Siracusa
Having arrived in Siracusa bay on the east coast of Sicily, we decided to stay here for a while. Partly because it is a wonderful city with lots to see and do and also because it is a good anchorage to shelter from bad weather.
The view of the town from the boat at anchor.
An amazing lightning show all around the bay.
Everyday except Sunday is market day in Siracusa. Not a huge market but great fruit and veg stalls set in the old streets.
Piccolo tomatoes, grapes and unusual aubergine.
Spice stall with dried chillies and bamboo cones apparently for ricotta cheese.
The "panini man" in the market that everyone recommends. Great entertainment and chat while you queue up for your lunch and lots of free samples of cheese etc. Every sandwich he made was slightly different and you had what you were given. Ours had lettuce, red lettuce, celery leaves, chicory, tomatoes, red pepper, olives, basil, mint, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, salami, ham, pork shoulder, lime juice, olive oil and herbs. One sandwich to share was really too much it was so big and all for 5 euros!
Wonderful little shop down an alleyway, I love the hats as lampshades - and the fabric cactus?
Time for a drink stop in Minerva square - very Italian!
The main square in Siracusa, Piazzo Duomo. The tall building on the right is the Duomo (cathedral) that was pictured in the previous post.
Papyrus and ducks.
Fountain in Piazzo Archimedes featuring Artemis.
A walk up through the new town took us to the archeological park and museum. This is the Greek theatre there and it is completely cut out of the bedrock. Built in the 5th century, there are 67 rows of seats.
A large area of the park is an ancient quarry. The quarry was created using an open air method of stone extraction but to reach the more compact layers of rock, enormous holes were cut down from the surface and caves were created underneath. This picture shows one of these caves called the Ear of Dionysius - given its name by the painter Caravaggio for its shape and acoustic properties. It is said that the tyrrant Dionysius used the almost perfect acoustics to eavesdrop on his prisoners held captive in other caves. It is 23m by 3m
From inside "the ear" looking out.
Behind the market is the Jewish quarter - a maze of narrow streets.
Narrow streets with ornate balconies.
A view across the Temple of Apollo with the market in the distance.
In contrast, a very modern church in the new part of town close to the archeological park.
The super- moon rising over the town. Later we saw the eclipse when the earth cast a shadow across the moon.
No comments:
Post a Comment