Sicily Photo Tour - Live it, Love it, Shoot it

26.04.2019 - 07.05.2019 Sicily | Nancy Ori photography, history, culture, life, travel, adventure, excursion, urban, landscape 4495 USD

Together you will explore Sicily's rich history, beauty, arts and culture. You will photograph and walk among some of the best-preserved Greek ruins in the world; Roman mosaics, baroque palaces, and UNESCO World Heritage Sites are steps away from our private transport. Hear the ancient myths on the sites where they happened, explore hilltop villages, enjoy Sicilian cuisine, and last but not least taste the Sicilian wine. We walk in the footsteps of monsters and heroes, from Cyclops, Odysseus, Aeneas, Sappho, Empedocles, Theocritus, and Archimedes, to Bellini, Garibaldi, and WWII allied armies, Mafia dons, Giovanni Falcone, and Inspector Montalbano. As the greatest scholars and travelers have known, Sicily is the key to understanding Italy and our Greco-Roman Heritage: “Italy without Sicily leaves no image in the soul: here is the key to everything.” Goethe, in Palermo, April 13, 1787.

The Strabo Photo Tour Collection is proud to announce a special tour to Sicily, led by accomplished photographer and instructor Nancy Ori. The trip consists of the historic city center of Palermo and the seaside villages of Catellammare and Scopello. The ancient Greek Ruins of Agrigento and Segesta, Marsala, the saltpans of Saline, and the old quarter of Trapani are waiting for us. Lastly move on to the South East corner of Sicily with the ancient city center of Siracusa, Ortigia, the honey-gold baroque UNESCO world heritage site of Noto and charming hill town of Ragusa.

We always welcome significant others and friends who are not photographers to share this rewarding experience overflowing with history, beauty, fun, and a chance to savor the flavors of this amazing region. Guests
are certain to have an equally wonderful time and are welcome as an integral part of the workshop.
There are interesting aspects of Sicilian life waiting to be explored in every location. The trip’s leisurely pace will provide ample opportunity to wander through medieval hill towns, and feast on the renowned regional foods and wines. Nancy enjoys the structure of a well-organized workshop but with the freedom to stop along the way for any interesting photographic opportunity. We will also need to remain flexible for changes in the weather. The accommodations that have been chosen for us combine simple elegance with excellent locations near your photographic opportunities. Focus and pace of the trip. Each of the areas we will visit has something unique to offer. We will have time to explore them with our cameras with out rushing. The trip is suitable for virtually every level of photographer with any special interest. Anyone who is reasonably fit and in good health should be able to participate easily. The majority of time will be spent walking in hill towns and amidst Greek & Roman ruins. As in all our tours we walk at a photographer’s pace.
Some of the sites will be rocky, with uneven surfaces, or steps to reach a particular vantage point. Please call us at 607-756-8676 if you have any specific questions on fitness or health.

Itinerary

April 26 Home
Depart home today on your overnight flight to Palermo, Sicily, likely connecting in Rome.
(meals on plane)
Please note Your airline schedule will be multicity, flying in to Palermo (PMO), and home from
Catania (CTA).


April 27-29 Palermo
Arrive by early afternoon today and be transferred to your hotel. The city center of Palermo is approximately an hour away from the airport. Enjoy an afternoon walking tour of the incredible sites of old Palermo, including matchless gems like the Palatine Chapel and La Martorana. Photograph as you make your way to a lovely restaurant for your welcome dinner, followed by a photography session from a hotel terrace. Enjoy an early morning photography walk with Nancy, followed by breakfast. Meet your local guide and continue with the sights and sounds of Palermo, capturing photo opportunities at the Capo or Vucciria Market, Piazza San Domenico, and Arab district of La Kalsa. If time permits we will also visit the Palermo Cathedral and the Cappella Palatina. Take a day trip by private coach to the beautiful coastal towns of Castellamare and Scopello in the Northwest corner of Sicily. Home to beautiful idyllic beaches, with one of the islands most perfect views. Overnight Palermo. Overnights Palermo (D; B; B)


APRIL 30 & MAY 1 Marsala
Depart Palermo after breakfast and photograph the incomparably beautiful temple at the Segesta archeological site. Continue on to the old quarter of Marsala for the next two evenings. There will be an early evening photography walk with Nancy. You will have a day trip from Marsala with photography in Trapani and Erice. You will tour the ancient mountaintop town founded by Aphrodite and ruled by Hercules, where a cult of sex once flourished. Erice is a walled medieval town sitting 750 m above sea level. Photograph in the maze of streets and with good weather views of the coastline below. Late this afternoon reach the salt flats and romantic windmills of far western Sicily, taking in the story of the lagoon, the flamingos if migrating through, and the color & shadow of the salt flats in the setting sun. Overnight Marsala (B, D; B, L)

May 2 Agrigento
Enjoy your last morning photography session in Marsala. Return to the hotel for breakfast and then make your way to southern Sicily to the ruins of Agrigento. Check in to your hotel with views of the ancient that you will photograph late this afternoon, concentrating on Tempio di Hera and Tempio della Concordia. We will walk the row of temples that are similar to those in Greece. Overnight Agrigento (B)

May 3 & 4 Ragusa Ibla - Noto
Have a leisurely breakfast this morning and move on with your local guide to the charming hill town of Ragusa Ibla, one of the most picturesque towns of Sicily. Close by is Noto, a UNESCO world heritage site of honey-gold baroque. Drive out into the country for lunch at a dairy farm where Ornella and her farmer husband Salvo treat us to produce of the farm. Given time you will visit the charming town of Modica where chocolate is made in the traditional Aztec way brought to us by the Spaniards. You will overnight in overnight Ragusa Ibla (B, L; B, L)

May 5 & 6 Ortigia, Siracusa
There will be another photo shoot early this morning with Nancy, returning to the hotel for breakfast. Continue your journey east and make your way towards Siracusa. There will be photo opportunities in the ancient city center of Siracusa, the ancient Greek superpower of Syracuse. Ortigia is the finest least spoiled old town, with its resonances of light, stone, and sea. Enjoy photographing the narrow lanes of this historical city.
The next day enjoy a leisurely breakfast, followed by another walking tour with Nancy and your cultural guide in this amazing city. Photograph amidst the Jewish quarter and Arethusa fountain. Overnight Siracusa (B, D; B, L)

May 7 Home
Depart Siracusa this morning in time to reach the Catania Airport, where you will start your journey home (group transfer time to be announced).

Sicily Photo Tour - Live it, Love it, Shoot it
Nancy Ori