Road trip in Sicily, part seven: Siracusa

(Date: 19-21.07.2007)
(Written: 21.07.2007)

After a great breakfast with the best possible view on old Caltagirone, we walked back to the car through the maze-like streets, and then drove to Siracusa (Syracuse). It was wonderful to discover this island so full of houses that you feel they're going to overflow and fall in the sea... We drove to the hotel, named 'Palazzo del Sale' or palace of the salt. It's a historic house, a palace converted to bed and breakfast. The room was just great, two floors with two beds on the top floor (the kids were delighted to have their own room), and the bottom floor for Chi Meei and I, and also a very stylish bathroom. In the bathroom, some parts of the floor was tiled, while some other parts and the walls were a little like lava stone, very beautiful. Also the accessories, the sink, the shower, all were very stylish and the whole set looked really nice.

Since we were staying two nights in Siracusa, we took it easy and also spent some time resting and reading. The heat is pretty terrible these days in Sicily! But still, we also spent a lot of time outside, walking the small lanes and discovering the hidden places of the island. As the evening came, we walked to the Piazza Duomo for dinner. It was not exceptional, certainly not comparable to the previous day's in Caltagirone, because the place is just too touristy. We'll d better the next day :)

After a good night's sleep, we took the car to drive out of the old town and went to visit the archeological park. One impressive feature is the Greek theater carved out of a hill, and of course the 'Ear of Dyonisius'. He was a tyrant (ruler) of Siracusa (as well as other parts of Sicily) who used this ear-shaped cave to keep prisoners of war. The interesting fact is that the acoustic of the cave is supposedly so good that everything said inside of the cave can be heard from the outside, so that secrets exchanged by the prisoners could be overheard. What part is legend and what part is reality is unknown, but the cave itself is really worth a visit. Even more when you know that 7000 men are supposed to have died here after a war with Athens, which gives a tragic feel to the place.

Other features of the park are a roman theater and other antique monuments. We also walked to the nearby necropolis, in which the supposed location of Archimedes' tomb can be seen. Again, we're not sure he is really resting there, but this is a good place to pay respect to the man who was probably the greatest mind of his time. After reading so many histories about him and his inventions in school, it was a strange and good feeling to spend some time in thoughts in this place.

After this visit, we drove back to the island and went to see the Castle Maniace, which occupies the whole tip of the island. The visit was a little disappointing; there is nothing much left to explore and the heat was just too much to bear, so we decided to go back to the hotel. There, Alise and I changed to swim suits and walked to a nearby tiny sandy beach, and we had a good swim in the cool sea water, and then spent time looking for shells and nice looking stones. Finally, a good shower and an afternoon nap.

Not wanting to make the same mistake as the previous day, we asked the hotel's owner for dinner advice, and he recommended us a small typical Sicilian trattoria just 200 meters from there. The food was excellent (I had a carpaccio and the swordfish, local specialty), and while we ate we enjoyed some Sicilian music, and then some jazz. A good glass of Moscato wine (for me) and some house made tiramisu (for Chi Meei and the girls) ended a great day in Siracusa!

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