Sicily - Ortygia sights

Our last stop: Ortygia,, a small island just off Siracuse. To quote Lonely Planet "it's a living museum of a succession of epochs - Greek, Norman, Aragonese and baroque - purposefully combined in a harmonious symmetry". I could see why it draws visitors like magnets.

One of the bridges connecting Ortygia to Siracuse.


In the centre of Ortygia island lies Piazza Archimede with its 19th century fountain of Artemis. At the back you will find Catalan-Gothic Palazzo Lanza.

Palazzo Arcivescoville (17th-century) at night.

Cathedral at Piazza del Duomo. It's a Spanish shell of columns and Marabitti statuary designed by Andrea Palma. It thinly disguises the original temple of Athena.

Luckily the next day was a Sunday: the crowd was gone and we got to stroll around at our own pace. We actually liked the deserted streets.

On the southeast side of the island we found a "beach" called Maniace, which really is a rocky shore but people were swimming and sunbathing happily nonetheless. The water was a little too cold for us.

View of cathedral on a sunny day.

One of the original Doric columns built in 5th-century BC, still supporting the roof.

"Newer" buildings on the island.

We finished our trip with a traditional puppet theatre. Even though we don't speak the language it was quite captivating.

The plot seemed rather violent with dragon slaying etc. The audience was loving it!

Sicily - Ragusa sights

The drive from Etna to Ragusa took almost 4 hours but we instantly fell in love with this quaint classic little town down south. There was virtually no tourist and people were so friendly. Woohoo!

That evening we strolled along the streets in the "new" part of town, watched local men chilling and talking in front of coffee shops while we soaked in the atmosphere.

We woke up to another warm and sunny day and started off in the "new" town. The new town was built after the 1693 earthquake (which destroyed the old town), while the old town was being restored.

Piazza S. Giovanni in new town.

Authentically Sicilian: tree-lined streets, mopeds, and small cars.

Sicily's famous exports: aubergines, peppers, lemons, pistachios, fennel, tomatoes, durum wheat.

The landscape of Ragusa is probably the most interesting if not drastic of all the places I have visited. The the old town rests on a very narrow "rock" and the new town on a high plateau. The two towns are connected by a very winding road. View of old town from plateau.

Another view of old town. Notice there is not much outside the old town perimeter.

Interior of Chiesa del Purgatorio. Note the painting "Anime in Purgatorio" by Francesco Manno.

The magnificent Cattedrale di San Giorgio(1744). We were not able to go inside because of a wedding. Imagine walking down that aisle!!

Piazza in front of the cathedral and wedding car Italian style.

One of the smaller medieval churches(1563) near Giardino Ibleo.

We spent the day walking around the very small and quiet old town and were sad to have to leave so soon. If I ever get a chance to go back I'd definitely spend more time exploring the south.

Sicily - Mt. Etna sights

Our drive to Mt. Etna from Taormina took about an hour and we drove past some interesting small towns on the way.

An impressive cathedral in a small town on the way up Etna.

When we got to the cable car station at 1923m it was almost 11:30. It was a good thing that we avoided the busy morning traffic.

At the other end of the cable car (2500m) we got on a truck and we got taken towards one of the craters at 2920m.

There are 4 craters in total and some are smoking. This one was quiet.

We tracked around one of the smoking craters. The walk was harder than usual. I guess altitude played a part.

There was not a whole lot of volcanic activity other than smoke. I was getting a little bored I have to say.

See the awesome power at Yasur volcano in Vanuatu! Etna paled in comparison.

Sicily - Taormina sights

By the time we got to Taormina, found our hotel and parked it was almost 6pm. We quickly headed into town to have a look around. Our first stop: Teatro Greco but to our disappointments it shuts at 5:30. Dang. Second stop: Chiesa San Giuseppe.

The church's cute interior.

The busy Corso Umberto, the main street in Taormina.

The cute Piazza IX Aprile.

We woke up to the stunning view of nearby town Giardini-Naxos with Mt Etna on the back.

Breathtaking view from our breakfast table.

At long last we made it to the Greek theatre. Built in the 3rd century BC it's the most dramatically situation Greek theatre in the world.

View of Bay of Schiso.

Here you can see how the theatre is suspended between sea and sky, with Mt Etna as a backdrop.

I was hoping to see a gladiator or 2 come running!

Saracen Castle on top of mountain, overlooking the cute Taormina town.