Journeys that Take You to Far Horizon

Naples, Sardinia and Sicily

Hidden Gardens, Classical Ruins and Vibrant Culture

18 Day Tour with Carlo Gabriele

17 October – 03 November 2017

TOUR LEADER

Carlo Gabriele’s passion for

the beauty of nature was

kindled in his native

Sardinia, famous for its

scenic landscapes and the

‘Emerald Coast’ – La Costa

Smeralda.

In 2010, Carlo started his

own landscape and

garden design business in

Milan. At this stage he was

discovered by some of the

world’s leading design and

fashion magazines, such as

Vanity Fair, Elle and Elle

Décor and was asked to

create installations for

fashion and design photo

shoots. These shoots

opened the doors to

incredible locations not

normally accessible to the

public. Carlo’s passion for

sharing the beauty of

Europe’s most beautiful

gardens and natural

settings was born.

In 2014 he moved to

Melbourne and in 2016

founded his own Garden

and Landscape Design

practice. Today, in addition

to applying the timeless

beauty of classic Italian

design to contemporary

Australian gardens, he is

delighted to share the

gardens that inspire him

with those who join him on

tours to his native Italy.

Naples, Sicily and Sardinia: Hidden Gardens, Classical Ruins and Vibrant Culture

Tour Highlights

Tours are led by Carlo Gabriele, Italian garden and landscape designer

born in Sardinia, trained in Milan and living in Melbourne.

He shares his native country with visitors, inviting those who join him on

the tour to enjoy delicious, authentic Italian meals, to meet the locals

and to shop where Italians do, while you explore the rich history and

culture of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia, through their most beautiful

gardens, parks and historical sites.

Naples

We start in Naples, with a visit to the extraordinary Reggia di Caserta

(Palace of Caserta). This is the largest Royal Palace in the World and

its garden was inspired by Versailles.

Sicily

We visit the historic centre of Palermo and discover its unique mix of

influences.

We meet Massimiliano Marafon Pecoraro, Researcher at the

Department of Historic and Artistic Studies at the University of

Palermo and let him introduce you to some of the most beautiful

buildings of the city, including the Palazzo Alliata di Pietratagliata

and the Palazzina Cinese (Chinese Palace).

We experience how Italian aristocrats live today, with an exclusive

tour and lunch at Villa Valguarnera, home of the Princess Vittoria

Alliata.

We visit some of Palermo’s most beautiful gardens, including the

Botanical Garden of Palermo and Villa Tasca, open exclusively for

our group. Let the Valle dei Templi (Valley of Temples) charm you

with one of the largest complex of Greek temples in the world.

We explore the ruins of an historic garden from 500 B.C. with a stroll

through the Giardinodella Kolymbetra national park.

Moving further into Sicily, fall in love with the magnificent historical

centres of Ragusa, Modica and Siracusa.

We enjoy the iconic beauty of Taormina, with its Greek-Roman

amphitheatre overlooking Mt. Etna.

Sardinia

We explore the historic centre of Cagliari, the main city of Sardinia,

where talented landscape architect and rose and perennial expert,

Maurizio Usai, leads us through some of the private gardens he has

designed.

We go back in time to the prehistoric site of Barumini, dating back

to the 17th century B.C.

We revel in the Mediterranean lifestyle of the towns of Bosa and

Alghero, and visit the outstanding Grotte di Nettuno (Neptune's

Grotto).

We tour the natural paradise of the Asinara Island.

We explore the garden of Villa Certosa in Porto Cervo for a private

and exclusive tour.

We tour the iconic Costa Smeralda, famed getaway spot for

celebrities and socialites and visit the historic centre of Olbia.

Flight Coach

Tour Itinerary

Day 1 Tue 17 Oct Naples

The beautiful city of Naples welcomes you with its rich

history, art, culture and gastronomy. Mediterranean

pines and the volcano Mount Vesuvius are the iconic

landmarks of this city with a terrific history, listed by

UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Its narrow alleyways

lead to mysterious churches, catacombs and

underground caves. Until today, Naples’ old folk-

culture reveals itself to the visitor among artisans,

fluttering laundry and shouting fish sellers.

