SYRACUSE, SICILY
Today we arrived in Syracuse, on the island of Sicily.
On our previous visit we walked to the archaeological site and loved it so much that we decided it should be today’s plan, also. The 30-minute walk through the streets of the city was pleasant, with many of them lined with colourful trees and interesting buildings.
Our arrival at the Archaeological site was badly timed, clashing as it did with what seemed like several school groups and excursions (including a Saga one). Entrance was a reasonable €17 each, and once in side, we retraced the steps of our previous visit. We noticed almost instantly that things didn’t seem quite as colourful. We were here earlier in the year last time – today, there wasn’t nearly as much flora and fauna.
We dodged the school groups and excursions as best we can, but there was no evading the noise inside the Ear of Dionysius.
What’s more, there seemed to be more roped-off exclusion zones, preventing us from walking inside caves where we had previously been allowed to wander. The Greek Theatre area was covered over, as it had been before (which is normal between March and August, it seems, as the theatre is used for live performances), and parts of the Roman Theatre area had also been roped off. All of which didn’t really bother us (well – perhaps not being allowed inside a couple of the caves in the quarry might have miffed us a little). What we didn’t like was the proponderance of new features – sculptures and statues mostly – that just didn’t seem necessary.
The worst offenders were the two statues plonked right slap-bang in the middle of the Roman amphitheatre that just seemed incongruous and completely inappropriate.
Clearly, the site is undergoing some sort of slow transformation, presumeably to upgrade and improve the visitor experience. Whether it is for the better or not in the long run remains to be seem. What we do know is that we will leave it a few years now before returning (assuming we come this way again in the near future).
Upon leaving the site, we followed the outer perimeter, along the road, to the Tomb of Archimedes, which we failed to find on our last visit. Even here, there are large sections of the Archaeological site that are inaccessible, which is a shame because – even viewed through the railings – they look fantastic… maybe their future plans include opening them up to visitors… we’ll see…
On our way back towards the Old Town, and the ship, we stopped off at a small roadside cafe for an authentic Sicilian pasta lunch and a drink, which was nice. The Old Town was predictably busy, but is always a pleasure to walk around. We meandered through the market next to the Temple of Apollo, walked up to the cathedral and beyond, to Arethusa Spring before heading back through the narrow streets to the impressive Fountain of Diana, and back to the ship.
We now have two sea days as we head West, through the Mediterranean Seas, towards our final port of call, Gibraltar.
