Things to do in Southeastern Sicily
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Scicli
Scicli is full of wonderful baroque architecture - in particular Palazzo Beneventano and Palazzo Fava - and framed by rocky cliffs. It is well off the beaten track and there is seldom another tourist in sight. From here you can head down to Modica Marina (around €2.20, six buses daily) and Sampieri (around €2.50, three buses daily) on the southern coast for long sandy beaches, as well as rocky coves.
Both are popular with the town's youth, with bars and loungers (bed & umbrella for two around €10) on the sand, though there are vast unpopulated areas if you walk along the beaches, where you can be undisturbed by the crowds.
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Trattoria La Foglia
An eccentric owner/chef and her vegetarian husband have made this place into something of a cult Syracusan restaurant, but the tiny portions and relatively high prices make the eclectic interior take a back seat. The menu features whatever seafood and vegetables are fresh that day and the bread is home-baked. They also have a one- to two-bedroom flat to rent on Ortygia, its décor in the same eclectic style as the restaurant.
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Osteria da Mariano
Specialising in the mountain cuisine of nearby Ragusa, with more meat than fish, this cheerful place sets out a river of tables under the lights and balconies of a narrow alleyway, with cosy indoor seating in a beamed dining room. Everything’s tasty and affordably priced, and the atmosphere’s very convivial, if you can forgive the sometimes lackadaisical service.
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Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Scale
If you have the time, the old town is best accessed via the salita commendatore, a winding pass made up of stairs and narrow archways taking you past the remains of the 15th-century Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Scale, from where there's a good viewing point.
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Sicilia in Tavola
A tiny place with a dozen tables that specialises in all manner of fresh pasta dishes (try the speciality of the house, seafood ravioli).
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Basilica di San Giovanni
According to Roman law, Christians were not allowed to bury their dead within the city limits (which during the Roman occupation did not extend beyond Ortygia). Forced to go elsewhere, Christians conducted their burials in the outlying district of Tyche and its underground aqueducts, unused since Greek times. New tunnels were carved out and the result was a labyrinthine network of burial chambers, most of which are inaccessible except the ones underneath the Basilica di San Giovanni.
The church itself is pretty, with its skeletal rose window open to the sun. In the 17th century it served as the city's cathedral and is dedicated to the city's first bishop, St Marcian, who …
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Latomia del Paradiso
Enter the Latomia del Paradiso, a limestone quarry full of huge hollows and caves, planted with orange and olive trees, via the northern site. In Greek times the quarry was vaulted by a 'roof' of earth that collapsed in the 1693 earthquake, leaving it open to the sunlight. It was only after this that the gardens were planted.
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Teatro Greco
For the classicist, the highlight of the Neapolis is the lustrous white Teatro Greco, hewn out of the rocky hillside. A masterpiece of classical architecture, the ancient theatre could seat 16,000 people and saw the work of Sophocles, Euripides and the last tragedies of Aeschylus, including The Persians, Prometheus Bound and Prometheus Unbound, which were first performed here in his presence.
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Jonico
Inconveniently located but worth the trek or taxi ride, Jonico’s Liberty (art nouveau) dining room and its open-air terrace have spectacular views of blue-green sea and sandstone cliffs, while the all-Sicilian menu features dishes such as tonno all siciliana (tuna with cherry tomatoes, capers and white wine) and orata c’aranci (gilthead with orange juice, orange peel and black pepper). Below the restaurant, the alluring Bar Zen (open 7.30pm to 2am mid-June to mid-September) doubles as a swimming area and solarium during the day, where you can plunge off rocks or lounge under an umbrella all day before retiring to the outdoor deck to sip drinks all night.
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Fontana Aretusa
Just south of Piazza del Duomo, along Via Picherali, is the Fontana Aretusa, where fresh water bubbles up as it did in ancient times when it was the city's main water supply. Legend has it that the goddess Artemis transformed her beautiful handmaiden Aretusa into the spring to protect her from the unwelcome attention of the river god Alpheus. In her watery guise Aretusa fled from Arcadia under the sea, hotly pursued by Alpheus, their waters mingling as she came to the surface in Ortygia.
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Palazzo Municipale
The Palazzo Municipale or Palazzo Senatoriale was built in 1629 by the Spanish architect Juan Vermexio, nicknamed 'Il Lucertolone' or 'the lizard'. On the left corner of the cornice is the architect's signature: a small lizard carved into a stone. In recent years, excavations beneath the building have uncovered the unfinished remains of an Ionic temple, better known as the 'couch of Artemis', to whom Ortygia was dedicated.
The mansion now serves as the city hall. To see the temple's remains, just ask at the gate.
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Museo Archeologico Ibleo
South of the cathedral, off Via Roma, is the Museo Archeologico Ibleo, an important archaeological museum housing finds from prehistoric times and from the Greek site at Camarina on the coast. Also of interest are the ceramics from the caravan centre of Scornavacche, including a reconstructed kiln. Don't miss the mosaic-floor remains from Santa Croce Camerina, near the end of the loop around the museum. Unfortunately, if you don't read Italian, gleaning information about the finds will be a problem.
