Orange Blossoms and Marsala Wine™

Sicily – Palermo Countryside and Cefalù

Tie on your aprons for hands-on cooking classes in sunny Sicily while sojourning in an 18-century villa set amongst orange blossoms. Dine on exquisite Sicilian cuisine, sip and swirl Marsala wine, and discover Palermo and Cefalù.

Check into our 4-Star luxury Villa Suite and Spa surrounded by a paradise of Mediterranean gardens and a triumph of scents and colors – lemon, mandarin and olive trees are everywhere while jasmine and orange blossoms surround your senses in the beauty of nature. During your stay, participate in hands-on cooking classes where you will learn how to prepare Sicilian fare including antipasti, fresh pasta and sauces – Pasta Norma, and daily catches – seabass, swordfish, and sardines. Learn to make Sicilian cannoli filled with creamy ricotta, and make cassata, a delicate sponge cake moistened with liqueur and layered with ricotta cheese and candied fruit, then decorated with almond marzipan in hues of pink and green colored icing in a traditional Sicilian design.

Visit Palermo’s city center, which is a melting pot of ancient history, culture, architecture, and gastronomy. Taste Sicilian Street Food such as arancini, rice balls whose center are filled with meat, cheese, peas and tomato sauce, and sfincione, bread seasoned with tomato sauce, onion, caciovallo cheese, anchovies and extra virgin olive oil. Discover beautiful Cefalù, named one of the most beautiful villages in Italy, with a Norman Cathedral and named a UNESCO world heritage site. This is Sicilian lifestyle with passionate people, delicious cuisine and blue Tyrrhenian Sea!

Sicilian Cooking Classes

Tie on your aprons and discover the flavors of Sicilian cuisine! Learn how to prepare traditional Sicilian antipasto, pasta and sauce, main courses and dessert. Our chef uses farm-to-table ingredients sourced from the nearby local farms. Start with Sicilian caponata, a delicious recipe made with flash-fried eggplant, chopped carrots and celery, then tossed with capers, and tomatoes. Mix and roll out fresh pasta and prepare seasonal sauces using zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms and pumpkin along with seafood. Discover the secrets to making Sicilian annelleti, tiny rounds of pasta cooked with tomato, breadcrumbs and parmigiano cheese. Sicilian main courses include fish, meat and vegetarian – start with arrosto panato, breaded pork or veal served with lemon or polpette di carne, Sicilian meatballs made with a mixture of beef, breadcrumbs, eggs, artisan cheese, raisins and pinenuts served in a slow cooked tomato sauce. Vegetarian options are also available on request. You’ll also master the art of making Sicilian desserts from cannoli to cassata, a traditional Sicilian cake whose protagonist is a round sponge cake soaked in a fruit liqueur, layered with light and creamy ricotta cheese, then garnished with candied fruits and marzipan, almond paste.

Palermo

Palermo is a melting pot of history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, making it an interesting and enticing city for travelers. Located in the northwest part of Sicily, Palermo is a vibrant and theatrical city where life is lived on the streets and piazzas. Visit the busy markets of La Vucciria, where stalls are brimming with farm-to-table produce, fruit, and vegetables; fishermen display their daily catch, and Sicilians vie for the freshest products. Experience Palermo’s famous street food and discover panelle – bite-sized snacks made from chickpea flour, crocché – flash-fried potato croquettes, and arancini, rice balls filled with meat, tomato sauce and peas, then flash-fried golden.

Palermo’s cuisine and landmarks reflect the city’s rich and diverse history. Start with the Cathedral, with its honey-colored and Catalan-influenced architecture. Visit the Quattro Canti, the symbolic crossroads at the old center of the city, and the nearby La Martorana church, with its byzantine mosaics, offering glimpses into the city’s rich past. Discover the famous Museo Archeologico and the Catacombe dei Cappuccini, home to over 8,000 mummified remains, depicting the story of Palermo’s history and culture.

Visit the Palazzo Reale, also called, the Palazzo dei Normanni, the Royal Palace, at the highest point of the ancient city center. Once serving as the seat of the Kings of Sicily during the Norman conquest, it contains a beautiful and unique Norman chapel. There is also the Teatro Massimo, Italy’s most prominent opera theater, dedicated to King Victor Emanuel and the largest in Italy with its awe-inspiring size and neo-romantic style. The theater was even featured in the movie Godfather: Part 3. With its diverse history, landmarks, and rich culture and cuisine, Palermo is a city that never sleeps. On warm summer nights, the city comes alive with live music in the piazza and the sight of people dancing. Palermo is a vibrant city filled with colorful caffés, wine bars, artisan shops.

