One of our favorite stops of the trip–the kind of place to which we could imagine coming back–was Ortigia, the ‘old town’ of Siracusa. It stands to reason, as Rick calls Ortigia “the most enjoyable urban environment anywhere in Sicily.” Siracusa used to be one of the powerhouse cities in ancient Sicily, and Ortigia is a little island in the bay, connected by a couple small bridges. Continue reading “Sicily 2019: Siracusa and Catania”
Tag: Italy
Sicily 2019: Villa Romana del Casale, Ragusa, Modica and Noto
On our way to Ragusa, we stopped at another big highlight attraction in Sicily, found among the rolling hills and farmland: Villa Romana del Casale. In fact, as we started our visit, I distinctly remember hearing the cow bells on a neighboring farm, interrupting the otherwise peaceful serenity of being away from civilization. Villa Romana del Casale was the palace of a wealthy Roman who chose to build outside of town, and it is the best and largest collection of Roman floor mosaics ever to be found relatively intact. In fact, it’s one of the few surviving Roman sites in Sicily, as so many subsequent invaders/rulers came after and looted or rebuilt in the cities. Continue reading “Sicily 2019: Villa Romana del Casale, Ragusa, Modica and Noto”
Sicily 2019: Agrigento, Casa Balata and the Valley of the Temples
Hands-down, the Valley of the Temples was the biggest highlight of our trip to Sicily. It is one of the best-preserved collections of Greek architecture in the world, and illustrates just how important Sicily was to the Greek world about 2,500 years ago. We visited the site after our drive from Trapani and after a quick lunch with temple views. Continue reading “Sicily 2019: Agrigento, Casa Balata and the Valley of the Temples”
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