The Mediterranean islands of Sicily and Malta have captivated the British imagination for centuries. From the late 18th century, when architects like Sir John Soane measured the proportions of Sicily’s ancient Greek theaters to carry home the principles of Neoclassicism, to the 20th century, when Captain Alexander Hardcastle devoted his fortune to restoring Agrigento’s temples, these shores have inspired Britain’s artists, poets, scholars, and adventurers.
Cruising from the port of Catania, you’ll first arrive in Syracuse, Sicily. Here, you will walk through the fifth-century B.C. Greek amphitheater that Soane documented on his Grand Tour in 1779, producing measured drawings that shaped the architecture of Georgian Britain. A Sicilian baron will host you for a tour of his 18th-century residence, Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco, exemplifying the Baroque grandeur that drew generations of Grand Tourists to these shores.
In Malta, where British rule lasted 164 years, the architectural evidence of the empire remains visible throughout Valletta, the capital. Inside St. John’s Co-Cathedral, view the chapel once assigned to the English Langue of the Knights of St. John. The cathedral also houses two Caravaggio masterpieces, including The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist, the only painting the artist ever signed. British colonial officials conducted the first modern excavations of Malta’s prehistoric temples. Go behind the scenes at Hagar Qim and the Ggantija Temples, which predate the Egyptian pyramids by more than 1,000 years.
Back in Sicily, take a guided look at Agrigento’s UNESCO-listed Greek temples in the Valle dei Templi (Valley of the Temples), where Lord Byron wandered by moonlight in 1809. At Segesta, discover Sicily’s unfinished Doric temple, which fascinated Soane, and admire the structural logic of Greek design that influenced the buildings and squares of Regency Britain.
For complete information on this Royal Oak Foundation trip visit https://www.royal-oak.org/britain-tours/sicily-malta/
