Sicily from A to Z – THE SOUL OF ITALY – by flight from Varna

Information meeting with your hotel representative. Free time for beach and entertainment or visit Ragusa on your own.

Free time for beach and entertainment or full day excursion optional: Etna and Taormina.
Early departure from the hotel. Etna is the highest active volcano in Europe. Ascent by bus to 1910 m. Free time with the opportunity to walk on the side craters "Silvestri", which were active in 1986, to buy souvenirs made of lava in one of the many shops, to taste honey from Dzaferana or the brandy "Fire of Etna". Optional access to the "Philosopher's Tower" at the foot of the four active craters at an altitude of about 2,900 metres by ropeway and jeeps (weather conditions only). /Payable locally extra/.
Ticket for the cable car and jeeps - 69 euro/45 euro (4 - 12 years)
Warm clothes and comfortable shoes are recommended, for an extra climb, a warm jacket can be rented locally (3 euros).
Departure to Catania. A walking tour through the picturesque streets of the rich.
Return to the hotel for dinner.

Free time for beach and entertainment or half day excursion optional: Modica.
Departure from the hotel to visit the city of Modica. Modica is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The city was founded by the Siculi around the 7th century BC. н. е. It was later occupied by the Romans. In 845 it was conquered by the Normans. In the 13th and 14th centuries it was under Spanish rule under the counts of the Gualtieri family. In the following centuries this position was inherited successively by 6 other Italian families. Modica was ruled, like the rest of Sicily, by a Spanish king from
Palermo. This situation remained until the 18th century, when the island of Sicily was ruled by Vienna, and later in the late 18th and early 19th centuries it was part of the Kingdom of Sicily. Centuries ago, the Spaniards brought the cacao seed from Mexico. Since then, the tradition and ritual of obtaining chocolate at low temperature has been preserved in Modica. It is grainy, as the cocoa is processed at no more than 50 degrees and the sugar is preserved whole. But, what no one has ever dreamed of is chocolate with salt. There are many different types: with fruits and fillings, with chilli peppers, but with salt is something unique in terms of realization and taste. Visit to the workshop for demonstration and tasting. Walking tour in the old part of the city, where the two cathedrals of the St. George", which houses part of the relics of St. George the Victorious and is an example of Sicilian Baroque, and "St. Peter", which houses the rare image of Jesus Christ in a skirt. Free time for an independent walk and the opportunity to taste the Modican "Baroque coffee".
Departure for Shikli. Walk along the central Via Francesco Mormina Pena, a charming street on both sides of which are the most fantastic baroque buildings in the city: palaces, churches, public buildings, ordinary private homes. Among them is the Palazzo Spadaro, built in the XVII-XVIII centuries with a magnificent staircase, ceramic floors from Caltagirone, frescoes and paintings with mythological characters, some of them painted by Raffaele Scalia in the 1920s and 1930s. The Spadaro family residence (a wealthy clan from Modica) has eight exquisite balconies, with ornately carved cornices and wrought-iron railings - handy for grabbing by the ladies who came out to observe life in Shikli. The Palazzo Beneventano represents a masterpiece of the human creative genius of the late Baroque period. The 18th century church of St. Vertholomew, designated as a church of rare beauty. Of great interest is the canvas on the altarpiece depicting the "Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew" by Francesco Pascucci dated 1779.
Shikli is the city of Commissioner Montalbano. The hit Italian crime series "Commissario Montalbano" is based on the novels by Andrea Camilleri and has already been shown in 65 countries.
Return to the hotel for dinner.

Free time for beach and entertainment or full day excursion optional: Syracuse and Noto.
Syracuse is the most famous Greek colony in the Mediterranean. Once described by Cicero as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of all". It was also the birthplace of Archimedes. Visit with a local guide the historical centre, Ortigia Island, under the protection of UNESCO. The walking tour starts from the Temple of Apollo, the oldest Doric temple in Sicily dating back to the 6th century BC, Archimedes Square, Il Duomo Square with its magnificent cathedral and the Church of St. Lucia, where the original of one of Caravaggio's great canvases "The Burial of St. Lucia" is located. The tour ends at the spring of Arethusa, where you will learn the legend of eternal love.

Free time with the option to take a boat trip around the island or to the sea caves, visit the Archimedes Museum or the Bellomo Museum, or take a walk in the 13th-century port fortress of Castello-Maniace in Syracuse.

In the early afternoon we head to Noto, billed as the perfect baroque town. A true jewel of the Baroque, listed by UNESCO. Tourist program with a local guide along the main street, on both sides of which are the churches with the monasteries, the Cathedral, Palazzo Nicolaci with the most beautiful baroque balconies in the world.
Free time with the opportunity to visit Palazzo Nicolaci, the estate of wealthy tuna merchants.

Free time for beach and entertainment or full day excursion optional: Catania

Free time for beach and entertainment or optional excursion: Agrigento.

Transfer to the airport for approximately 2 hours. Flight to Bulgaria.