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You are here: Home / Travel / Europe / Sicily / Ancient Steps in Siracusa, Sicily

Ancient Steps in Siracusa, Sicily

October 12, 2012 by Fiona Maclean 8 Comments

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Last Updated on July 17, 2013

Food and Antiquities in Siracusa:

Our visit to Siracusa somehow didn’t seem to last long enough.  Although we started early and arrived in Ortygia, the old town,  by around 10am there seemed to be too much to see and not enough time to cover everything.

We started our trip by visiting what Livia, our guide, described as ‘a real Italian food market’.  By which I think she meant that although there were plenty of tourists, the food being sold there was for local people to cook and eat.  Whilst I’ve been to larger market in Europe (in Barcelona, Florence and even in London), this one was charming and vibrant.

syracuse - cheese

Plentiful fish stalls, selling a wide range of fish from red mullet to octopus, wonderful cheeses and stall after stall with sun dried pachino tomatoes, mountain oregano and bags of almonds.  Of course we bought.  In my case smoked mozzarella, a tub of sundried tomato paste and the largest bag of almonds in the world (well, ok, the largest bag that I thought might fit in my case for the return trip!).  I also bought garlic – having discovered the stuff you can buy in Spain and Italy tastes very different to what I am used to from the supermarket here.

syracuse - herbs and spices

syracuse fish

syracuse sun dried tomatoes

syracuse cheese

Next a bit of cultural sightseeing.  Like much of Sicily, Siracusa is a collection of ornate, baroque buildings which replaced the city that was destroyed in the Earthquake of 1693.  There are fountains and perfect baroque squares.  There are also remnants of this city’s heritage – the temple of Apollo as you cross into Ortygia seems out of place in the City Centre, surrounded by shops and houses but is a reminder that this city was founded in 734 or 733 BC by Greek settlers and remained an important outpost of both the Greek and Roman Empires

Temple of Apollo ruins in syracuse

A little further into the city, the most perfect fountain in Archimedes square leading to the cathedral (Siracusa is the birthplace of the preeminent mathematician and engineer)

syracuse

 

Siracusa is a Unesco world heritage site, but I believe it is the Greek and Roman ruins that have earned the city that accolade.  Nevertheless, both the approach to the Cathedral and the building itself are stunning…every bit as much as the baroque heritage towns of Modica, Noto, Ragusa and others in the Noto valley.

syracuse siracusa

syracuse cathedral siracusa

Or perhaps it is just that the sun was shining, there was music and the wine was flowing!

musician syracuse

We left Ortygia to visit the World Heritage Site on the outskirts of the city, visiting those ancient steps

siracuse

The Ear of Dionysius is part of the same site, a strange cave that was original dug to store water, but later used for holding political dissidents, where means of the perfect acoustics according to legend, Dionysius could eavesdrop on the plans and secrets of his captives – or if you prefer the more gruesome version listen to the screams of prisoners being tortured in it.

syracuse ear of dionysius

This is a city with a complex history evident whereever you go.  From the Ancient Greeks and Romans, to Byzantine Emperors to the Spanish and then finally to Italy with the Unification in 1865.  Whilst the impact of tourism is evident, Siracusa or Syracuse is still relatively unspoilt and should definitely be on the agenda of anyone visiting Southern Sicily.

 

 

Filed Under: Sicily, Travel Tagged With: sicily

About Fiona Maclean

London based freelance writer and marketing consultant. I edit London-Unattached.com and write for a number of other publications. With a music degree and a background in marketing across many sectors, my passions include all types of music, food, restaurants, wine and travel

Comments

  1. Jayne Townson says

    March 16, 2018 at 2:07 pm

    Sounds like a lovely place to visit, all those photos of fresh food are making me hungry.

    Reply
  2. Jagruti says

    March 11, 2018 at 11:06 pm

    Such a beautiful and charming place this is, been to Italy a couple of times but never visited Siracusa but now on travel to do list:)

    Reply
  3. isobelle forde says

    June 14, 2016 at 10:06 pm

    Would love to visit Siracusa as I went to Trapani last year for a break, it was nowhere long enough to explore this wonderful island, enjoyed looking at your photos, bringing back some memories of the markets and the sunshine, the diversity of culture in the architecture and the people who were super friendly.

    Reply
  4. Jayne says

    February 16, 2013 at 3:23 pm

    Sounds great! Lovely pictures!

    Reply
    • Fiona Maclean says

      March 11, 2013 at 10:57 pm

      thank you, now I just want to go back

      Reply
  5. Urvashi says

    November 20, 2012 at 7:01 am

    I love Siracusa. We went o Sicily for our honeymoon nd I have always wanted to go back. These pictures have tempted me to look for flights!

    Reply
    • FionaM says

      November 20, 2012 at 7:40 am

      I went to some fabulous places in Sicily and I’d love to go back and explore some more. I’d be interested to know where you went Urvashi:)

      Reply
  6. rebecca says

    October 28, 2012 at 2:11 pm

    looks well worth a visit

    Reply

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