Grand Tour Trip through Sicily

An event for members of the Augustus B. Sage Society of the American Numismatic Society

Saturday, 12 September – Saturday, 19 September 2015

The seventh annual Sage Society trip took members on a week-long tour of Sicily, offering them unusual opportunities to experience the wonders of this historic Mediterranean outpost. Led by Dr. Ute Wartenberg Kagan, ANS Executive Director, the tour started out in Palermo, in western Sicily, and ended in the east in Taormina just in time for the 15th International Numismatic Congress. Along with visits to such important coin cabinets as that of the museum in Siracusa, with its famous collection of Sicilian coins, the trip offered more than ample chances for tour-goers to immerse themselves in the multi-layered archaeological and artistic splendor of Sicily.

The journey took us through some of the most beautiful spots in Sicily, and traced a history forged by the land’s occupation by many great European powers throughout the centuries.

Included in the itinerary:

A private guided tour of the medieval castles of the mountaintop town of Erice and the historic hill town of Monreal, site of a great Norman cathedral.

A private tour of the Carthaginian colony of Mothia, on the striking island of San Pantaleo.

A visit to, and lunch at, the famed Ulmo winery in Sambuca di Sicilia.

A private tour of The Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, the “City of the Immortals,” site of eight ancient Greek structures from the 5th and 6th century B.C.

Extensive tours of Siracusa, a city with a complex history that ripples with the overlapping influences of Athens, Carthage, Rome, and Byzantium.

Stops at the baroque town of Noto and the fishing village of Marzamemi.

Finally, the trip ended at Taormina, a legendary resort that inspired the writings of D. H. Lawrence and Truman Capote with its medieval streets and second-century Greek theater.

Accommodations

• 3 nights at the four-star Hotel Principe di Villafranca in Palermo, a beautiful boutique hotel with a gourmet restaurant and private seaside beach.
• 1 night at the five-star Hotel Villa Athena in Agrigento, situated within the Archaeological Park of the Valley of the Temples.
• 4 nights at the lovely four-star Algila’ Ortigia Charme Hotel in Siracusa, located on the natural island of Ortigia.