Rusty Hull, Syracuse Harbor

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia 

Like everything else we encountered on Ortygia in 2004, this boat had seen better days. Also like everything else, it seemed worthy of a photo. We are looking across the narrow harbor to the mainland of Syracuse.

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Art Nouveau in Ortygia

 

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia

I am always taken with Art Nouveau's graceful plant-like curves, and this discovery among the Baroque and Classical arches and columns of Ortygia was unexpected. Doesn't it look like just the place to settle in and write your own Alexandria Quartet? Like the rest of the island, this building had seen better days in 2004, but since then someone has replaced the boarded windows, and you can rent an "airy loft" for less than a stay at a Holiday Inn Express. 

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Sicilian Plumed Horse

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia 

Sicily's colorful carts and plumed horses are famous. I wish I'd found a better background for this shot.

Today the horse was pulling a rubber-tired wagon filled with tourists. Earlier on this blog I showed a photo of a more traditional horse and cart, albeit a mural.

When my grandmother visited Sicily in 1911 with her parents and siblings, one of them wrote in a journal:

"We made it through customs without any trouble, and found the horses all dressed up with peacock feathers and pulling painted carts. The carts here were like boxes set up on high wheels, the boxes and wheels alike painted with figures of men, women, etc. in very bright colors. The horses wore tall red headdresses like dusters, and another 'duster' was fixed in the middle of their backs."

See the link above for a taste of what they might have seen.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Very Baroque

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia

The Cathedral of Ortygia is very Baroque, and is dedicated to the Madonna.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Piazza Archimede

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia

Taken by an animal motif as usual, I may not have known we had stumbled upon a piazza and fountain dedicated to the great scientist and mathematician Archimedes, who lived and died in Syracuse (287-212 or 211 BC).

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Walking through Ortygia

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia

My Web Page: tapirback.com

The Flavor of Ancient Egypt

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia

Fontaine d'Aréthuse, Papyrus

One of the coolest things about hot Syracuse was its flavor of ancient Egypt. Syracuse is the only place in Europe where papyrus grows "in a natural setting," as I read on this site. Scroll past the gigantic hotel ads and you can read more about papyrus in this Mediterranean city that seems to be part Europe and part Africa. We missed the papyrus museum, which may be on the mainland, and it appears that there is an opportunity for a career move if anyone should take a photo of it. I couldn't find one. There was a thriving papyrus industry in Syracuse at one time. 

Papyrus grows in the refreshing Fontaine d'Aréthuse with its resident white ducks and long, dark fish.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Gothic on Turquoise

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia

This canal separates the Island of Ortygia (far side) from the rest of Syracuse. The water really is an amazing shade of turquoise. The canal doubles as a harbor. Most visitors park in the large lot behind me and walk across the bridge, the Ponte Umbertino. Ortygia really is a wanderer's paradise. There is so much to be attracted by even in this small corner before my lens. Besides the boats and the colors, I was especially intrigued by the red Venetian Gothic building. Someone posted a shot on Flickr that shows its detail. I've already blogged a favorite photo of this scene taken from the bridge, and this link will take you to a map showing how Ortygia joins the "mainland" of Sicily.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Dilapidated Beauty

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia

After 2,500 years surrounded on three sides by seas and salt breezes, historic Ortygia is falling apart. Neither my old camera nor my skills with it were up to capturing some of the details I always love. In trying to lighten the shadows in Photoshop, I burned the sky into something less than its original pure blue. Such will be some of my pix from Syracuse, a magical city while it lasts.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

A Square on the Island

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

Island of Ortygia

All of  the photos of Syracuse have been taken on the Island of Ortygia. I would have called it a peninsular part of the old city, but I see others calling it an island. The connections between Ortygia and the rest of Siracusa are man-made. I couldn't tell you which square this is.

