Our favorite part of Siracusa was the island of Ortigia, said to be its historical center. It is a bustling mix of temples, churches, museums, open piazzas, markets and shops, along with an evocative medieval Greek ghetto.
Our journey from Valletta, Malta to London, England
Isola di Ortigia, Ortigia, Sicily, Italy
Greek Theatre, Siracusa, Sicily, Italy
Greek Theatre, Siracusa, Sicily, Italy
Medieval Greek Ghetto, Ortigia, Siracusa, Sicily
Medieval Greek Ghetto, Ortigia, Siracusa, Sicily
Medieval Greek Ghetto, Ortigia, Siracusa, Sicily
Temple of Apollo, Ortigia, Siracusa, Sicily
Duomo, Ortigia, Siracusa, Sicily
Duomo, Ortigia, Siracusa, Sicily
Piazzetta San Rocco, Ortigia, Siracusa, Sicily
Castello Maniace, Ortigia, Sicily, Italy
Castello Maniace, Ortigia, Sicily, Italy
Hiking is allowed on the lower craters of Mount Etna. There is parking to accommodate campers so we were able to spend the night and attack the mountain before countless busloads of tourists arrived.
Hiking Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy
Hiking Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy
Taormina was the capital of Byzantine Sicily in the 9th century and is an almost perfectly preserved medieval town. Perched on coastal cliffs, it has amazing views as well as wonderful restaurants and shopping!
Isola Bella, Taormina, Sicily, Italy
Teatro Greco, 3rd century BC, Taormina, Sicily, Italy
Teatro Greco, 3rd century BC, Taormina, Sicily, Italy
View from Teatro Greco, Taormina, Sicily, Italy
Our amazing fresh tuna lunch, Osteria Nero d’Avola, Taormina, Sicily, Italy
Corso Umberto, Taormina, Sicily, Italy
A ferry took us across the Strait of Messina to Calabria, another beautiful travel destination. We spent the night in the beautiful village of Scilla which faces the Strait. An ancient clifftop fortress, Ruffo Castle, overlooks the beach there. When we explored it the next day, we found a small museum that explained how this village was seriously damaged by two earthquakes, the latter in 1908.
On the ferry from Messina to Reggio Calabria, Italy
View of Ruffo Castle, Scilla, Calabria, Italy
Harbor and view of Ruffo Castle, Scilla, Calabria, Italy
View from Ruffo Castle, Scilla, Calabria, Italy
Beach, Scilla, Calabria, Italy
Parrocchia Maria SS Immacolata, Scilla, Calabria, Italy
View from a residential area, Scilla, Calabria, Italy
After a brief detour at Pollino National Park in Calabria, we continued on to the Matera in Basilicata, an ancient city known for its “Sassi” cave dwellings from the Paleolithic period (10th century BC). These ancient dwellings have UNESCO status and are well worth exploring. With a map of the ancient caves and rupestrian churches, we had a very enlightening self guided walking tour!
Pollino National Park, Calabria, Italy
Pollino National Park, Calabria, Italy
View of Matera, Basilicata, Italy
View of Matera, Basilicata, Italy
Inside a rupestrian church, Matera, Basilicata, Italy
Inside a rupestrian church, Matera, Basilicata, Italy
Inside a rupestrian church, Matera, Basilicata, Italy
Exploring a Sassi, Matera, Basilicata, Italy
Convent San Francisco d’Assisi, Matera, Basilicata, Italy
More innovative and delicious Italian cuisine! Matera, Basilicata, Italy
There wasn’t much time left for exploration and although at some point we will return to this culturally rich and exciting country, for now we continued on London, through the lower Alps into France, stopping in Chambéry and Troyes. Then we drove to Calais and went through the Eurotunnel on the way to London…
Saint-Martin-de-la-Porte, Rhône-Alpes, France
Palais du Justice, Chambéry, France
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England
Natural History Museum, London, England
Natural History Museum, London, England
Thank you for the exciting descriptions and gorgeous pictures of a part of the world I doubt I will ever see in person. I am going to forward this chapter of your travels to a neighbor who is from Sicily and whose Sicilian relatives were just visiting San Francisco. Is that okay to do?
You are amazing! What an incredible adventure!