You will be met on arrival at the airport by one of our

drivers and accompanied to the hotel, to relax and

freshen up before we meet in the hotel bar at 6.30 pm

for drinks and dinner. (Dinner)

Day 2 Wed 18 Oct Reggia Di Caserta

Covering an area of approx. 235,000 m² the Royal

Palace of Caserta, erected during the 18th century, is

the largest royal residence in the world. You will

discover this monumental complex created by the

Bourbon King Charles III in the mid-18th century to rival

Versailles and the Royal Palace in Madrid. What makes

it exceptional is the way it brings together a

magnificent palace with its park and gardens, as well

as natural woodland, hunting lodges and a silk factory.

After the visit, you will be transferred to Naples airport

for your flight to Palermo. (Breakfast/Lunch)

Day 3 Thu 19 Oct Palermo

Palermo, one of the largest ancient historical centres of

Europe, is a unique mix of influences: from Roman to a

distinctive Norman/Arab mix, from the Baroque style to

the Liberty style (the Italian expression of the Art

Nouveau).

In the morning you will take a walking tour of this

charming city including the traditional street markets. In

the afternoon you will discover the beautiful Villa

Tasca; originally built in the 1500 A.C., the oasis which

protects it is one of Sicily's most emblematic Victorian-

era Romantic gardens. The curvilinear stone-bordered

pathways and the lush tropical vegetation carry one

away into a rich world of silence and suggestion. These

more thickly planted areas are complemented by

English lawns that allow the garden to be experienced

with lightness and simplicity, even during every-day

activities. (Breakfast/Lunch)

Day 4 Fri 20 Oct Bagheria and Palermo

Between 1650 and 1800 circa Bagheria became the

preferred location for the vacation homes of Palermo's

elite class, and the area experienced a boom: all the

aristocrats wanted a Villa in the area. Today you will

have the privilege to visit one of the most charming

Villas of Bagheria, and meet its owner: the Princess

Vittoria Alliata di Villafranca e Valguarnera. Journalist,

writer and the only Italian translator of J.R. Tolkien, she

will open the doors of her house and garden, Villa

Valguarnera, for an exclusive tour and lunch.

In the afternoon, the Director of the Botanical Garden

of Palermo will take you on a private tour of this urban

oasis built between the 18th and the 19th century. To

conclude the day, you will visit the Palazzo Alliata di

Pietratagliata, a prestigious gothic building erected

around the second half of the fifteenth Century.

(Breakfast/Lunch)

Day 5 Sat 21 Oct Palermo and Agrigento

In the morning you will meet with Massimiliano Marafon

Pecoraro, Researcher in the Department of Historic

and Artistic Studies at the University of Palermo who will

show you the secrets behind one of the most striking

buildings of Palermo: the Palazzina Cinese (The

Chinese Palace). Conceived as a royal residence on

commission by the King Ferdinand III of Sicily, it was

designed in 1799 in the style of Chinoiserie; internally is

completely decorated with terrific paintings and

frescoes.

The afternoon is dedicated to relaxation and leisure,

followed by the transfer to Agrigento. (Breakfast)

Day 6 Sun 22 Oct Agrigento and Ragusa

Today you will visit one of the most outstanding

examples of Greater Greece art and architecture: the

Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples). Included in

the UNESCO Heritage Site list, the area is the largest

archaeological site in the world with its 1,300 hectares.

The Valley includes remains of seven temples, all in

Doric style, including the Temples of Concordia, Hera

and Zeus.

After visiting the Greek temples you can enjoy a

moment of relaxation, or you can follow me for a stroll

along the ruins of a historic garden from 500 B.C.: the

Giardino della Kolymbetra. This well restored and cared

for unique garden is situated within the historical Valley

of Temples in Agrigento. You will enjoy the variety of

fragrances of plants and herbs, including a

magnificent collection of very old lemon, orange and

olive trees. You will even see one of the world's oldest

systems of irrigation still working to water the garden.

(Breakfast/Lunch)

Day 7 Mon 23 Oct Ragusa and Modica

Today’s walking tour will explore two symbols of the

Sicilian Baroque: Ragusa and Modica.

Ragusa, made world famous thanks to the television

series ‘Il Commissario Montalbano’ (Inspector

Montalbano), is a two faced city: sitting on the top of

the hill is Ragusa Superiore, the modern heart of the

city, built after the earthquake that destroyed the old

city in 1693. Etched into the hillside further down is

Ragusa Ibla, the magnificent historic centre.