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Parco Archaeologico della Neapolis
For the classicist, Syracuse’s real attraction is the Parco Archaeologico della Neapolis, with its pearly white, 5th-century-BC Teatro Greco, hewn out of the rock above the city. This theatre saw the last tragedies of Aeschylus (including The Persians ), which were first performed here in his presence. In summer it is brought to life again with an annual season of classical theatre. Check the www.apt-siracusa.it website for information.
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Museo Archeologico Paolo Orsi
In the grounds of Villa Landolina, about 500m east of the archaeological park, is the Museo Archeologico Paolo Orsi. It contains the best organised and most interesting archaeological collection in Sicily (and one of the most extensive archaeological collections in Europe) and certainly merits a visit. The opening hours are all over the place and are often extended in summer; check with one of the tourist offices. The museum is wheelchair accessible.
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Chiesa di Santa Lucia al Sepolcro
The northern end of one of the city's biggest squares, Piazza Santa Lucia, is dominated by the Chiesa di Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. The 17th-century church is built on the spot where the city's patron saint, Lucia, an aristocratic girl who devoted herself to saintliness after being blessed by St Agatha, was martyred in 304. Underneath the church is an impressive network of catacombs (not open to the public) that are the largest in Italy after those in Rome.
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San Nicoló Cathedral
Pride of place in Noto goes to the recently renovated San Nicoló Cathedral, which stands centre stage in Noto's most graceful square, the Piazza Municipio. Following its dome's collapse and subsequent restructuring, the cathedral was scrubbed of centuries of dust and dirt and is now once again gleaming in its peachy glow. The June 2007 re-opening was a major event in town, with the inhabitants keen to see the cathedral looking brand-new.
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Roman Amphitheatre
The 2nd-century-AD Roman amphitheatre is the third-largest in Italy after the Colosseum in Rome and the amphitheatre in Verona. It was used for gladiator fights and horse races. Roman punters used to park their chariots in the area between the amphitheatre and Viale Paolo Orsi. The Spaniards, little interested in archaeology, destroyed the site in the 16th century, using it as a quarry to build the city walls at Ortygia.
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Orecchio di Dionisio
A renowned curiosity at the heart of the Garden of Paradise is the ear-shaped man-made grotto known as the Orecchio di Dionisio (Ear of Dionysius). According to Caravaggio, Dionysius must have had it built so he could listen in on the conversations of the prisoners, but it is most likely that the grotto - 23m high and 65m deep - was dug out as a rock quarry and later used as a sounding board for theatrical performances.
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Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore
In the opposite, easterly direction, towards the grand Porta Reale is the Chiesa del Santissimo Salvatore with its adjoining nunnery, which was reserved for the daughters of local nobility. The interior is the most impressive in Noto, but it is unfortunately closed to the public. The fountain suspended on a wall next to it remained after Noto's streets were lowered in 1840 to facilitate the movement of carriages.
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Ristorante Il Cantuccio
Chef Valentina presents a seasonally changing menu that combines familiar Sicilian ingredients in exciting new ways. Try her exquisite gnocchi al pesto del Cantuccio (ricotta-potato dumplings with basil, parsley, mint, capers, almonds and cherry tomatoes) and follow it up with legaccio di spigola al limone con insalata d’arancia e finocchi (lemon-stuffed bass with orange-fennel salad).
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Castello Maniace
At the southern tip of the island is the 13th-century Castello Maniace, built by Frederick II as part of a massive programme of construction that turned Ortygia into an island fortress. Still used as a barracks, the castle is generally off-limits to the public, except during the Ortygia and Greek Classical Drama Festivals when it is the atmospheric venue for musical and theatrical performances.
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Palazzo Villadorata
In the Palazzo Villadorata, the wrought-iron balconies are supported by a swirling pantomime of grotesque figures. Although empty of furnishings, the richly brocaded walls and frescoed ceilings of the palazzo give an idea of the sumptuous lifestyle of Sicilian nobles, as brought to life in the Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa novel Il Gattopardo (The Leopard).
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Cucina e Vino
One of Ragusa's foremost restaurants, this Slow Food electee is a friendly place with pleasant terrace seating that overlooks the street. The menu is unusual, with things like rigatoni in a lamb sauce or ricotta ravioli in pork juices. The mains are in a similar vein, with stews of pork belly and tomato or lamb and artichokes. Great for a rich dinner, enjoyed with some potent red wine.
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Chiesa del Purgatorio
In the old town is the Chiesa del Purgatorio, whose main altar features a depiction of Anime in Purgatorio (Souls in Purgatory) by Francesco Manno. Aside from the churches and palazzi that literally line your route wherever you go, the best thing to do about town is to wander through its narrow streets and sun-drenched squares, which look even better on a soft summer night.
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Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime
Supposedly modelled on the shape of a tear drop, Syracuse's newest landmark building (it opened in 1994 and reaches a height of 102m) is a rather ugly architectural conceit. The cavernous Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime was commissioned to house a statue of the Virgin that allegedly wept for five days in 1953 and bestowed over 300 miraculous cures within a matter of months.
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