We
were a little sorry to leave the Villa Trigona as it had been such a pleasant,
if too short, stay there. We elected to take in several hill towns on the way
to our next lodgings in Siracusa. The
first was Ragusa Ibla, the old part
of town with a good early baroque cathedral. The stained glass (perhaps of
recent vintage) was most impressive, and the cupola unusually had high clear
glass windows. The rest of the interior was restrained and tasteful by
comparison to some others.
We
had both coffee and then later lunch at a little café at the bottom of the
duomo piazza where we were briefly entertained by a performance of a dancing
school. Arancini again – yum.
Next
stop Modica – Basso and Alta (lower and upper). Coming in to
town was a treat as part of way in was via the Panoramica overlooking the lower town – just fabulous the whole
town laid out before you. A similar view was later afforded from the other side
of the valley in the upper town. It’s one thing to see two churches from above,
it’s another trying to find them at ground level. We happened on the smaller of
the two first and thought we had found the big one, but it took a while before
we realised our mistake. Compounding our errors, when we found the big one – San Giorgio – we too eagerly attempted
the climb up the many steps in 30+℃, only finding out when we got up
there that we could have driven. Being after lunch time, on a Sunday, the churches were closed – we
are used to that now.
We
wound our way circuitously up the upper town where we had a quick glimpse at
the exterior of the church there and then hastened to the belvedere (lookout) for the view from the other side of the valley.
It’s quite wonderful that you can get such a comprehensive overview of a town
(the lower town).
The
drive all day had been through very scenic landscapes, mostly at an elevation
of about 400m. I forgot to mention that on our drive yesterday we passed
through areas where there were strange reflections from the surrounding hills.
At first we thought it might be solar farms. In fact, large tracts of the
countryside are swathed in plastic sheeting to protect the viti- and other
cultures underneath, from birds one presumes.
From
Modica we drove on the SS115 to Ispica and Rosolini to catch the autostrada.
I am naming this the cow shit road as there were deposits every few hundred
metres for 15 to 20 kilometres, without any cows in evidence. Toward the end, a
warning sign made it all clear – Animali
vagrante.
We
had the usual GPS issues finding our hotel in Siracusa, rescued in the end by a helpful local. We took a stroll
to Ortigia, the old part of Siracusa. It was a bit late for
photography but the Duomo piazza came out rather well.
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| For PJB: Stray cats waiting for fish bits at the harbour |
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| From our hotel roof |
Rather
drained by the high humidity caused by proximity to the sea and the lowered
evening temperatures, we wimped out and patronised the pizzeria next to the
hotel. We were pleased not to be the only ones there and had just settled in at
our table when music began blaring intermittently. It was so loud it was at industrial
deafness levels, impossible to hold a conversation. The staff were unperturbed
and unmoved by my holding fingers in my ears. It was supposed to be a
restaurant/pizzeria, so we could not work out was going on. Then we noticed
texts of the music being display on a projection screen. We collected our
drinks and moved to a table outside, where it was still quite loud but
bearable. The salad and pizzas were very good though.
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