Syracuse, Sicily

Here we are in Syracuse, or Siracusa, on the east coast of Sicily. The city’s oldest residential district, Ortygia – which itself is an island – will be our home for a month.

Apparently there are significant differences between Sicily and the rest of the country; for a start, it’s said people consider themselves to be Sicilian first and then, maybe, Italian. Which is not really surprising when you consider that ancient Greeks were settling here as long ago as 750 BC and that Sicily only became part of Italy in 1860.

From our base in Syracuse, we’re looking forward to learning more about Sicily and Sicilians over the next few weeks; early indications are that doing so is going to be an enjoyable experience.

We thought an eight hour train journey to Syracuse would be a great adventure; in the end, it was just an adventure

The train was five hours late so we didn't arrive until almost midnight; but at least the 'train-on-the-ferry' part of the journey was fun

Founded by ancient Greeks more than 2700 years ago, Syracuse became a powerful city-state; in the 5th century Syracuse was as large as Athens

Cicero described it as 'the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all'

Syracuse later became part of the Roman Republic; eventually, having survived through the centuries, Sicily joined forces with Naples and they became the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies until, finally, that became part of Italy in 1860

The Sicilian flag is unusual; it's charactertised by a triskelion (a three-legged symbol) representing the triangular shape of the island, the winged head of Medusa and three ears of wheat

The Temple of Apollo; dating from around 565 BC, it's believed to be the oldest Greek temple in Sicily or possibly even outside Greece itself

The city grew up around the remains of the temple until, finally, they were barely visible; in the 1940s many of the surrounding buildings were removed and the site was excavated

Through the centuries the temple was transformed into a Byzantine church, an Islamic mosque, a Norman church and a Spanish barracks

The Spring of Arethusa; named for the ancient Greek myth that's told as a great love story but really is anything but (nymph minding her own business is spied by river god who pursues her even after she flees to Ortygia and is turned into a spring)

In the centre of Ortygia, the beautiful Fountain of Diana was built in 1907

Syracuse's cathedral with its wonderful 'High Sicilian Baroque' facade dominates the Piazza del Duomo

The church was built in the 7th century; it was constructed around a 5th century Greek temple that existed on the site

It was a relatively simple job - they just filled in the spaces between the columns

In 878, under the control of the Arab Saracens, the church was converted into a mosque; then in 1085 it was converted back again when the Normans retook the city

Syracuse's patron is Santa Lucia who was martyred here in 304 AD; twice a year a statue and several relics of the saint (robe, veil, bone fragments) are paraded through the streets

These are important days for the people of the city who revere their patron

And then, over the bridge in the 'new' part of Syracuse, there's this...

The Shrine of Our Lady of Tears is dedicated to a small plaster statue of Mary that miraculously shed tears over a few days back in 1953; the structure which is meant to resemble a teardrop (but which really looks more like aliens have landed) dominates the city's skyline

Back on the island and much more visually pleasing is the famous Ortygia market

Just a block from us and open six mornings a week, the market is a feast for the senses

Sights and smells here are accompanied by the shouts of vendors exhorting shoppers to buy

Known for its fresh seafood (especially local tuna and swordfish), we also found the most delicious mozzarella at this market; a big chunk on fresh bread with a squeeze of lemon and a slug of good olive oil ... yum!

The oyster shucker's stand where you ask for a couple and for five euros he serves you up half a dozen oysters and two cups of sparkling, cold prosecco

Hard to beat on a sunny day

We found this man outside his house early one morning; he'd been to the market and was cleaning prawns that would soon be on plates in his nearby restaurant

The very contemporary Fish House art gallery

This is our street; most afternoons these ladies catch up for a chat

A few doors up the other way, this lovely lady sells her handiwork from her home; she happily posed for a photograph but not before carefully rearranging things so the most colourful items were at the front (later she thanked me with 'bacci', the Italian double-kiss and now regularly greets me with 'buongiorno bella'!)

And, finally, we spotted this lady; beautifully dressed (even on a warm day) with coat, hat and gloves, she was making her way home from the celebrations for Santa Lucia