The apartment at Agrigento was one of our best so far, both accommodation wise and host wise. Nice off street parking, a huge bathroom that had been recently renovated ! Plus a complimentary bottle of wine enjoyed by Graeme.
Left at 9:00 and took 3 hours to drive to Syracuse (Siracusa), and once again, it was a frustrating drive due to road works, detours and speed restrictions. We were still too early to book into our accommodation, but we parked the car in the street outside and walked into the old town centre, or more specifically Ortigia Island.
We spotted a post office and went in to pay one of our two outstanding toll fees. The market that occurs every morning was in the process of closing down and so we wandered around the harbour.
Interesting facts on Syracuse :
1. At its peak in the 5th century BC, Greek Syracuse had roughly the same population as it does today (125,000 people). Some have reported it to be as high as 300,000.
2. The great mathematician, Archimedes was born in Syracuse, lived there his whole life.
What is Archimedes famous for ? Well some will think of Pi, but he didn't discover pi, he was the first to accurately calculate pi. The Egyptians already had been using an approximation. He was famous for other inventions though, notable the water screw pump, complex pullies and defensive machines, and much more.
3. Syracuse is one of only two places in Europe where the papyrus plant grows naturally. Below is the papyrus plant in the old aquarium here.
More exploration today of the old town through narrow winding alleys that break out onto piazzas and the ocean every now and then. Clocking up more than 16,000 steps I think the Tania tour covered most of them.
By sheer chance we came across a church with an underground crypt, which turned out to be much more than just a crypt. We were able to tag along with the 12:30 tour which had only just started. It was a great discovery. There was over 1.3 kilometers of tunnels and underground rooms on multiple levels that had been utilised for different reason over the centuries. Most recently during WWII as a bomb shelter for 10,000 residents.
There is also lots of Greek and Roman ruins here, but as we had been exposed to lots of that during the past few weeks, we opted not to check them out here.
Back at our room by 16:00 to prepare another home made pasta dish in the well equipped kitchen.
Have you discovered your secret destination yet?
The crypt at Chiesa di San Filippo Apostolo, sounds a prime candidate so far.
With every twist and turn there’s something more interesting to see. You must be getting exhausted by now – surely?