On a web site, I found: 

Ortigia - Syracuse's island heart

"The best way to see the island of Ortygia is just to wander. It’s difficult to get lost (it measures just 1km by 500 metres), but packed with over 2,500 years of history. Architectural styles vary widely, encompassing Greek and Roman remains, Mediaeval Norman buildings and a great deal of (relatively) understated Baroque. Restaurants, trattorias and bars abound and it is especially nice to sit out on the western side in the late afternoon, warmed by the sun and with a view over the lagoon."

Most of my detail photos of Ortygia did not come out well, but I will show them to you anyway over the next few days. This is truly a special place.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Narrow Street with Sicilian Flags, Syracuse

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004
Island of Ortygia

This may more properly be an alley rather than a street, I can't say for sure, but with a business sign, lamp, flags, and pedestrians, it may be a street after all.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Lunch in Syracuse

Syracuse (Siracusa), Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004
Island of Ortygia

I think I'll do a short series on this delightful ancient city surrounded by seas. I've already posted a few shots of the harbor, the sea wall, and an old-new take on the meaning of horsepower. Now, let's see what else I can find. We spent a memorable day walking through the old city, stopping for a "Why-can't-I-get-this-at-home?" fish lunch under one of those umbrellas. That's Lee with the red backpack, getting hungry.

My Web Page: tapirback.com

Monreale from the Tower

Cathedral and Cloisters at Monreale, Sicily ~ April 27, 2004

I could have stayed longer and learned a lot more about it. I loved this place with its interesting architecture and art and its Norman history. Here are more posts about Monreale.

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An Olive Tree at Monreale

Monreale Cathedral and Cloisters ~ April 29, 2004

A peaceful olive tree today for Catherine.

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.

Inside the Bell Tower at Monreale

Monreale Cloisters, Sicily ~ April 29, 2004

Francisca, thanks for asking. Here's the bell tower. You can see more of Monreale here. I'll be posting more as time goes on. It was such a romantic place, and one I'd read about for years before seeing it. I only wish I'd had a better camera that trip and taken more photos!

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On the Way to the Bell Tower

Monreale Cloisters, Sicily ~ April 29, 2004

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Viewing the Ancient Roman Mosaics

Villa Romana del Casale near Piazza Armerina, Sicily ~ April 28, 2004

This photo gives some idea of how visitors can view the murals and mosaics up close without damaging them. There appeared to be a thin layer of mud or dirt over most of the flooring, although the few of the images were in more intense colors. The tiger shown in this photo on my Animal Art Along the Way blog is not particularly bright, but the lifelike animal mosaics simply astounded me.

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The Dig at Piazza Armerina

Villa Romana del Casale near Piazza Armerina, Sicily ~ April 28, 2004

A clear-ceilinged structure covers the most incredible mosaics, still in situ at the Villa Romana del Casale near the present-day hilltop town of Pizza Armerina.

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Somewhere in Sicily

Near Piazza Armerina, Sicily ~ April 28, 2011

I took this photo between leaving a romantic town at the top of a hill (Piazza Armerina) and our lunch stop at a small tavern in the country, where I had the best-tasting lamb I've ever experienced. I believe the tavern was associated with a town so small it had only one or two streets. I wish I knew the name. We were in Piazza Armerina for only a few hours, most of which were at night, and my photos are few and don't do the place justice. I'll post a few soon, and meanwhile, here it is in all its glory thanks to Google's photo search.

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Language Lesson with Fruit

Taormina, Sicily, Italy ~ April 27, 2004

As a magical evening fell, the artificial lighting over the narrow passageway heightened the colors on the left, but what charmed me was the unusual shapes of the lemons. I grew up in Southern California where my family produced citrus, but I'd never seen lemons like this. How do they do it? I loved the lumpy shapes that appeared so exotic. Fruit like this would never have passed muster in an industry where lemons were prized for uniform shapes and sizes so they could be packed and shipped as efficiently as possible. The image of this fruit still brings to me a sense of wonder. The signs in several languages were a bonus for the photo, although I wanted to do exactly what they asked me not to. 

This blog is sponsored by Tapir and Friends Animal Store.