So as the taxi pulled up in front of our hotel in Siracusa, all I could think was: NOW I understand what the first Sicilian immigrants to upstate New York were thinking when they named their new city in honor of their hometown! The similarities are so striking! Perhaps it was the warm sea breezes flapping the palm fronds over the whitewashed ruins of the 2700-year old Temple of Apollo. Or the waves lapping up against the massive stone walls of the city, boats swaying in the marina while natural springs boil up under the Fountain of Aretusa. Was it the baroque churches sandwiched into lavastone streets the width of an armspan? The old Jewish Quarter whose baths still survive, on streets now filled with marionette handcrafters and puppet theaters? No, no, it must have been the medieval churches built on top of ancient Greek temples, or the early Christian catacombs carved out of aqueducts and cisterns built by the Greeks in the 7th century BC. Yes, yes, that’s it. It all makes perfect sense.
As you can imagine, Siracusa is an enormous disappointment. First of all the weather, which goes into the 70s during the day, under clear, blue, sunny skies, is more than we can handle. (We haven’t decided if it’s purely coincidental that the weather is so much different here than Catania, which is only 1 hour north, or there is a major climatic change.) Here on the island of Ortigia, the oldest part of Siracusa, the side streets are as narrow as your average 1-car garage, which doesn’t prevent cars from flying around blind corners, leaving us to jump into doorways to prevent ourselves from being skewered by side-mirrors. (There are no sidewalks; the doors to the houses open right off the street.) It’s just so boring to happen upon these grandiose, gloriously embellished stone churches at every bend, and to sit at outdoor cafes sipping lattes, overlooking the Ionian Sea. And it’s particularly irritating to be surrounded by all these ruins. I mean, why can’t they just pave it over and build some condos or something?
Somehow, we’ll just have to muddle through.
P.S. More photos have been added to the link where it says "click here" in the posting a few days ago.
