Messina

We'll take you to the slopes of Etna to see close up the 1992 lava flow, which was a serious threat to the inhabitants of the village of Zafferana, and today explains better than any book what living next to an active volcano means. After the visit, there's a change of atmosphere: you'll visit a historic winery, where the wines of Etna and local products await, including the famous Etna honey. A day combining the energy of the Volcano with authentic flavors.

• Visit to the 1992 lava flow
• Tales of Etna's history and activity
• Visit to a historic, family-run winery
• Tasting of Etna wines
• Tasting of the local honey and products

The day begins on the slopes of Etna, where nature has recorded one of its most famous events: the 1992 lava flow. It's here that you'll understand what it means to live alongside an active volcano. The lava has clearly left its mark, powerful, sculpted, and walking next it to you'll have a feeling that only Etna can convey: all is calm around you, and below there is a story that is bubbling away.

You guide will tell you how the eruption took place, its risks and how the inhabitants were able to protect their villages. It's a place that speaks for itself. A landscape that looks like it were from another geography.

The pace then changes and its time to taste the flavors of Etna: you'll visit a historic, family-run winery where wine and honey are not just products, but traditions. Here, you can enjoy tastings of Etna wines, made from grapes grown on volcanic soil, giving them a unique character, along with local fragrant and intensely-flavored honeys, just like the landscape they come from.

A leisurely, genuine experience, perfect after the power of the lava flow.You'll depart, with the feeling you saw two sides of Etna: powerful and nurturing.

• Wear comfortable shoes and clothing suitable for the experience.

Discover Messina by touring its most iconic monuments. From the largest Sicilian theater to the Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani Church and the Church Cristo Re, which has a connection with Richard the Lionheart. Gaze out over the Strait of Messina and its legends, not forgetting the Norman Cathedral, a symbol of the city.

• Panoramic bus tour of the city center: Town Hall, Vittorio Emanuele Theater, Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani Church (external visit), Church of Cristo Re, Messina Court of Appeal, University  
• View of the Strait of Messina
• Norman Cathedral

• Set off to conquer Messina, the longest city in Italy, with a 50-kilometer coastline.
• The bus will take you on a tour around the iconic monuments of the city: from the Vittorio Emanuele theater, the biggest in Sicily, to Palazzo Zanca, seat of the Town Hall and the Senatorial Fountain.
• Feast your eyes on the exterior of Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani Church, before proceeding to the Court of Appeal, the University of Messina and the Church of Cristo Re, built over an ancient castle that hosted Richard the Lionheart and his men on their way to the Holy Land during the Third Crusade.
• Your on-the-road tour continues to Cape Peloro and then prepare to be amazed by the view of the Strait of Messina, the mythological land of Scylla and Charybdis. If the sea is calm, you may see the "Fata Morgana", an evocative mirage of a fairy that appears on the water.
• The last stop is a must: the Norman Cathedral with the adjacent square and the old town. Messina is an open book to you now.

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Join us on our “passiata” through Messina: a guided walk among the iconic sites of the city, from the historic port to the Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani Church and on to the Cathedral, which houses many treasures. After listening to the roar of a golden lion, discover the city's Liberty architecture in the Vittorio Emanuele III Gallery and along Via Garibaldi.

 Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani Church: external visit  Messina Cathedral * Vittorio Emanuele III Gallery * Piazza dell’Università * Via Garibaldi with its Liberty buildings

• Your adventure in the city known as the gateway to Sicily starts from the unmistakeable hook-shaped port that led to Messina being known in ancient times as “Zancle”, scythe in Sicilian.
• Leave the stele of Madonna della Lettera and the Santissimo Salvatore Fort behind you and continue your walk to Santissima Annunziata dei Catalani Church, the first in the city, with stunning Arab-Norman façades to admire.
• It's time to enter the Santa Maria Assunta Cathedral, a treasure trove of rare works of art, including the second biggest organ in Italy, with no less than 16,000 pipes.
• As you leave the cathedral square, look up at the bell tower and you'll see the biggest astronomical clock in the world, which includes a perpetual calendar, zodiac and even a roaring lion.
• The walk continues among the city's monuments: the Vittorio Emanuele III Gallery, with its skylights and stained glass, Piazza dell'Università and Via Garibaldi, with its historic Liberty-style buildings.

• We recommend wearing comfortable shoes and clothing.
• This excursion takes place entirely on foot from the ship to the city centre. It is therefore not recommended for guests with mobility problems.

Have you ever taken a stroll on a volcano? Our guide will take you to Mount Etna: from the woods and crops at its feet all the way up to the famous Silvestri Craters, covered with dark lava ash. Walk along paths through a lunar landscape, a masterpiece of Mother Nature... or perhaps of a legendary and very resentful giant.

• Mount Etna
• Mediterranean woods, vineyards and valleys of stratified lava
• Silvestri Craters, 2000 meters above sea level

• With the port of Messina behind you, look up 3300 meters to the summit of Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe. Accompanied by the guide, you'll discover its fiery history dating back 2700 years.
• A history that begins on the lower green slopes of the volcano, carpeted with citrus groves, vineyards and dense Mediterranean scrub. As you climb, you'll see the landscape change and become increasingly barren, until you reach the valleys of layered lava.
• Once you've climbed 2000 meters you'll have reached your destination. It's time to get your camera out to capture the famous Silvestri Craters north of Nicolosi, created by the eruption of 1892.
• Take all the time you need to walk the tourist trail that runs along the two craters and observe their formation, thinking back to the basic volcanology you learned in school.
• Legend has it that what makes Etna erupt is the fiery breath of the giant Enceladus, defeated by Athena and imprisoned deep in the mountain. If you seel some vibrations don't worry, it's only the giant wrestling with his chains.

