Palermo is the most layered city on the Italian coastline: its Norman cathedral, Arabic-Byzantine mosaics, and baroque piazzas tell the history of a place governed by Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Spanish, and Bourbons in succession, each leaving a stratum of architecture and cuisine that the next only partially erased. Arriving by motor yacht and mooring at the Marina Villa Igiea or the Cala harbour puts the city within ten minutes walk from the vessel, so guests can explore Palermo in the mornings and be back on board for lunch before the heat builds. Ten motor yachts in the collection operate in Sicilian waters, ranging in length from 30 to over 60 metres. Weekly rates run from approximately 79,000 to 400,000 euros, with a median around 180,000 euros before the advance provisioning allowance of roughly 30 percent. The itinerary from Palermo most frequently taken by charter guests extends northwest to the Egadi Islands and the old tonnara at Favignana, south to Marsala and the Stagnone lagoon behind the salt pans, and east to Cefalù and its celebrated Norman cathedral. The waters of northwest Sicily are reliably calmer in the morning before the Tramontane northwest wind picks up, so motor yachts typically make longer passages early and anchor or berth by noon. Ustica Island, 60 kilometres north of Palermo, is a marine reserve with exceptional visibility and wall dives that attract charter guests specifically for the underwater landscape throughout the diving season.
