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Monday, November 7, 2022
A taxi picked us up at 7:00 am and by 8:00 am we were on a bus going to Syracuse. Once again we crossed through the interior of the island. This time we did see something interesting: the top of Mount Etna was completely covered in snow. It was quite a sight.
A woman named Rita met us at our apartment. She spoke very little English and, of course, we speak very little Italian. Somehow everyone managed to get their information across. The first order of business was lunch. There’s a nice outdoor market a few blocks from our place where a number of restaurants can be found. We had sandwiches. Mine was prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, sun-dried tomatoes, and olives. Deborah’s was fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil. Both came on giant loaves of very fresh bread. Yum!
Our apartment is located on a small island called Ortigia. It is the heart of ancient Syracuse. After eating we decided to walk the perimeter and see the sights. There is a scenic walkway along the waterfront. This part of town is obviously a haven for summer / weekend activities. We saw a number of people on the beaches and in the water. According to Rita, the water is still a nice 23°C (73°F). We may try that on another day.
Having gotten up early this morning we were pretty tired. Once we completed our tour we hit a grocery and spent the rest of the night in the apartment. We tried to book a free walking tour but it’s no longer peak season and they only have them on Mondays. We did learn one interesting thing on our walk: Archimedes, a Greek who lived 200 years BC, is the first person credited with coming up with a good approximation of the transcendental Pi – and he lived in Syracuse.
Tuesday, November 8, 2022
We got an early start because we had a big day planned. First we walked about 1.5 miles to the Archeological Park. It’s a very large complex on the other side of the new part of the city. There are two main attractions and a number of smaller ones. The big ones are the Roman Amphitheater from the 1st Century AD and the Greek Amphitheater from the 5th Century BC. Each one could seat over 2,000 people. In both cases the theater was plainly visible but not in usable condition nor were we permitted to walk through them.
A large part of the park was actually the ancient quarry that sourced much of the stone for the complex. There were several man-made caves that we walked through – one of which was a source of saltpeter.
We were really interested in seeing the last item on the agenda. It was the Tomb of Archimedes. We assumed that there would be a grand monument. We had to walk up and down several large hills to get there and when we arrived we saw a field of debris. It was all ruins. A sign said that this was a Roman-age tomb and that it had been erroneously associated with Archimedes. What a disappointment.
We decided to lunch at the park’s cafe. We both got a pizza-like thing that was filled with spinach and cheese. It was covered in oregano and some other spices and was surprisingly delicious. That prompted us to try their desserts. We got a piece of almond pie and some almond cookies. The pie wasn’t much but the cookies were absolutely amazing.
Next we walked another half mile to the Archeological Museum. For €18.00 a piece we had purchased a combination ticket that would allow us to see both the museum and the Archeological Park. Credit cards are accepted.
The museum is centered on findings in and near Syracuse for the most part. It starts off with some Neolithic displays and moves on to the Stone Age and then the Bronze Age. We learned that Sicily once had a vast array of animals including elephants and hippopotamuses. We really didn’t spent too much time in these rooms.
There was a lot of information and artifacts about the Greek civilizations. It was almost like being in Greece. There was pottery, statues, bronzes, and pieces from temples. Many of the artifacts came from burial sites. This was the heart of the museum. After that there was some token information about the Roman and Medieval civilizations.
The museum’s prize possession seems to be a white marble sarcophagus. It was created in Syracuse in the 4th Century AD. It is elaborately carved in high relief with scenes from the old and new testaments.