The next stop will be Modica, a small gem that lies

nestled in a deep valley. In the old town, the houses

seem to spring out of the rock, resting on ancient caves

carved in prehistoric times. The picturesque scenic view

is dominated by the imposing churches of San Giorgio

and San Pietro, both set atop a wide staircase.

(Breakfast)

Day 8 Tue 24 Oct Siracusa

The day will start with a visit to the island of Ortigia, the

historical heart of Siracusa. The tight lanes are pleasant

for strolling, so you will wander down narrow medieval

lanes, Baroque palaces and churches. You will

discover the many gems of the island, like the small

Chiesa of San Martino, a simple and ancient church

with a lovely interior, decorated with a mosaic in the

apse.

In the afternoon you will visit the Neapolis

Archeological Park: a vast area that contains

Siracusa's greatest concentration of ruins, including the

stone quarries, the Greek theatre, and the Roman

amphitheatre. (Breakfast)

Day 9 Wed 25 Oct Taormina

This morning you will say farewell to Siracusa and travel

to Taormina where you will enjoy leisure and relaxation

before we meet for a walking tour of the Florence

Trevelyan garden. A member of the well-known

Northumberland family, Florence Trevelyan was the

only surviving daughter of Edward Spencer Trevelyan

and Catherine Ann Forster and granddaughter of Sir

John Trevelyan (5th Baronet) of Wallington Hall,

Northumberland and his wife, Maria Wilson.

When Florence Trevelyan arrived in Taormina in 1884

she set about creating her own corner of England next

to the Greek/Roman amphitheatre. She called it

Hallington-Siculo, after the name of her hometown in

England. The area was given to Taormina after

Florence's death and is now part of a much larger

municipal park. This unique garden is the second

biggest tourist attraction in Taormina. (Breakfast/Lunch)

Day 10 Thu 26 Oct Taormina

You have a further day to explore Taormina: after a

morning walk where you will visit some of the most

characteristics monuments of the town, including the

Greek-Roman amphitheatre, you will have free time to

enjoy the atmosphere of this Sicily’s most famous

touristic destinations.

Founded in the 4th century BC, Taormina enjoyed great

prosperity under the Greek ruler Gelon II and later

under the Romans, but fell into quiet obscurity after

being conquered by the Normans in 1087. Its

reincarnation as a tourist destination dates to the 18th

century, when northern Europeans discovered it on the

Grand Tour. Among its fans were Goethe and DH

Lawrence, who lived here between 1920 and 1923.

(Breakfast)

Day 11 Fri 27 Oct Catania-Cagliari

It’s time to say goodbye to Sicily and fly to Sardinia.

You will land in Cagliari, the main city of the island.

When DH Lawrence arrived in the 1920s, he compared

the Sardinian capital to Jerusalem: ‘…strange and

rather wonderful, not a bit like Italy.’

You will be met on arrival at the airport by one of our

drivers and transported to the hotel, to relax and

freshen up. (Breakfast/Dinner)

Day 12 Sat 28 Oct Cagliari

During this walking tour around the old town of Cagliari

we will evoke the crucial events that took place in the

most important city of Sardinia. You will discover

representative monuments and spots of its historical

centre and get captivated by its secrets, legends and

fascinating anecdotes.

Get familiar with the numerous faces of Cagliari: its

Phoenician-Punic origins, vast Roman heritage and

fortified district conquered by the Republic of Pisa, the

Spanish Empire and the Savoyard dynasty respectively.

Not to mention its breath-taking panoramas and

sounds of singing flamingos coming from the sky.

In the afternoon the Landscape Architect Maurizio Usai

will wait for you in his own private garden, La Pietra

Rossa. He will guide you in an exclusive tour of his

garden that he started to create when he was 17 years

old. Extremely passionate about roses, his private

collection counts over 250 varieties. (Breakfast)

Day 13 Sun 29 Oct Barumini-Oristano-Bosa

In the morning you will leave Cagliari and travel north-

west to Bosa. A first stop will be the prehistoric

archaeological site of ‘Su Nuraxi’. Included in the

UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites, Su Nuraxi is a

settlement consisting of a bastion, called Nuraghe, and

a village. Probably built in the seventeenth century B.C.

the complex is considered the most impressive

expression of the Nuragic civilization.

