Jewish Heritage of Sicily Tour

Jewish Heritage of Sicily Tour

Hosted by Rabbi Simeon Cohen and Dr. Ariel Fine

January 5-15, 2025

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Don’t miss out! Space is still available.

Day 1 Depart USA on and overnight flight to Palermo Italy

DAY 2 – MONDAY, JANUARY 6^TH, 2025: PALERMO

Touring today will depend on the time of arrival
Estimated arrival TIME: 2:15 PM

Meet your private English-speaking driver assistant in the arrival hall, after you’ve cleared customs and collected your luggage. We will have a short orientation city tour
Welcome to Palermo! Our orientation city tour will give you a taste of this vibrant Sicilian capital, rich in history and culture. With your private bus and guide, you will drive around some of the most famous monuments of Palermo before checking in to your hotel.
First, we will take a guided walking tour of what was previously the historic Jewish quarter.
Next, we pass through the intersection known as Quattro Canti (Four Corners), where the city’s four main streets meet. Admire the Baroque facades and intricate sculptures at each corner, representing the seasons, Spanish kings, and patron saints.
Our tour continues to Teatro Massimo, one of Europe’s most prominent opera houses. Admire its grand neoclassical architecture and learn about its fascinating history, including its role in Sicilian culture and society.

Throughout the tour, our guide will provide insights into Palermo’s history, from its Phoenician origins to its medieval splendor and modern-day life. We hope you enjoy this introduction to one of Italy’s most captivating cities!

Return to hotel
Welcome dinner and orientation

Overnight: Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa

DAY 3 – TUESDAY, JANUARY 7^th, 2025: PALERMO

Breakfast in the hotel
Depart on a fascinating full-day exploration of Sicilian culture and cuisine.

Palermo, which stretches along a beautiful bay on the Tyrrhenian Sea, was founded by the Phoenicians in the 7th and 8th centuries B.C. It was later conquered by Arabs in 831, and a period of immense prosperity commenced.

You’ll begin with a visit to the Il Capo Market, the oldest in Palermo, where you will experience and taste the famous Palermo Street food, such as panelle, arancine, crocchette and Pani Ca Meusa. Admire colorful stalls featuring abundant fruit, vegetables, seafood and meats, as the sellers’ cries bid for your attention.
We will check out the lively square of Piazza Pretoria, dominated by the stunning Fontana Pretoria, a 16th-century fountain adorned with mythological figures. Historic buildings surround the square, showcasing Palermo’s architectural beauty.
Visit La Martorana, a jewel of 12th-century Norman Sicilian architecture with Byzantine mosaics, Arabic inscriptions, and marble decorations. It is the primary subject of Dr. Fein’s research; enjoy a guided tour with the expert.
You will be enchanted by Palermo’s wide boulevards, traditional Sicilian Old Quarter, and Baroque palaces, visiting the city’s main sights, including the Norman section, Quattro Canti di Citta’ (the Four Corners of the City), Palermo’s extravagant Baroque square and the 12th-century Cathedral of Palermo
In the afternoon, drive to Monreale to discover the Arab-Norman splendor of the Monreale Cathedral and Cloister. This nearby treasure, dating from the 12th century, shows the diverse architectural influences of the Normans and the Arab population.
Kosher or Vegetarian dinner in Palermo
Return to your hotel for a restful night

Overnight: Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa

DAY 4 – WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8^th, 2025: PALERMO

Breakfast at the hotel
Embark on a full-day excursion to Corleone, a small town on the hills of Palermo, with notable medieval remnants, Baroque churches, and palazzi.

Its fame is attributed to Francis Ford Coppola’s mafia character, Don Vito’s last name in The Godfather. Corleone is also linked to a rivalry between Cosa Nostra families and the subsequent mafia wars that wreaked havoc in the Sixties and Eighties.
Since 2000, as a sign of liberation from the Mafia-promoted culture, the city has been the seat of the CIDMA, a museum and documentation center recounting the history of Cosa Nostra and the efforts of law enforcement that led to a maxi-trial lasting from 1986 to 1992.

