As it was going to be a hot day yet again we headed off to breakfast at an earlyish hour, then walked through Ortigia and some of Syracuse to get to the archaeological park. Ortigia is very old, dense and historical. Syracuse is much more modern and with far less to recommend it. The park wasn't far away, so we got there by 10am before the day heated up in earnest.
The area was initially Greek, morphing into Roman over the centuries before being abandoned and used as a source of easy building stones. First up on our visit was a Roman amphitheatre, cut directly out of the natural rock on three sides. It's the 2nd biggest Roman amphitheatre anywhere after the Colosseum in Rome. The fourth side was missing as it was was plundered by the Spanish for the fort we visited yesterday!
 |
| Roman amphitheatre |
Next up were the quarries where the rock had been cut from for the entire site and no doubt much of Ortigia and Syracuse. They were fascinating, and enormous. At one place, the rock had been cut back in a spiral like a human ear interior, but at 23m high and 65m deep, on a rather larger scale. It had very strange acoustics.
 |
| Quarried area now a garden |
 |
| The quarries also reached back very deep into the hillside in places |
The third site was the Greek theatre built from the 5th to 3rd centuries BC, and capable of holding 14,000 spectators. At the back of this was a lovely gushing fountain spouting water carried by an aqueduct from miles away. Fresh abundant water like that must have been a marvel in a climate like Sicily's.
 |
| Greek theatre |
Finally was the Altar of Hieron, at 21m wide and 196m long, being the largest known altar of the ancient world. Unfortunately the Spanish had looted so much stone that there is very little left, and not enough to give an idea of what it might once have been.
On returning from the park we booked a 1-hour boat trip out to some caves off Syracuse and then around the island of Ortigia. We thought we'd leave lunch until after the boat trip, just in case! After half an hour's rest we were off on the boat trip with an Italian family, 4 Italian lads and a Bulgarian couple. The trip took us past a rather controversial but powerful sculpture commissioned by Mussolini pre-WWII to commemorate the Italian fallen in their Ethiopian campaign.
 |
| Mussolini's memorial sculpture |
 |
| Caves and rock stacks along the coast |
We then went into some natural caves cut by the sea into the cliffs of Syracuse before heading back and around the island's point. There was an option to jump in and swim, but only the Italian lads did so - we intended to swim later. The views back onto Ortigia were lovely, and the trip emphasised how important the fort must have been to protect Syracuse.
 |
| Fort on the extreme end of the peninsula at Ortigia |
 |
| Ortigia waterfront |
Lunch was another arancini as we thought yesterday's was both delicious and ideal as a lunch snack. Back out on foot for our swim which was almost too late, as the sun was getting low and the town was beginning to shade our chosen spot. Nevertheless the swim was delicious. The water was warm to get into, though not quite so warm further out.
 |
| Our swim spot |
Back home for a shower to wash the salt off, and out again to the square to people-watch with our Aperol and treats.
It's so different to where we are in France. There were huge numbers of people just out strolling, talking and generally seeing and being seen. Youths, families, couples, oldies, kids and dogs. Spain does much the same. There's a casualness in Italy that we don't see in France, and we like it. We also thought about New Zealand, and how foreign this is to the NZ lifestyle (and probably all UK-based colonies too). It's a pity. We all go home to our little separated boxes, turn on the TV and close the doors and windows. I wonder how the mental health of Italians compares to New Zealanders. All that socialising must be very good for people.
 |
| Piazza de Archimedes - people out strolling and socialising |