Cefalù

Cefalù is a small, picturesque coastal town in Northern Sicily, Palermo. Known for its rich history, it is also a stunning natural beauty. Set on the Tyrrhenian Sea with crystal blue waters, Cefalù is famous for its fish and seafood. Walk the narrow cobblestone streets, discover its landmarks and take in the tradition of the nightly sunset when locals and visitors gather to see the golden hue over the Norman Cathedral. The cathedral has impressive and artistic Byzantine mosaics and design. Cefalù’s vias and piazzas are brimming with picturesque caffès, wine bars, boutiques and trattorias!
Marsala
Visit an award-winning winery known for its Marsala wine. Discover the secret to making Marsala wine – it is slowly blended and aged through a special method of space, time, and oxygen in order to produce its unique flavor. Join our English-speaking host and winemaker for a visit to the vineyard, winemaking cellars, cantina and tasting room. Enjoy a Sicilian lunch paired with wine from the property as you sip and swirl and take in the beauty.

Palermo Accommodations

Check in and experience 18th century splendor in this elegant villa with a beautiful courtyard, garden and fountain. Set just outside of Palermo, the villa property is a short twenty-minute drive from the center. The property is set on an estate with lush green Mediterranean gardens, and with lemon, orange and mandarin trees whose flowers permeate the air. The property boasts an 18th-century charm while having all the modern amenities to make your stay 21-st century comfortable. A full-service luxury spa and wellness center with Turkish baths and an herbal tea bar, salt massages and scrubs and a whirlpool are available during your stay. Each room is decorated in timeless and elegant Sicilian décor. Comfortable beds dressed in Italian linens along with Mediterranean ceramic tile floors keep things cool and beautiful. Each bedroom has a private ensuite bath, and daily maid service is included. Breakfast is served daily and includes Sicilian cakes, breads and pastries, fruit, cheese, jams, cereal and yogurt, along with prosciutto and salumi, along with espresso, cappuccino and tea are included.

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Itinerary: 5 Days, 4 Nights

Day 1: Arrival & Check-In

• Arrival transfer from Palermo Airport or Train Station to property.
• Welcome Prosecco and introduction to your cooking program.
• Welcome Dinner featuring a full course Chef’s Tasting Menu featuring Sicilian fare with antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce, a main course and dessert.

Day 2: Cooking Class 1 and Palermo Street Food Tour

• Breakfast is served.
• In the morning, tie on your apron for your Cooking Class 1. Learn the tradition of selecting and preparing fish with seasonal local ingredients and preparing an antipasto, pasta and sauce, and dessert. Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class to follow with a toast of red or white wine included.
• After lunch, meet your driver and head out for a giro to Palermo! Enjoy a Street Food Tour with tastings along the way with our English-speaking guide. Learn about traditional Sicilian food on the streets of Palermo with landmark stops included.
• Following your food tour, explore Palermo on your own, then return to the property.
• Dinner is on your own with suggestions provided, and you can opt to dine at the property, if you choose.

Day 3: Marsala Winery and Salt Pans Museum

• Breakfast is served.
• In the morning, meet your driver for a visit to an award-winning vineyard in Marsala. At the property, walk through vineyards and learn about the growing methods in the volcanic soil. The tour concludes with a visit to the vinification hall and the property with wine tasting. Following the wine tour, enjoy a light Sicilian tasting lunch with wine paired from the property.
• Next, visit the Salt Pans Museum. Discover the history of Sicily’s salt pans which produce the most precious Sicilian salt. Enjoy an aperitivo at the museum, included.
• Following the museum tour, meet your driver and return to the property.
• In the evening, enjoy dinner on your own with suggestions provided.

Day 4: Cooking Class 2 and Cefalù

• Breakfast is served.
• In the morning, tie on your aprons for Cooking Class 2 featuring traditional Sicilian menu including antipasto, fresh pasta and sauce and dessert with a toast of wine. Following the cooking class, everyone enjoys the food that was prepared in the cooking class to follow with a toast of red or white wine included.
• Following your cooking class, meet your driver for a visit to Cefalù.
• Discover Cefalù, the beautiful UNESCO village on a walking tour with our English-speaking guide.
• Following the tour, explore on your own, shop or enjoy a gelato.
• In the evening, return to the property.
• Enjoy your Chef’s Tasting Farewell Dinner featuring a Sicilian menu with an antipasto, pasta and sauce, main course, and dessert.

Day 5: Departure & Arrivederci

• Breakfast is served.
• Check out and transfer to Palermo Airport or Train Station.