Syracuse lies on the south-eastern tip of Sicily, pointing towards the Mediterranean, almost provocatively. I found myself there, due to a happy marraige of chance and circumstance, and thought it was one of the most pleasant cities that I have ever come across.
Like much of Sicily, the influence of the Greeks is very evident in Syracuse, (one of her most famous sons is Archimedes) which is most famous for the Greek Amphitheatre which they left behind.
There are two distinct sections to the city, one is the ancient greek ruins bit (which I'm sure has a 'proper' name!), where the remains of the amphitheatre, which is wonderfully well preserved, is. It is definitely worth taking a walk over here as the amphitheatre is set in a glade of lemons and it smells wonderful. There is also Diogenes' Ear. A strange cave, which has a unique echo system so that anything which is said it in, (and it's a big cave) even at normal speaking voice, can be heard throughout the cave. It was used for prisoners so they couldn't plot without being heard, and it's quite fun, although I had the misfortune to be in the cave at the same time as a group of American teenagers, which didn't exactly lend itself to serenity!
There are performances of concerts and dancing in the amphitheatre itself. I didn't go, but someone I met on the train to Naples told me she thought it was a complete waste of money and it was probably more impressive seeing the amphitheatre empty!
Adjacent to the archeological sites, is a great Archeological Museum, said to be one of the finest in Italy, a country with a LOT of archeology. It's very interesting, has enough signs in English to not be totally lost, and has a wonderful air-conditioning system that I wish I could've carried round Italy with me! I also had the most wonderful ice cream I've ever eaten (and I've eaten a lot!) in a shop close to the museum.
The other part of the city, is more shops and bars and cathedrals.. all the things one would come to expect from a regular italian city! It is the southern part of the city, with the port, and if you walk about in the old streets, it is very atmospheric! The Cathedral was one of my favourites too, it was something you just stumble across (or maybe I just wasn't looking where I was going too much!), and is in a piazza of cobbled stones.
I was only in Syracuse a day, which wasn't really enough, it would have been nice to have had about 3 or 4 days there at least and if you're in southern Italy, really do give it a shot, I loved it there, not least, because I had had no idea what to expect. The sicilians are a dream as well, very cute and very friendly... but that's another story altogether!
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Advantages: The Volcano, the food, the black beach Disadvantages: the horse meat stall in the market (don't buy anything from a butchers with a cute photo of a horse outside!_
womble 09.06.2004 ·
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