The town is split into two parts - the older town is called Ragusa Ibla, and the newer and higher part is Ragusa Superiore (Upper Town). The two halves are separated by the Valle dei Ponti, a deep ravine. Apparently there’s a church called Purgatory of Souls that is positioned in between and the town is known for its baroque architecture.
After meandering through the town, we parked and headed up the steep incline in Ragusa Ibla to the Cathedral or Duomo di San Giorgio. There were bikers going up and down the hills, so thought it was fun to include them in the picture:
After descending the staircase and walking through the piazza, we stopped into a café to rest. I ordered a latte while my family indulged in chocolate and mango gelato as it was quite sunny and warm. We then walked to the Portale di San Giorgio which is an ancient door from a destroyed church. Many of the buildings had been affected by the Sicilian earthquake of 1693. Here you can see Saint George killing the dragon over the doorway:
The door was right next to the Garden Ibleo where we enjoyed the weather and a flutist playing Star Wars and other music:
It also had nice views of the valley:
Then we walked back to our car. In Siracusa, we learned white lines mean free, blue means paid parking, and yellow means residents only - we confirmed the system was the same here with a local. The street where we parked for free:
As we were leaving, you can see steps - there were steps everywhere - there’s even a church called Saint Mary of the Steps! Kudos to Mama Kim who was a trooper and whom I had to convince to bring a hiking pole:
We then drove two hours generally west to Villa Romana del Casale, near the town of Piazza Armerina known for its impressive mosaics - it’s considered one of the most extensive in the world and the site continues to be excavated. Upon arriving at the parking lot, there was a tourist plaza and we enjoyed an arancini ball and a hot dog for a midday snack. We then walked up to the over 4,000 square foot villa, potentially of a Roman aristocrat:
The mosaics….From the Great Hunt mosaic which shows animals being captured and shipped off, potentially from North Africa as you see animals like elephants, tigers, and etc:
Nicknamed the “bikini girls”, these are women competing in various sports:
The Giants:
Exploring the basilica:
After the villa, we continued to drive through the sunny Sicilian countryside:
After a detour due to a closed road, we arrived at our farm stay at Agriturismo Baglio San Nicola. Here, we’re entering through the gate and up the hill lined with olive trees:
The reception area doubles as the restaurant and right next door is a courtyard of rooms or baglio (meaning courtyard in a fortified farm). Our room is on the right and is named “limone”:
Our view out our window:
Before the sunset, Mama Kim and I walked around in the windy weather to check out the pool and surroundings:
The farm offered us dinner for €30 per person and we opted in. There was no menu where we could choose, but the meal was homey. The starter included ham, chickpea fritters, couscous, and crostini; the pasta with a light tomato sauce and bread crumbs; pork scallopini Sicilian style (with tomatoes, raisins, capers, pine nuts) and potatoes, and a cannoli for dessert. Collage below:
Today was our longest drive day for a total of about 4 hours - 1 hour from Siracusa to Ragusa, 2 hours to the Villa Romana, and then another 1 hour to San Nicola. We definitely soaked in the Sicilian countryside or “campagna”!
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