Siracusa is an ancient city that is made of the the typical blend of cultures that southern Italy is known for. Ancient Siracusa (Syracuse) was a powerful city-state in the Greek world and at one point, even rivaled Athens. Sicily is home to some of the most extraordinary ancient Greek ruins; actually even more than is left in Greece.
Siracusa is built around a bay. And jutting out from it, just on the tip and into the Ionian sea, is the little island of Ortigia. And this is where I'm staying. An apartment, about 50 yards from the sea, just looking out into splendor:
And here is a tour of my apartment. I took the overnight train from Rome. Taking an overnight train is kind of like camping but you're not in the woods, which is nice. The train zooms down to Calabria, right at the tip of the boot. They load the train onto a traghetto and it crosses the sea over to Sicily. Then they unload the train, hook it all back together, and on you go.
Once settled, I went for a walk. Following the coastline:
Looking into the horizon:
Then back to just roaming the very windy streets. Endless, narrow streets. Greek, Roman, medieval, Norman... and plenty of Baroque.
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