Sicily is arguably the richest region for art, history and culture in Europe. If you understand the history of Sicily then you understand the history of Europe, or so wrote one 18th century Grand Tourist. For 3,000 years Sicily has played host to the most powerful ruling elites of the time: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs, Normans, French, Germans, Spanish, Austrians, and at times even the English. This confluence of cultures has created a mix of art and architecture unparalleled in its brilliance, from the Doric Temples of the Greeks to the delicate carvings of the Sicilian baroque. Two of the great mosaic schemes of the world are here: the Roman mosaics at the Villa Casale and the Norman Byzantine mosaics at Monreale. Caravaggio did some of his finest paintings in Sicily and the island is host to a number of other first tier artists lost to the annals of art history. If Palermo, Syracuse and Taormina are on well trodden tourist paths, Art Tours can also take you to a host of hidden gems: Ragusa, Modica, Noto, Enna, Selinunte, Erice, and Marsala, not to mention private palazzi for lunches and dinners hosted by the owners.