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Friday, November 11, 2022
We decided to take a little trip to the town of Noto. It took about 35 minutes to get there on the train. The old town is renown for its Baroque architecture and its Baroque churches.
The train left us off in the new part of town. We had to walk uphill for almost a mile to get to the heart of the old town. When we got there the Noto Cathedral was right in front of us. It had a large, Baroque facade. It looked very imposing because it was perched high up on top of a steep three tier staircase. For €10.00 we could have climbed the bell tower and toured the sacristy but we decided to just wander around the church.
Most of the walls of the church were just plain white and most of the decorations were relatively modern. It wasn’t what we were expecting. The frescos above the main altar and in the dome above were likely early 20th Century Art Nouveau. The chapels displayed older paintings with more traditional marble altars. Perhaps the most impressive pieces were the stations of the cross. The paintings were certainly 20th Century but rendered in the Renaissance style.
The town is replete with Baroque era churches. In total we visited five. They all had Baroque facades but the interiors were fairly plain. We had been expecting High Baroque. Still, they were fun to see with many great pieces of art on display.
The town is definitely setup to cater to the tourist trade. We’d never heard of Noto until a few days before but it is obviously a popular destination. Besides many churches the main street has quite a few restaurants and shops. Groups of them are tied together by large Baroque edifices. In fact, the entire old town has a distinctly Baroque character.
We looked around at a number of restaurants for lunch but the prices were a bit outrageous. I guess tourists make easy targets. We decided to eat at a salumeria that made several types of fresh bread and specialized in making salads and sandwiches. We figured it would be a good choice because we noticed a bunch of locals eating there.
Deborah had a Caprese sandwich and I had a Bresaola (made like prosciutto but with beef instead of pork). The sandwiches were dressed with rocket, cheese, and good olive oil. For our bread we asked for ciabatta. It turned out to be a great choice.
After lunch we intended to tour one or two of the city’s palaces. They were owned by wealthy families (some still are) and are also Baroque era. They are said to contain great art, interesting furnishings, and be great examples of the period. The problem was that by 1:30 pm the entire town literally closed for siesta. It was like being on a deserted island. The palaces were scheduled to reopen at 3:00 pm but even touring one of them would have had us getting back to Syracuse around 9:30 pm because trains between Noto and Syracuse run rather infrequently.
Instead, we decided to get dessert at cafe. I got gelato (Nutella and Lemon) and Deborah got casata cake. The Nutella was ok but the Lemon was unbelievably good. The casata cake was mostly marzipan – just the way Deborah likes it. We both washed it all down with some espresso.
We caught the 2:50 pm train back to Syracuse, picked up some groceries, picked up some cookies at our favorite bakery, and headed home for the evening. It was a fun little outing.
Saturday, November 12, 2022
This morning we went to Basilica of Saint Lucia ‘al Sepolcro’. It’s the church that’s supposed to have a Caravaggio and the place where Santa Lucia was buried. When we got there we found two buildings. The main building, Chiesa di Santa Lucia Extra Moenia, was buzzing with activity. There was a large number of nuns along with a large number of people in wheelchairs. We inferred that there was going to be a service for the injured.
We walked around the permitter of the church and located the Caravaggio above the main altar. As promised it was The Burial of Saint Lucy from 1608. Most Caravaggios are rather dark but the ones painted near the end of his life, like this one, are particularly so. Given the poor lighting in the church it was almost impossible to see any detail at all. We were a little disappointed.
Outside, down a flight of stairs, we found a small octoginal sanctuary built above the crypts. Under the main altar was a magnificent sculpture depicting Santa Lucia. Her body was placed in this church at the time of her martyrdom on December 13, 304 AD. When the Normans conquered Syracuse in 1039 AD the body was brought to Constantinople as homage to Empress Theodora. The Venetians discovered it during the fourth crusade and brought it back to Venice where it rests today in the Sanctuary of Saint Lucy
It’s widely known that Saint Paul traveled far and wide preaching the gospels and encouraging people to convert to Christianity. There are conflicting stories about his time in Syracuse. It is generally agreed that he was shipwrecked here for three days on a voyage from Malta to Rome. Some people have said that he preached at the Quarries near the ancient Roman and Greek Temples, some say he preached at the catacombs, and some say he preached at what is now known as The Church of Saint Paul the Apostle. History seems to agree that he was a prisoner during this voyage and it is unlikely that he was allowed to roam the city and preach. In any event we decided to pay a visit to the church that bears his name.
The church is located right near the Temple of Apollo. It’s a very nice, intimate Baroque church from the 17th Century that replaced a much older church. It features a lovely wooden statue of the saint and a Caravaggio-esqe painting over the main altar. The tympanum has an inscription that translates as, “He stayed in Syracuse for three days”.
After our visit to the church we wandered through the old Jewish District while trying to find a place for lunch. Syracuse is said to be home to the first Jewish community in Sicily dating back at least as far as 200 BC. Given that the city was a Spanish territory in the late 15th Century all of the Jews were expelled in 1492. The synagog was subsequently converted into The Church of Saint John the Baptist. The only evidence that this was once a thriving Jewish community can be found in the basement level of Palazzo Bianca where excavations have found the remains of a mikvah (a Jewish ritual bath) from the 6th Century AD.
We finally got around to trying Panelle. It’s a typical Sicilian food that probably came from the time of the Arab occupation. It’s ground chick peas that have been breaded and fried. It’s normally served on a sandwich along with potato croquets (also breaded and fried). Talk about carb overload. This place served them by themselves in a paper cone. They were a little on the heavy side but very tasty. As an aside, in Naples foods served in a paper cone were called “cuoppo”. Here in Sicily they are called “coppo”. It took great effort but we were able to make the transition 😎. Oddly, according to Google Translate, neither is a valid word.
We spent the afternoon trying to find a place to stay when we visit Jerusalem. It was a little difficult. Most places are on the small side, tend to be fairly expensive, and if you want to be near the old city you’re probably going to have to settle for a multi-floor walk up. The most popular area seems to be the Nahlaot district but we decided on a larger, more reasonably priced place just to the west near the central station. We’re booked for two months. It’s getting real!
Sunday, November 13, 2022
We suddenly came to the horrible realization that today is not only our last full day in Syracuse it’s also our last full day in Italy. That’s really sad. We will have been here for over two and half months and during that time we will have visited 24 towns. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye. We love it here. Unfortunately, because of the Schengen regulations, we can only stay for a maximum of 90 days during any 180 day period so it’s time to get out. I have a feeling we’ll be back.
Today was basically a rest day. We’re both pretty tired. The next leg of our trip will be nine days in Malta. We’re rapidly checking off places from our bucket list. By the time we get back to the United States sometime around June, 2024 our list should have very few entries left.
We went out one last time for lunch and got pastries for tomorrow’s breakfast. There’s a large cafe in the Piazza Archimedes that we’ve passed many times. Usually places in large squares are more expensive but we checked the menu and it seemed pretty reasonable. We shared a pizza Margherita and a lasagna. The pizza was very good and the lasagna was one of the best we’ve had.
