Lost at Sea: Sailing to Siracusa

After an uneventful but windy sail from Augusta, we set up shop in the beautiful harbour of Siracusa. Entering this harbour was a real joy; Siracusa is a very attractive ancient city built of glowing white limestone, sited on an island, Ortigia, on the edge of a very attractive and sheltered natural harbour.

Siracusa harbour at dawn

The small inner harbour where we left Spit.

Pavlov is out there somewhere

The old sea wall of Siracusa

Looking down the old town to the fort

Renovations underway on Ponte Umbertino

Siracusa is also a foodie heaven, and it prides itself on its local produce and cuisine. We visited the local market and were encouraged to try all the local wares. We literally ate our way down the street.

Beautiful fresh produce

Large crowd for the fresh oysters and champagne, shucked on the spot.

Swordfish and tuna

The deli in the market

Free tastings everywhere

Siracusa is a melange of different influences, having been a major city for the Greeks, Romans, Spanish, Ottomans and Arabs. Each culture overlaid and updated previous architectures, resulting in a heady and dizzying mix of classical and baroque architectures.

Temple of Apollo

Temple of Apollo, main wall and two columns remaining

Piazza del Archimedes

Baroque building facades

The Duomo

Piazza del Duomo

Siracusa's one Caravaggio is displayed in Santa Lucia's church

The much trumped Exhibition of Caravaggio turned out to be just the one painting, albeit a very famous one that the artist actually painted in Siracusa. 'The Burial of Saint Lucy' is sited in the church that bears her name. It really is an impressive painting to see, if you love the sumptuous richness of Caravaggio and the way he portray's this luminosity that reaches out from larges masses of colour.

Local street musician

A very Italian Alfa Romeo

The Fonte Aretusa

An Italian puppet shop

Windy lanes, but always a place to eat

Check the ironwork on the balustrades

Even after 4 days in Siracusa, we hadn't mastered the atrocious Italian buses, so we walked down to Castello Maniace, the fortress and citadel situated on the southern tip of Ortigia. It was constructed in 1232 by Emperor Frederick II, and served as a home for generations of Sicilian queens.

Walking down to the castle

Sicilian beach

In the back streets of Ortigia

Tiling on the roof of gunnery batteries

Castle walls

Light house on the fort

View back to Ortigia

View to sea

Finally, we deciphered the bus routes, and caught a bus north of the city to the Parco Archeologico della Neapolis, an archaeological site with Greek and Roman amphitheatres, as well as some fascinating man-made caves. The Greek amphitheatre was impressive as it was carved out of solid limestone. Above the theatre were grottos dedicated to the Nymphs. The area just north of the amphitheatre was used as a quarry, and it contains the 'Ear of Dionysius', a man-made cave carved out of the limestone cliffs in the shape of a human ear. The cave was initially used for water storage, and was named by Caravaggio after Dionysius I, the Tyrant of Siracusa.

Greek amphitheatre

remarkable as its hewn out of solid bedrock limestone

Grotto to the Nymphs

Waterfall in the Grotto

Entrance to the 'Ear of Dionysius'

Inside the ear

Final stop for the day was the Archeological Museum and the huge monument, 'Madonna della Lacrime'. Next day, after a week enjoying Siracusa, we departed for Porto Palo, heading ever westward to our winter home in Licata.