Islamic, Byzantine, Norman and Romanesque traditions. The city’s Palatine Chapel in the Palazzo dei Normanni is distinguished, above all, by its overwhelming Byzantine mosaics – mosaics that are rivalled by the golden masterpieces on display in the cathedral in Monreale.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus at Agrigento was amongst the largest in the entire Greek world, presenting an astonishing display of wealth and power. The highlights of Syracuse, “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all” in the opinion of Cicero, include the vast Archaeological Park and the island of Ortygia, where the Baroque façade of the cathedral barely conceals the Doric columns of the ancient Temple of Athena.

The Roman Villa del Casale at Piazza Armerina contains some of the finest mosaics in existence, with remarkable depictions of mythological figures and ancient life.

We will stay in hotels of four-star standard throughout the tour. 

This tour will be led by Philip Kenrick, MA, DPhil, an archaeologist who read Classics at Balliol College, Oxford, where he also gained his doctorate. Philip has worked on excavations near Agrigento in Sicily, and on other sites in Italy, Turkey and Jordan. Philip is a specialist in Roman pottery and has written archaeological guidebooks on Libya and Algeria.