“Sicilia antica dellu mi cori, quanti ricchezzi ch 'a'tteni tu!” - "Ancient Sicily, of my heart, how many riches you possess."
Day 2 – Thursday, February 22 – Syracuse
We got up at 7am. The coffee was good. We had decided to go to Syracuse by bus. We headed for the stop, which turned out to be closer than expected. Our apartment was located in the perfect ancient center of the city, next to the Cathedral of Santa Agatha - the patron saint of the city, opposite the statue of an elephant, the symbol of Catania. We arrived at piazza Paolo Borsellino, which turned out to be a stop for many city and extra-city buses. We talked to a Bulgarian family - they were going to Palermo. We bought tickets, I don't remember how much they were anymore, about 10 euros or less. The bus came soon, we traveled for about an hour enjoying the scenery. The driver told us that in order to go to the center, we should get off at the last stop - corso Umberto.
We walked slowly through the streets, looking around for a toilet. For 0.50 euros they let us into a bar. We soon reached the bridge that separated the main part of the city from the island of Ortigia. Something like Nessebar with the isthmus. Before that we had ice cream and some snacks. The prices were quite bearable, like here, only in euros. One or two scoops of ice cream – about 4 euros, snacks between 2 and 4 euros. We smoked, took pictures on the bridge and went sightseeing. While we were looking around in a square, an old, kind gentleman offered to take us around the city in a kind of rickshaw, but with a motorcycle. The offer: one hour in the new part of the city, stories about the sights, waiting to see and take pictures plus one hour of the same in the old part of Ortigia. Price: 70 euros per person. It seemed a lot to us, but we agreed. Then we saw that other few tourist buses offer similar services.
Our tour guide was very kind and sweet-talking, he told interesting and fascinating stories. We also talked about life there and at home, about politics, about the war... He was sad that his son was abroad (photo model, he showed us pictures too... very nice, haha). His daughter managed to realize herself in Italy with music, but he also missed his granddaughter, who was studying in England. In general, like in our country. Sad…
Syracuse is located on the south-eastern coast of Sicily with an outlet to the Ionian Sea, about 70 km from Catania airport. It was built on limestone rock. It is divided into an old and a new town, the new part being built after the Second World War. The old town is located on a small island - Ortija. The two parts of the city are connected by two bridges - Ponte Umberto I and Ponte Santa Lucia. The saint is the patron and protector of the city. The port is also located near the bridges.
One of the great sights is The Archaeological Park with the "Ear of Dionysus". We looked at it from above and from the outside, we didn't have time to go around it all. We also visited Catacombs of St. John, but again only outside - they were just closing for lunch break. Syracuse is the birthplace of Archimedes, a fact of which the locals are very proud. Archimedes Museum and the statue are the other two interesting places to visit. We did not manage to enter the Santuario di Santa Lucia – an impressive dome towering over the entire city. It is a 103-meter cone-shaped modernist silhouette of the Basilica "Madonna delle Lacrime", dedicated to a miracle that happened in the city in 1953. It is said that there is a cast of the head of the saint who wept and her tears healed a blind girl. Our friend Angelo also showed us an ancient tree, from the ficus family. It was huge, imposing and very beautiful.
The baroque style of architecture prevails on the island. The typical narrow streets with tall buildings create a sense of coziness. We passed through the Arab and Spanish quarters. Archimedes Square and the background of the goddess Diana – a recreated scene from mythology, where the young nymph Arethusa flees from the river god Alpheus, while the goddess Diana, depicted with a bow and a dog, tries to protect her.
Central Square - Piazza del Duomo it was buzzing with people – tourists and locals, children and adults. An imposing cathedral, with beautiful marble columns and statues of saints, built on the remains of the Temple of Artemis. Several Doric columns from the old temple have been preserved inside. At the other end of the square is a small church named after Santa Lucia. There you can enjoy Caravaggio's masterpiece - the painting "Seppellimento di Santa Lucia”("The Funeral of Santa Lucia"). Danny and I seem to have been so impressed by the canvas. Maybe because it was too far away and fenced off for security reasons. The weather was nice. Warm, with a light wind at times. Our next stop was Castello Minace” (Minache Castle) – located on the top of the island is an impressive medieval fortress.
The castle has been a defensive fortress against sea attacks since the 13th century. The walk inside takes about an hour. Angelo dropped us off at the castle and we parted ways. I walked around it and Danny rested outside on the benches. Then we decided to walk through the small, neat streets. We had lunch in an Osteria - pasta and a glass of wine. Then we slowly went around the island. Small shops, restaurants... monotonous, but beautiful and somewhat cozy. And everywhere ceramic cones - the symbol of Sicily. Even so, no one was able to explain to me exactly what it symbolizes. We got back to the bridges and sat down to rest. Coffee and sweets to end the great day. We soon reached the stop and it turned out that the bus was leaving in 15 minutes. Great.
We got home in the dark. Near the accommodation we found a local shop for sausages and cheeses. When the salesman found out that we were foreigners, he started "courting" us. He said that since we don't know the taste of all the products, we should try everything before deciding what to choose. With laughter and banter, we tried the delicious prosciutto crudo at a price of 37 euros per kg, two types of salami and two cheeses, very similar to our cheese. I joked that if I tried one more thing, I would eat myself and not buy anything. We filled the bag and went home to rest. We ate but it was too early for bed and we went out for a walk around town. Noise, commotion, all kinds of people, full bars, street musicians... wonderful.
© 2024 Iliana Dechkova