Visit the museum, where you’ll see all the documents related to the trial, exhibited pictures by photojournalist Letizia Battaglia, who documented Mafia crimes in the 1970s and 1980s, and a memorial to some of the victims. Your guide will share stories and provide context so you can fully appreciate the experience.

Learn of the many acres of land requisitioned from organized crime and assigned to local entrepreneurs to support and encourage conscious consumerism and sustainable development.

You’ll then stop for lunch at one of the local farmhouses and indulge in a traditional lunch prepared with strictly local ingredients.
After this unique experience, rejoin your driver for a return transfer to your hotel.
Kosher or Vegetarian dinner in Palermo

Overnight: Grand Hotel Piazza Borsa

DAY 5 – THURSDAY, JANUARY 9^TH, 2025: PALERMO TO CATANIA

Breakfast at hotel
Embark on a full-day tour of the Valley of the Temples
You’ll first head to the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Valley of the Temples, one of the must-see highlights of Sicily.

A testimony to the presence of ancient Greeks in southern Italy, you’ll witness and visit temples dating back to the 5th century BC along the Sacred Way, including the Temple of Juno, the Temple of Concordia, the Temple of Zeus, and the Temple of the Dioscuri.

On route to Catania, stop in Agira and take time to visit the old Aron Hakodesh (“Holy Ark”)
Return to your hotel to rest and refresh
Kosher or Vegetarian dinner in Catania

Overnight: NH Catania Centro

DAY 6 – FRIDAY, JANUARY 10^th, 2025: CATANIA

Breakfast at the hotel
Today, we set out on a full-day discovery of the magnificent Mount Etna, the tallest active volcano in Southern Europe, coupled with a visit to the enchanting town of Taormina.
Your private driver and guide will pick you up for a journey into the core of Mount Etna.

According to Greek mythology, Hephaestus and his Cyclops forged Zeus’ thunderbolt in its depths. This imposing mountain has shaped the landscape here, and nature thrives on the fertile volcanic soil.

Enjoy an effortless hike on the edge of an extinguished side crater, marveling at dramatic views and listening to the commentary delivered by your guide; you’ll reach an altitude of 6550 ft (2000 m). Stop from time to time to soak up its magnificence.
Leave Mount Etna and stop for a delightful local tasting of arancini and cannoli accompanied by a glass of wine before heading to Taormina.
Embark on a walking tour that will reveal the alluring overlap of the city’s charm and history, combined with breathtaking scenery. Stroll the cobbled streets lined with beautiful shops and boutiques before reaching the ancient theater, built in the 3rd century by the Greeks and renewed by the Romans when they took control of Sicily. Once a dramatic setting for Greek tragedies, the theater is now a seat of theater festivals and special events.
Via Giudecca and Via degli Ebrei are the heart of the ancient ghetto, inhabited until the end of the 15th century by one of the most numerous and prosperous Jewish communities in Sicily and whose origins date back to the flourishing medieval period when the city was at the center of Mediterranean trade.

At the time of the expulsion of the Jews in 1492, the community numbered about 2000 people and enjoyed special privileges: the first Jewish coral craftsmen, for example, had houses outside the ghetto and were free to move about the city.
Today, the Jewish memory remains in the name of the main building, the Giudecca Palace, also known as “lo Spedaletto”. It was built in the 16th century by the Ciambra family and later remodeled. The sizeable arched portal and a façade of diamond-pointed ashlar and Catalan-derived windows remain.

Conclude your mesmerizing experience and return to the hotel to refresh
TBD Tonight, you will conduct your own Shabbat evening service in the hotel
Festive Shabbat Dinner

Overnight: NH Catania Centro

DAY 7 – SATURDAY, JANUARY 11^th, 2025: CATANIA

Breakfast at the hotel
Optional Shabbat morning services
Shabbat lunch
Optional afternoon walking tour. Set out into the heart of Catania, starting from the magnificent Piazza del Duomo, you’ll marvel at the U’ Liotru, the elephant fountain, and an iconic symbol of Catania’s protection from Mount Etna’s eruptions.

