SHORE
EXCURSION: BACKCOUNTRY PALERMO TOUR: 8
Hours
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This trip will take you out of Palermo to
visit some of the most beautiful towns and
villages in the area – from Norman cathedrals
to the former homes of Mafia bosses.
Includes: Our private tour of
the area outside Palermo includes private "driving
guide," private door-to-door transportation,
taxes, tolls and parking.
There are places in the countryside of Palermo
sadly famous for events involving the Mafia
and for having been the home of many Mafia
bosses now locked-up in prison. This tour allows
you to visit some of these sites and to admire
them for their monuments and for their natural
beauty.
This trip will begin with a lovely drive on
a road overlooking the Conca D'Oro valley to
reach the village of Monreale. You will visit
the magnificent Duomo of Monreale, one of the
great sights of Norman Sicily. Founded in 1172
by King William II, the Duomo flanks a Benedictine
monastery. The cathedral’s interior glitters
with mosaics designed by Sicilian and Byzantine
artists.
You will then visit the tiny village of Ficuzza,
located in a forested nature reserve, once
the hunting grounds of the Bourbon King Ferdinand
IV. You will visit the royal hunting lodge,
built with the same comforts as his palace
in Caserta, near Naples. A spectacular mountain
called Rocca Busambra that towers over the
park is now a nature sanctuary where eagles
nest, though it was once a sanctuary for the
Mafia to hide corpses of their victims.
Next you will move on to Corleone, a medieval
town surrounded by emerald hills. After visiting
this lovely town and Duomo and Prehistoric
Museum, it will be hard to believe that it
was once home to many terrible Mafia bosses,
such as Totò Riina, who is now serving a multiple
life-term prison sentence.
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