Exploring Ortigia and Papyrus Museum

On Friday March 4, after we unpacked, we first headed to the coffee bar we had stopped at to ask directions to our street when we first arrived.

A brief word about Siracusa- in the late 5th century, Siracusa was the most important city of Greater Greece.  It's historic centre is Ortigia, an island connected to the mainland by two bridges.  Ortigia means "quail", which is what the early inhabitants thought the shape of the island looked like.  The population of Siracusa today is around 125,000.  Our apartment is superbly located.  We can walk anywhere on the island.

Outside Cafe

Very good coffee and cornettos

We then headed to the daily (except Sunday) outdoor market, a stone's throw from the Temple of Apollo.  Many of the vendors set up outside stalls that they can close after the market ends for the day.  Beautiful fruits, vegetables and a number of excellent fish stalls.

Outdoor market

Legumes and nuts

The tomatoes are so good!

 We bought our fish at a great stall. The fish is so fresh.  For only 7 euros, we had two fish filleted for dinner.

Our fish-- orate (dorade) 

Shrimps are very plentiful

The ruins of the Temple of Apollo were discovered in 1860 inside the old Spanish barracks.  The Temple was built in the 6th century B.C. and it is the oldest extant Doric temple in western Europe.  

Temple of Apollo

One can see the market stalls at the left side of this picture (through the portal)

                            Another view from the side

Walking back to the apartment, we saw many street signs identifying whom they were named after.  Corso Giacomo Matteotti (1885-1924), was a Socialist and antifascist politician.  After speaking out against Mussolini and claiming fraud in the 1924 election, Matteotti was murdered by the Fascists.

Street sign

After we dropped the food at the apartment, we headed out to get a feel of the island.  It is a limited vehicle zone and many of the streets are only pedestrian.  Given that we are in the off-season, we felt that we had the place to ourselves.  That has been our experience so far in Sicily--the tourists are definitely not here yet.

Sicilian specialty shop

We walked to Piazza del Duomo, one of Sicily's most spectacular.  The cobblestones are like marble and the Piazza is a masterpiece in baroque town planning.  The Duomo was a 5th century B.C. Greek Temple of Minerva that was converted into a church.  The columned facade was added from 1728-53 by Andrea Palma after the church was damaged in the 1693 earthquake.  The Doric columns are still visible.

Duomo

Statue with the obligatory pigeon

Piazza Duomo-- beautiful, gorgeous, white and deserted

Around the corner in Piazza Minerva, we found this facade with a small statue of Santa Lucia, the patron saint of Siracusa, enclosed in the wall.

Looks like this statue of St. Lucia returned to Siracusa in 2014

 We continued our walk through lovely narrow picturesque streets.

The restaurant MOON looked interesting though it was closed--- Move Ortigia Out of Normality- was the English written under the MOON name.  The restaurant also has live music in the evenings.  We may return.

MOON restaurant

We walked to the Ionian Sea on the east side of the island.  The water was very clear and looked gorgeous.  Lucky folks with apartments overlooking the sea.

Interesting apartments close to the sea

Beautiful clear water

The sun was out and it was warm

Another view

Turquoise water - a few folks sunning themselves at this spot

Another interesting plaque- long life

The house where he lived

Alonso on the empty streets of Ortigia

Well-signed bus routes- only .50 euro fare -good for 90 minutes

We walked through the old Jewish area, the Giudecca.  There was a large Jewish population in Siracusa before the 1492 expulsion.  This area has had some restoration work done in recent years and there are now some small stores and restaurants in the old Jewish quarter.

The Chiesa San Filippo Apostolo (1742) was built on the site of the old synagogue.

Chiesa San Filippo Apostolo

Lovely street in the area filled with plants

I really liked this sign in an enoteca window: You Can't Buy Happiness But You Can Buy Wine!!

More narrow streets in the old Jewish area

Piazza del Precursore

We then passed by a beautiful 19th century fountain that is the highlight of Piazza Archimede.

