Sicily: Crossroads of Civilizations - Download brochure (PDF 4.1 MB)
May 1-11, 2009 aboard the privately chartered M/V Callisto Request full trip information

General Description - Itinerary - Rates - Map - The Ship - Slide Show (7 Photos)

For more than 3,000 years, waves of new cultures, ideas, and artistic techniques have swept over Sicily, leaving in their wake sublime temples, great cities, captivating villages, and extraordinary works of art—as well as marvelous food and wine! Join Bonnywind Travel aboard the privately chartered Callisto for a very special itinerary in Sicily at the perfect time of year.

Begin in Palermo, Sicily, known for centuries as one of the great cities of the civilized world. Then explore this island that has hosted successive conquerors, each leaving their architectural and cultural marks. A Phoenician center of trade from the 8^th century BC, power shifted to the Greeks and then to the Romans. Eventually all of Sicily became part of the Byzantine Empire, and then the Arabs arrived in 831 AD. The Normans followed after that. Sicily played a pivotal role in wars between Spain and Turkey, and these influences as well as later Baroque touches still define the island’s broad appeal.

Our Sicilian circumnavigation, aboard the yacht Callisto, includes a treasure trove of riches—from the Doric temples of the ancient Greeks to the colossal public works of the Romans, to the exquisite architecture of the Moors, and the artistic mosaics and frescoes of the Byzantine era. We also discover Sicily’s inviting towns, including medieval Erice; picturesque Cefalu; and Monreale, with its Norman cathedral. Spring is the best time of the year in Sicily—when flowers carpet the countryside.