Easy Sicily bike tour
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itinerary in detail

 

DAY 1 Arrival at Catania Airport
You may head for Syracuse-Ortigia on your own by bus, taxi or train. Twenty-seven centuries of
history have gone past from the origin of this city to the present days. Ortigia, a little island almost
attached to the coast, is the ancient heart of the city and its most charming neighbourhood. Indeed,
the Greek colonization of the island had its start with the foundation of Syracuse.
In Ortigia – as well as elsewhere of Sicily – it is possible to touch with your own hands the layering
of diverse periods in history, making this place an outstanding aggregation of invaluable landmarks
– a part of one UNESCO World Heritage Site (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1200.htm) after all.
Strolling around small streets of ancient Ortigia is just delightful, as you may come across a
multitude of arts-and-crafts workshops and boutiques, or walking along the waterfront, dazzled by
the rising sun or caressed by the evening breeze.
Overnight stay: At Ortigia or in Syracuse nearer to the archaeological park, in a three-star hotel
(B&B service). Please check out your voucher; several options are available.

DAY 2 Ortigia – Noto (train & ride) and from Noto to the Nature Reserve of Vendicari
Noto is universally recognized as a capital of the baroque style worldwide and as a UNESCO World
Heritage Site since 2002 (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1024). After the fateful earthquake of
1693, the Spanish governors decided that the struck-down town had to be rebuilt where it is now,
following the baroque layout and style in vogue then, also in order to set up a fresh architectural
display for the political and religious powers of those times. The exceptionality of the result lies in
the skilful blend of buildings and landscape, mastering the interplay of sunlight and stonemasonry
with a charming and almost magical outcome.
The Vendicari Nature Reserve is a wonderful natural area, very attractive for its marshland and
dunes. In springtime several migratory birds enjoy a stop-over after thousand kilometres of flight
from Africa heading for Northern Europe. In autumn it is possible to watch large birds wading. A
crystal-clear sea, normally colder than in the north of the island, laps the sandy coastline. The ruins
of a once-flourishing tuna-fishing station remind us of the wealth arising from those seas since the
Hellenistic ages.
Overnight stay: At Noto, with dinner included.

DAY 3 Noto – Noto Antica (by bicycle)
This is a circular tour, about thirty kilometres long, half of ups and downs, at times demanding, half
of downhill cycling. Little is known about the origins of Noto Antica. Its position always made it a
place strategically attractive, and over the century every dominator added to its wealth. Indeed ‘Val
di Noto’ (Valley of Noto) is an age-old and customary denomination of the whole South-Eastern
Sicily, reflecting the town’s bygone prestige. The indigenous Siculians and foreign rulers, from the
Greeks to the Arabs, turned it into one of the most beautiful towns in Sicily, until the earthquake of
1693 reduced it to rubble. Dense vegetation envelops the ruins of Noto Antica nowadays.
You can reach the ancient ruins through the gateway of Porta Reale, along a neglected road leading
to the castle ruins which look over the surrounding area of the ‘Cave’ (quarries, gullies). Noto Antica
used to be a must-see visited and described by the 18th century travellers undertaking the Grand
Tour in search of icons of the classical world.
Overnight stay: At Noto, with dinner not included.

DAY 4 Noto – Ragusa/Ibla (train & ride).
Ibla is a place able to excite dream-like emotions. Waking up the morning after a night-time stroll
through the alleys and the stonework in shape of laughing masks, a visitor might feel to have
dreamt the whole thing. By the light of day those ‘grinning masks’ are all the more amazing, as
though could even start talking to them! In the sunshine, the enveloping façade of San Giorgio’s
looks like bending over our heads, like an image in a trick mirror, towering over the whole
neighbourhood from a hilltop.
Overnight stay: At Ibla, with dinner not included.

DAY 5 Ibla - Palazzolo Acreide (arranged transfer). Palazzolo A. - Anapo Valley (cycling)
Palazzolo Acreide is another of the gems in the ‘Val di Noto’ area, where baroque architecture and
ancient relics coexist. The ancient Akrai, in fact, must have been a mythological place, swallowed up
by the course of time and the lack of extant documents about it, until the historian Tommaso
Fazello discovered it at the end of 16th century. The archaeological excavations began in the early
19th century under the direction of Baron Gabriele Iudica who dug up important evidences on the
ancient history of eastern Sicily. Akrai was founded by the Syracusans in 664 BC in a strategic
position overlooking the countryside along the ‘via Selinuntina’, the road connecting Syracuse to the
coastal towns in the south of the island.
Pantalica, located inside the Valle dell’Anapo (Anapo Valley), is a fascinating archaeological site
related to a city of undetermined origins some 2300 years old, which has maintained the charm of
an extraordinary place all the same. What survived till today is the necropolis, the largest in Sicily
and world-wide famed, counting more than 5,000 quarries carved inside the rock walls, dramatically
overhanging on Anapo and Calcinara rivers, as though they were populated by fledged inhabitants.
Overnight stay: In the Anapo Valley, in a farmhouse with dinner included.

DAY 6 At the Anapo Valley
Walking down the way to the rivers, dipped in the shade of planes, ashes and oaks and inebriated
by thousands of scents as if in a little Eden, you can take the cold waters, hike along the side paths
(on your own or with an expert guide) or have a walk along the track of an old narrow-gauge
railway functioning through these valleys until 1956.
Overnight stay: In the Anapo Valley, in a farmhouse with dinner included.

DAY 7 Anapo Valley - Ortigia by bike.
Once in Ortigia, you will hand back the bicycles. During the season of classical plays at the Greek
Theatre at Syracuse, it is possible to tie this last day with one of the performances.
Overnight stay: At Ortigia or in Syracuse nearer to the archaeological park, in a three-star hotel
(B&B service). Please check out your voucher; several options are available.

DAY 8 Ortigia-Catania by bus.
Departure and end of our services.