Fountain featuring Artemis

After our exploration, we headed back to the apartment for a late afternoon snack on the terrace.  We then had a well-deserved rest.  At about 7:00 p.m., we went out for a pre-dinner stroll.  The temperature had dropped significantly by then, but it was interesting to see the city in the early evening, when the stores are open. (Stores are usually open 9:30-1:30 and 4:30- 7:30, with some variation).

On the terrace of our apartment

Early evening stroll

Piazza Duomo at night- still deserted, but lovely with the lights

Duomo at night

             Doric column

Santa Lucia glowing in the dark

We had a lovely meal at the apartment.  Our fish with some tomatoes and a salad with fennel, all from the market.

Saturday March 5 started out with sun, but turned cool and cloudy.  High about 16, but it was breezy. In the morning, we went to the outdoor market to pick up provisions for our next two dinners.  The market is closed on Sundays.  The Temple of Apollo ruins are only about three minutes from our apartment.

Temple of Apollo

Big cats!

 Another church near the Apollo Temple.

Chiesa San Paolo- XVIII

After we got our food, we stopped for a coffee at Caffe Apollo, across from the ruins. 

Alonso in the sun with his cornetto

After we dropped the food off at the apartment, we headed out to visit the Museo del Papiro (Papyrus Museum).  The Museo del Papiro is the only museum dedicated entirely to papyrus.  The museum was founded in 1987 by Corrado Basile and Anna Di Natale.  It is managed by the International Institute of Papyrus and has been open to the public since 1989.  The papyrus plant was one of the most widely used plants in antiquity, and is known for the writing material produced from it.  

Papyrus paper has its origin in Egypt where it was used from the third millennium B.C. to the 11th century A.D.  The papyrus plant was brought to Siracusa from Egypt in the 3rd century B.C. and grows along the banks of the Ciane River, a few kilometres from Siracusa. The production of papyrus paper began in Siracusa in the 18th century.  The museum looks at its history from its origins to the present time.  The museum moved to its present location in 2013 and is housed in the former convent of St. Augustine, dating back to the 17th century.

Outside the Museo del Papiro

 We first watched a wonderful video outlining the history of papyrus and its journey from Egypt to Sicily.  The museum is beautifully done and houses a large number of artifacts pertaining to the history and use of papyrus.  There are also wall paintings depicting the story and uses of papyrus.
Papyrus was used to build boats dating back to ancient times.  Egyptians believed that crocodiles would not attack boats built of papyrus.

Wall paintings and beautiful displays of artifacts

Papyrus sandals

Papyrus paper with intricate design

 One room contained the busts of two men that helped develop the production of papyrus paper in 18th century Siracusa.  Saverio Landolina (1743-1814) was a major player in this initiative.  At the beginning of the 1960s, Corrado Basile began his work in manufacturing papyrus and conserving papyrus documents.

Saverio Lanolina (1743-1814)

The video outlined how papyrus paper is made and one room in the museum illustrated the process from papyrus reeds to paper.

Illustrating how paper is made

Strips cut from papyrus plant

                           Overlapping strips after pressing

Pens for writing on papyrus

Papyrus boats from Ethiopia and Chad

Illustration on papyrus

Beautiful drawing on papyrus

View of Sea from museum

Copy of Mosaic of Alpheus and Arethusa 11/111 C. A.D. 

Alonso and I really enjoyed the Museum.  We learned a lot about the importance of papyrus and the efforts to conserve and maintain production of a unique material.

After our visit to the Museum, it was time for a late lunch.  We went to La Putia Vineria, a lovely spot recommended by one of our guidebooks, which was full of locals eating.

Alonso getting ready for his food

We shared a beautiful tomato and onion salad

Alonso had a wonderful chickpea soup

Pasta with tomato and basil- simple but good

The portions are always large in Sicily

Outside of restaurant

Another interesting door

We headed back to the apartment to rest up.  We later went for a short walk between 7:00-8:00 p.m., when stores are open and the locals are out and about.  We came back for another lovely fish dinner prepared by Chef Alonso.