Nestled between Mount Etna and the coast, Catania is a lively, beautiful city with a rich history. The Jews lived in the north-western area of the city in two separate areas: the first was known as “Judeca Suprana”. It was between the Bastione degli Infetti, the Bastione del Tindaro and the bastions of San Giovanni and San Euplio (now called Santa Barbara and Recupero). The second was “Judeca Suctana” and was situated along the Amenano river, known as the Judicello, in the area between Via degli Orfanelli, Via Pozzo Canale, Vicolo degli Angeli, S. Giovanni dei Barilari and the d’Immezzo quarter, now called Piazza San Francesco d’Assisi.
The city, and the entire Jewish area with it, was buried in lava when Mount Etna erupted in 1669 and destroyed by the subsequent earthquake in 1693.

Visit Teatro Bellini and marvel at this magnificent auditorium with marble statues and frescoes as you wander inside. Continue to the Roman theater, which is astonishingly well-preserved.
Revel at the Cathedral, dedicated to St Agatha, the city’s patron saint. Built-in the 11th century, it underwent significant restorations after the 1693 earthquake and today displays a magnificent Baroque façade, with some outer walls from the 11th century still visible.
From the Cathedral, continue via Etnea, a central pedestrian road lined with many shops and cafes, where you may continue with independent exploration or return to your hotel.
Dinner on own
Havdalah with Rabbi Cohen

Overnight: NH Catania Centro

DAY 8 – SUNDAY, JANUARY 12^th, 2025: CATANIA TO SYRACUSE

Breakfast at the hotel
Set out on a guided walk of Syracuse‘s archaeological site, visiting the undisputed main attraction- the massive, 2,500-year-old Greek theater built to accommodate up to 15,000 spectators.
Nearby, the old stone quarries are host to the famous “Ear of Dionysius”, a slender arch cave cut into the rock face that is said to have been used by Dionysius the Tyrant as a prison for his most hated enemies.
Lunch on own
Admire a Roman amphitheater and altar from the 3rd century BC, where ancient spectacles of blood-curdling violence would occur.
On Syracuse’s Ortigia Island, you’ll be led on a walking tour through 2,500 years of history, encompassing Greek, Roman, and Norman influences, with a bounty of understated Baroque architecture.
Visit Europe’s oldest surviving mikveh, a ritual bath of Jewish tradition that underlines Judaism’s foothold in Sicily before the arrival of Christianity.
Return to your hotel
Dinner on own

Overnight: UNA Hotels Siracusa

DAY 9 – MONDAY, JANUARY 13^TH, 2025: SYRACUSE

Breakfast at the hotel
Depart Catania for a full-day experience of Sicilian ancient heritage: Tour Ragusa and the labyrinthine streets in the ancient hill town of neighboring Ragusa Ibla.
Lunch on own
On arrival in Noto, set out into the city, once heavily affected by an earthquake in 1963; it became a perfect, unique model of a Sicilian Baroque city after its rebirth.

With its opulent architecture and surfeit of beauty, it fully deserves the title of “Capital of Baroque”. The ancient city of Noto, on the plateau of Mount Alveria, was once home to a flourishing Jewish community which left the only known Sicilian siddur!

Set out for Ancient Noto, where you will explore the Jewish catacombs
You will be transferred to your hotel in Syracuse
Dinner on own

Overnight: UNA Hotels Siracusa

DAY 10 – TUESDAY, JANUARY 14^th, 2025: SYRACUSE

Breakfast at the hotel
Enjoy Syracuse’s unique and authentic food experience alongside your fabulous host, a prized local food and cooking enthusiast.
Make your way independently to the Ortigia Open Market, filled with abundant fresh fish and vegetables, where you’ll meet your host.

Here, collect all the necessary ingredients for a home cooking class, picking up items tantalizing your senses.

Ingredients in tow, continue foot to a classic Sicilian kitchen for an entertaining cooking class.

Under the guidance of an expert, hone your techniques as you experiment with classic Sicilian flavors and ingredients. As you chop and select the perfect spices, listen to your chef’s stories and secrets as the kitchen scents float around you.

The warm hospitality continues as you sit for a genuinely authentic home-cooked meal with a glass of local red or white wine.
This afternoon, enjoy time at leisure to explore at your own pace or relax at your hotel.
Farewell Dinner