Archaeology and romance
by Sjalen
The single most important activity? Please don't make me choose in Siracusa! OK, it would have to be charming Ortygia which is a delight to just stroll around. Meet someone for instance here at the Fontana Aretusa with its papyrus in the middle (picture). This is actually a freshwater spring, mentioned already by Pindar and Virgil and amazingly close to the sea. Arethusa turned into a spring (see the fountain under "musts") but still never managed to escape Alpheus and was contaminated instead.
When your feet are tired, find a quayside bar for a pick-me-up limoncello before your evening meal :-) I must say I enjoyed the archaeology park a lot too though and our daytrip combination of the two was perfect and without stress, even if the ideal would be to stay the night for the atmosphere - I'll certainly do that next time. The thieving magpie - see the restaurant tip.
All around the island
by TheWanderingCamel
A late afternoon trip around Ortygia and out to the nearby sea caves by boat is a great way to spend an hour or so. You'll find several operators offering essentially the same tour - we chose one from near the Porta Marina that took us along the inner harbour, past the Venetian-inspired palazzo that was once the home of Sicilian poet, Antonio Cardile and under the Ponte Nuovo and the very low arches of the bridge near the old Post Office (currently being converted into a very swish hotel). Leaving the brightly painted fishing boats and yachts at their moorings behind us, we sailed out into the Ionian Sea, following the coast north until we reached the sea caves in the cliffs below Tyche, the northern quarter of the mainland city.
As the skipper manouevred the boat into the cave he pointed out the bright orange coral growing on the rocks along the water line. The light in the cave was extraordinary and the colours were magical - the intense turquoise blues and crystal clear water of the sea contrasting with purples and greens in the rock walls and the orange coral. After sailing in to a couple more caves and around the rock formations we headed across an open stretch of water back towards Ortygia .
There was an ever-changing vista of the city as we sailed along the eastern shore of Ortygia, around the southern tip where the Castello Maniace has stood guard since the 13th century and along the western shore back to where we started. With the sun in the west behind our backs, the light was lovely, touching the walls and rooftops with gold.
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Montage
Ruins of Basilica San Giovanni atop Catacombs
fireworks
il profeta françois
