Visit Piazza Armerina and Caltagirone with wine tasting lunch in winery

The Villa, a UNESCO World Heritage site from 1997, is one of the most important evidence of Roman master’s residence because it’s sophisticated and beautiful. It was discovered in 1950, the splendid architecture dates approximately from the first half of IV century but dating of estate is still unclear. Due to its majesty experts first thought  it was committed by Emperor but lately, after  discovering  other related villas in Sicily, they tought it could be a private property and the owner was probably an aristocrat, a Roman senator maybe or a Roman governor. We’re speaking about an area of around 3.500 mq paved with splendid mosaics fully preserved, created by african artists, experts say, showing scenes drawn from Omero’s literary work, from Greek mythology and from daily life. Villa’s mosaics aren’t just beautiful but also historical record of certain aspects of Roman culture like beasts hunting for circus and coliseum games. The main example is the Great Hunt mosaic in the corridor, which extend to 70 meters and can de read as a large map of Roman empire symbolized by fauna and by natural enviroments of empire’s regions.

The Cathedral of Saint Giuliano was built during the Norman domination. It has three naves, and in the nineteenth century its walls were decorated with the wonderful frescos made by the Sicilian painter Giuseppe Vaccaro; the fascinating Convent of the Franciscan Friars Minors, built in the neo-Gothic style and decorated with beautiful frescos, includes the church of Saint Francis of Assisi. Thanks to its marvellous eighteenth century’s baroque façade, the church has been included in the Fund for Religious Buildings’ historical and artistic heritage. Another important monument of the village is the Tondo Vecchio, a semi-circular building that recalls the shape of a theatre that looks towards the Valle di Ponente (Western Valley) and the coast. If you are curious and you want to take a deeper look into the history and traditions of this spectacular city, you might want to visit the Museum of Contemporary Ceramic, the International Museum of “Presepe” – a traditional Italian representation of the nativity scene that takes place every year during Christmas time – and La Scala Infiorita (19/05 to 15/06), thousands of vases with plants and flowers create one majestic illustration on the 142 steps of the Church of Santa Maria del Monte.

For lunch we recommend three wineries in reference to the experiences made by our best customers but to confirm one of these wineries our staff must have the information from you for the date you prefer. Each winery has different formats of experiences and different costs per person.