The hotel clerk took this photo and he joked that he wanted to make sure to include “The White Lotus” hotel (on the way right). We were sad to leave and the shower probably had the strongest water pressure I’ve ever experienced - it was like hydrotherapy on my head!
We navigated down the cliffside and made our way to the highway, where we headed south through Catania and less than two hours to Siracusa. Our first stop was to visit the church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro in the main town. Saint Lucia is the patron saint of Siracusa and apparently was a virgin martyr who gave her wealth away to the poor. Here’s in front of the church which was built on top of the place where she was supposedly killed:
We were here to see “The Burial of Saint Lucy” by Caravaggio. After leaving Malta, he fled to Siracusa where he painted the moment her throat was cut before her beheading. After seeing his paintings in Malta, I stumbled upon some helpful websites about where his paintings are located and saw that we could conveniently stop here. In order to see the painting, folks had to pay a donation for the lighting. When I first came in, I thought the painting was really dark, but the light timer had just run out.
Here’s a map of all Caravaggio’s paintings in Italy plus Malta that was posted outside the church, along with some other information about the painting and Caravaggio. We may see one of his paintings in Naples, but unfortunately his painting in Palermo was stolen (potentially by the mafia).
About five minutes away, but took us about twenty as we searched for parking and got stuck in some traffic, we visited the Archaeological Park of Neapolis which means “new city”. After figuring out how to pay the meter from a Belgian, we parked right next to the entrance. When we entered and walked down the sloping hill, first, we saw the Altar of Hiero II, one of the largest altars known in the ancient world:
Then we walked up the hill to the top of the Greek theater where there were many caves:
There were also many school groups with different color hats learning about the Greek Theater - one of the largest, if not the largest. My mom also noted there were groups of senior citizens learning nearby and we chuckled at the juxtaposition.
What we enjoyed the most though, was the Paradise Quarries which are ancient stone quarries with an installation of huge sculptures and several grottos:
One of the grottos was called the “Ear of Dionysius” that was incredibly tall and dark with impressive acoustics:
After the archeological park and just ten minutes away, was Ortigia Island which is the oldest part of Siracusa. Here we were staying at the Ortea Palace, a Marriott Autograph hotel and converted post office. We succeeded in finding parking in front instead of the valet (which the hotel didn’t seem that excited to provide). Our room is a duplex again, but this time with a bathroom and queen size bed on each floor. Here’s one of the bridges that is used for crossing on to the island:
After settling in, resting including naps, we enjoyed our welcome drinks which were granitas and headed out. Our first stop was the Temple of Apollo:
Then to the Piazza Archimedes named after the famous mathematician who was from Siracusa. In the center was a fountain of Diana:
We then headed to the Duomo known as the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Holy Nativity of Mary. It’s actually a church that incorporated a Greek Temple of Athena. We also got to see the beginning of a wedding:
What’s also famous in Siracusa is the Font of Aretusa which is a natural spring and I’m a little unclear on the legend, but in any case, it’s the most visited landmark in Siracusa. It’s also been written about by various literary writers and poets such as William Wordsworth and Alexander Pope. It has papyrus and reeds in the middle and various waterfowl:
We generally wandered around the island - the hotel clerk said it takes just twenty minutes:
As part of our walkabout, we stopped into several pharmacies as Justin’s friend had asked him to pick up these cough drops that can only be found in Sicily according to him. Apparently they are strong and are / were used by opera singers like Luciano Pavarotti:
For dinner, we ended up at La Locanda di Vicolo IV and ordered octopus salad, pasta Siracusa and Carbonara style, and the Fishermen’s linguini - all delicious with a refreshing glass of Chardonnay:
We also learned today that the local Museo dei Pulpi was not about octopus, but puppets! And with that, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for tomorrow.
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