A second stop will be the nursery ‘I campi’, specialized

in drought tolerant plants and gardens or the ancient

city of Tharros probably founded by the Phoenicians at

the end of the 8th century B.C. (Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner)

Day 14 Mon 30 Oct Alghero

Alghero is one of Sardinia's most beautiful medieval

cities: with its animated historic centre is a terrific place

to hang out. Enclosed by robust, honey-coloured

seawalls, this is a tightly knit enclave of shady cobbled

lanes, Gothic palazzi and cafe-lined piazzas. Presiding

over everything is a palpable Spanish atmosphere, a

hangover of the city’s past as a Catalan colony. Even

today, more than three centuries after the Iberians left,

a form of medieval Catalan is still spoken, and street

signs and menus are often written in both Catalan and

Italian.

In the afternoon you will visit the Neptune's Grotto: a

suggestive a stunning stalactite and stalagmite cave

accessible via a short boat trip from the port of

Alghero. Within the grotto, tourists can visit a 120-metre-

long saltwater lake. The shallow salt lake boasts the

same calcic salt structures as the rest of the cave.

(Breakfast)

Day 15 Tue 31 Oct Stintino-Asinara Island

Fine, white sand, breathtaking panoramas, waters that

range from hues of azure to turquoise, and one of the

most beautiful seascapes of the entire Mediterranean:

welcome to Stintino, renowned touristic destination on

Sardinia’s north-western extremity.

It started out as a fishermen’s village, when the Island

of Asinara was made a penal colony. Stintino today is

synonymous with magnificent beaches, like the most

celebrated La Pelosa characterized by its luscious

white sand and transparent sea.

Accessible by boat, Asinara Island was a quarantine

station during the 1800s, a prison camp during World

War I, and afterward one of the most famous Italian

prisons until the establishment of the homonymous

National Park in 1997. Isolated for almost a century, it

has become an oasis of rare and sometimes-almost-

extinct species of plants and animals, such as the white

albino donkey. (Breakfast)

Day 16 Wed 01 Nov Telti-Bosa

Today you will have the pleasure to meet again the

Landscape Architect Maurizio Usai who will guide you

through a beautiful private garden: Il giardino dei

Fontanili. Designed in 2011, the garden is characterized

by a profusion of water that flows generously through a

series of granite basins framed by lush borders Salvia

chaemdryoides, Aster x Frikartii and several varieties of

Agapanthus. Another feature of this garden is the

presence of numerous varieties of roses (Rosa candida

'Sally Holmes', Rosa 'Clair Matin', Rosa 'Mlle Marie van

Houttei').

After the visit, you will arrive at Olbia, where you can

finally relax after a hectic few days of sightseeing.

(Breakfast/Lunch)

Day 17 Thu 02 Nov Olibia-Porto Cervo

In the morning you will take a walking tour for

discovering every hidden corner and the of this old

town, including the oldest Romanic church in Sardinia

(San Simplicio) and the Archaeologic Museum where

you will learn about the early Greek foundation of

Olbia, the later clashes between Carthaginians and

Romans, and the maritime and commercial activities

that flourished over the centuries.

In the afternoon you will meet again with the

Landscape Architect Maurizio Usai who will take you for

a private and exclusive tour of Villa Certosa, a 168-

acre estate formerly owned by the ex-Italian Prime

Minister Silvio Berlusconi. The property includes six

swimming pools, an amphitheatre and even an

artificial volcano, and it’s also known as the Italian

garden with one of the largest collections of plants.

(Breakfast)

Day 18 Fri 03 Nov Depart Olbia

Our tour ends after breakfast. (Breakfast)

Tour Name: Naples, Sardinia & Sicily: Hidden Gardens, Classical Ruins & Vibrant Culture 17 Oct- 03 Nov 2017

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Tour prices

Price per person twin share $9,770

Single room supplement $1,715

INCLUSIONS: Internal flights Naples-Palermo//Catania-

Cagliari with taxes and surcharges, 17 nights’ twin-share

accommodation, porterage at hotels, meals as stated,

comprehensive touring, local English Speaking guides in

each city, gratuities to local guides and drivers, tour

manager with the group throughout.

Not Included: International flights to Italy, travel

insurance, personal expenses, anything not mentioned

above.

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