GREEK – ROMAN ARCHELOGICAL SITE AND CONTEMPORY ART
SANTO STEFANO – HOTEL ATELIER – THE FIUMARA DELL’ARTE (Torrent of Art) –TUSA – HALESEA
Immerse yourself in the art and culture of northern Sicily, both ancient and modern. This tour explores an unexpected side of modern Sicily, one that most tourists do not have the opportunity to experience.
We drive to the ceramic town of Santo Stefano Camastra our first stop is The Ceramic Museum
“The art of moulding natural elements…”
In 1683 Prince Giuseppe Lanza, Earl of Camastra gave some land near the sea to the inhabitants of Santo Stefano, who had lost their hamlet due to a landslide. There, they found clay, water and fire and they made terracotta bricks and tiles, jars and lamps … .The new village was called Santo Stefano di Camastra.
Today the Earl of Camastra’s mansion belongs to the local authorities and contains the museum of ceramics. It offers a very interesting visit starting with a rich variety of useful everyday objects made of terracotta, leading you through to the colourful ceramics that have decorated Sicilian houses ever since, changing colours and patterns according to the fashion of the moment. An exhibition of contemporary sculptures completes the tour.
“…natural elements transformed into art”.
After this experience, when you step into one of the several shops in town, looking for handmade articles to take home, you’ll see Santo Stefano’s pottery with different eyes.
We drive along the magnificent coastline passing the Fiume Dell’Arte sculpture ‘Monumento per un Poeta Morto’ (1989) continuing our drive from afar we will see the outstanding black and white sculpture ‘La Materia Poteva Non Esserci’ (1986). From afar you will see the most famous of the sculptures the ’38 degrees Parallelo – Piramide’
Arrive in town of Castel di Tusa where we visit the contemporary art Hotel Atelier. The remarkable project was begun in 1990, transforming an unremarkable seaside hotel into a living work of art, where each guest room has been designed by different contemporary artist. We take guided tour of the hotel, visiting some of its extraordinary rooms and learning the concept behind each “installation”.
After our visit drive to the mountain top town of Tusa where we have lunch in a family run trattoria serving excellent traditional cuisine.
Our last visit is at the Greco-Roman ruins of Halesea, set on a lonely hillside high above the sea, we explore the ancient city with its Agora, paved street, columns and museum.
Depart at 9.00am
Return around 5.00pm – 5.30pm
Dates: on request
Cost: on request
Group size: minimum of 1 person
The tour includes:
Services of a full-time professional tour guide.
The tour doesn’t include:
– Lunch
– Transport