Study tour to Palermo and the West of Sicily
Sunday 19 April to Sunday 26 April, 2020
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak this tour has had to be postponed to Spring 2021.
Early summer is delightful in Sicily, so a week in Palermo and the westernmost parts of the island is an appealing idea. Our seven day trip includes landscapes, gardens and architecture from the Norman occupation of Sicily up to 20thcentury, but also representatives of Phoenician, Elymian and Greek remains from the 5thcentury BC. We shall spend 5 nights in Palermo and 2 nights in Trapani, and visit, in addition, Bagheria, Segesta, Erice, Marsala, Mozia, Mazara and Selinunte.
After our successful trip to Western Sicily this spring (2019), Robert Peel and Cassandra Funsten are preparing another trip for members of the Gardens Trust there in 2020. It is being planned to begin the Sunday after Easter for a week. The same programme of visits will be included, with five nights in Palermo, a day in Bagheria, and two nights in Trapani, from where to visit Segesta, Mozia, Marsala, Mazara and Selinunte.
The aim is to give a full appreciation of the range of landscapes and gardens in western Sicily and the architectural heritage in its varied manifestations through the centuries, from classical Greek, through Norman, medieval, baroque, neo-classical and Liberty style. Its climate permits a hedonistic mix of Mediterranean and exotic plants from temperate and tropical parts of other continents, as well as a rich range of wild flowers, especially prominent in the archaeological sites we visit.
Gracious aristocratic villas and their historic surroundings will compete for your interest with Norman pleasure palaces and churches adorned with mosaics. We shall visit Baroque and Art Nouveau buildings, the Palermo Botanic Gardens and other luxuriant green spaces, both private and public, displaying a huge range of exotic plants in this frost free location. A private garden belonging to the Whitakers, the English family who led the Marsala wine trade and paid for the initial excavations of Phoenician Mozia, is also included.
Cassandra is based in Palermo and her knowledge of the gardens and plants of the city allows a thorough appreciation of the art and botany of its designed landscapes”
FULLY BOOKED
The price, which pre-supposes a minimum of 20 participants, will be around €1600 per person sharing a room (about £1450 at current exchange rates) and includes all bed and breakfast in 4* hotels, all lunches and dinners, all land transport as part of the itinerary, all site entries and the services of English-speaking guides. It does not include air transport to Sicily. The single room supplement is around €250 (about £220).
NB. Prices can only be approximate at this stage…
Please contact Robert Peel for a fuller programme and details and application form.
The travel agents we are using are Trinchese, an Italian company which has been used successfully before.