• Slight changes may be made to itineraries and the length of excursions in order to protect your health and to comply with regulations and the safety protocol.
• This is one of the most popular excursions so book early.
• The bus journey from the port to Mount Etna takes approximately 2 hours.

If you love a great show, Taormina is well worth the applause. Take a guided tour through centuries and cultures: from Porta Catania and Palazzo Corvaja, vestiges of the Arab period, to the Greek Theater, the second largest ancient theater in Sicily and one of the most admired in the world.

 Taormina's old town  Porta Catania * Palazzo Corvaja: external visit * Greek Theater

• Your guided tour of Taormina starts with a bus trip along the picturesque Mediterranean coast of Sicily which you'll see unfold through your window.
• Soon you'll arrive in Taormina: the ancient “Tauromenium” founded on a plateau of Mount Tauro, a colony of Magna Graecia for 2500 years, subsequently conquered by the Romans, Arabs, Normans and Spaniards.
• The medieval town awaits you: enter it through Porta Catania, built in 1440, and you'll find yourself in the square that hosted town gatherings in Norman times, also known as porta del Tocco* (tolling gate), because gatherings would take place at 1 p.m. and were announced by the tolling of the bells.
• A short walk will take you to Palazzo Corvaja, an iconic 11th-century building, built around a cubic tower in honor of the Kaaba, the sacred monument of Mecca.
• It's time for the grand finale: the Greek Theater. A performance venue dating back to the third century BC, it has hosted artists and singers from all corners of the globe. Dug into the rock, with the Ionian Sea and Etna in the background, it is a show within a show.

• Slight changes may be made to itineraries and the length of excursions in order to protect your health and to comply with regulations and the safety protocol.
• This is one of the most popular excursions so book early.

Enjoy a tour that starts from a mysterious prehistoric astronomic observatory and takes you to Montalbano Elicona, the 2015 town of towns. Stroll among medieval buildings and streets where time seems to stand still, climb up to the Federico II Castle, then visit the Cathedral, on which a special honor was bestowed by the Pope.

• Montalbano Elicona
• Medieval old town
• Swabian-Aragonese Castle
• Cathedral

• We'll set off for Montalbano Elicona, known by the Latins as “Mons Albus” or white mountain, and in Sicilian as “Muntarbanu”. Our guide will reveal the secrets of a place that seems enchanted.
• The first mystery is the Argimusco: a plain surmounted by anthropomorphic and zoomorphic monoliths, the traces, perhaps, of an actual prehistoric center of astronomy.
• An uphill path between medieval houses, walls and cobbled streets takes you to the town center. The atmosphere is unique, so much so that Montalbano Elicona was named the 2015 Town of Towns.
• The ancient Swabian-Aragonese Castle from 1300 was built by King Frederick II of Aragon at the highest point in the city: all the rooms are well-preserved and gazing over the valley you'll feel like a nobleman at court.
• It's time to visit the Maria Assunta in Cielo Basilica, the city's cathedral. Built in the 12th century, it was elevated to a minor Basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1997 and is home to an interesting painting of the Last Supper.

• Slight changes may be made to itineraries and the length of excursions in order to protect your health and to comply with regulations and the safety protocol.
• This is one of the most popular excursions so book early.

The guided tour of Tindari is a journey through time that begins with Greek mythology and ends with a great art festival. Explore the ancient “Tyndaris”, discover the history of a Greek Theater that saw actors and gladiators on stage, the legend of the Black Virgin, the scenery of the Gulf of Patti and the world-famous Marinello Lakes.

• Bay of Patti
• Archaeological area: Graeco-Roman Theater, Spa, Gymnasium
• Shrine of the Black Madonna
• Marinello Lakes: seen from the Shrine

• Follow our guide to discover Tindari, on the northern coast of Sicily. A legendary place even in its name, inspired by Tyndareus, king of Sparta and reputedly the father of Helena.
• From the bus, you'll see the Bay of Patti with the Aeolian Islands in the distance, so beautiful that it was the setting for an episode of Andrea Camilleri's Montalbano.
• Explore the ancient town of “Tyndaris”, established around 396 BC and an archaeological gem, with a mix of Greek and Roman ruins, from the Spa to the Gymnasium.
• Not forgetting the Greek Theater from the 4th century BC, a masterpiece of acoustic engineering. Originally a venue for Greek tragedies and gladiatorial games, since 1956 it has hosted the Festival of the Two Seas.
• Proceed to the Shrine of the Black Madonna, a Byzantine site built on a headland overlooking the Marinello Lakes nature reserve. Legend has it that the sculpture came to shore in Tindari during a storm and that it never wanted to leave, blocking the ship that transported it into port. How could anyone blame her?

• Slight changes may be made to itineraries and the length of excursions in order to protect your health and to comply with regulations and the safety protocol.
• This is one of the most popular excursions so book early.