Siracusa

Siracusa is an ancient city founded 2700 years ago by Corinthians. Allied with Sparta and Corinth, it became very powerful city-state. Unfortunately, over its history the city went through so many wars that almost nothing of the original Siracusa is left. It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site - incidentally I visited all four of them in Sicily, though I learned about them only after my return.

Above is the Temple of Apollo dating from 6th century BC.
I came to Siracusa in the afternoon hoping to beat the traffic (I did). It is somewhat stressful to drive there; though not as chaotic as Palermo, the rules are very relaxed. I think I made a couple of right turns from the left lane myself. The tourist part of Siracusa is very small - I left my car in a parking for a day. I found Siracusa calming and really nice. The city was somewhat deserted, the tourist season ended by October 1. My trip to Malta did not happen because of that, but I think it was to the best - I was very tired. The next day I slept till 10, then hung around the city. I went back to the hotel after lunch and half-slept for a couple of hours watching an Italian talk show.

Old Arab quarter in Ortigia.
Outside of Ortigia, Siracusa was absolutely inexpressive - relatively modern Italian city. I did not visit the archeological park either. It was too far away from where I stayed and based on the guidebook, it was nothing special (compared with the other places I have seen). Having written this sentence I realized how spoiled I was in Sicily.

 

Cathedral stands atop the highest point in Piazza Duomo. Surviving elements of the Doric temple of 5th century BC are incorporated into the existing cathedral.