Having just returned from a lengthy drive this evening at about 5:00pm we decided to eat simply at home, overlooking the domestic activities of the neighbours from our balcony.
As we have no TV here, nor need of it, and no energy left to hit the town, this is an ideal opportunity to update the blog before hitting the hay. Hopefully I'll stay awake long enough.
Modica is a lovely town and we decided to devote Sunday, the day after our arrival, to uncovering some of its delights and participating in some of them. An earthquake in 1693 devastated this region, but the survivors fought back and resolved to rebuild their towns to a standard suitable for the future, while retaining a fondness for the baroque style which was at that time in vogue in this part of Italy. Consequently, the main streets are wide and the piazzas roomy. Even the footpaths on the main streets have space for two donkey carts to pass simultaneously. However, as previously alluded to, the alleyways leading upward from the main streets on the valley floor continue to be narrow, as there's no way a donkey could pull a cart up there; and they're stair-based.
Our simple Sunshine Beach style breakfast on our balcony was a bit late on Sunday, and the day was glorious. Churches nearby chimed their morning warnings for devotees to hasten lest they miss mass. The whole place shuts down at about 3:00pm until 7:00pm and then re-opens, a bit like Spain. About noon we sallied forth to explore, with no particular plan.
Modica. Our apartment approximate location is arrowed and the main streets, on the valley floor, are prominent. It's about a 10 minute walk, gently downhill, to the main junction where the town centre is indicated.
As we strolled down we stopped at a small café style shop and had our first granita ever. Many granitas certainly look more grand than these two and we acknowledge that we probably don't know exactly what to ask for, as there are numerous varieties of granita. We'll learn. Thanks to our friend Alex for suggesting; they were delicious.
Here's the main "V" junction, a good landmark for us as we wend our way down the streets.
Sundays are quiet here, mostly, and there were few people on the streets until we got down to the centre where one or two tourists but mainly local people were enjoying the sun and starting to engage in the food activities which families everywhere enjoy.
This is what baroque is like. The local main church, Chiesa di San Pietro, is the main such building in a relatively small town which has 29 Catholic churches.
An alley leading up from the main street. Incidentally, we have yet to see a wheelchair in Sicily (perhaps they have discovered a miracle cure for mobility problems).
Our main objective in venturing forth this sunny morning was to discover the exact location of the restaurant pointed out while driving past by George as being the best slow food place in Modica. We found it, discovered that it would close at 3:00pm and re-open at 7:30pm and resolved to get there that evening if we could. As we left the restaurant I noticed ominous clouds building over the town. Sure enough, a storm broke just as we got to the main junction. Shade umbrellas were blown over and menus were distributed up the street. The rain came pelting down. This was a typical warm afternoon thunderstorm so we sheltered in the now closed granita shop's covered footpath area, in comfortable seating until the worst of it was over then headed home to spend the rest of the afternoon indoors with a glass of red or two.
By 7:00pm the rain was down to nothing and the sky clearing so off we sallied to the restaurant earlier identified.
Here it is. We had only the first course, but it was sufficient as we'd had a bit of an entreé back at home. Very nice, very simple, reasonably priced.
We walked home through damp streets.
An alley just near home.
Monday morning, off to a 9:00am start, with brekky at home. With several options for visits on Monday, Syracuse (home of Archimedes) had been decided. Mary made the usual excellent bread roll lunch (fresh bread from the supermarket downstairs) and we were on the road east, over the mountains, by just after 11:00am.
One thing I'd wanted to see in the Syracuse area was the crucial bridge captured by British paratroopers and glider-borne troops during Operation Husky in 1943 (the Allied invasion of Sicily, undertaken by combined British and US forces, under Eisenhower). Accordingly, I adjusted our navigation options to take in this particular place, as my research showed that the bridge, although now replaced by a more modern version, was intact and adjacent to one of the main roads leading into Syracuse. It clearly showed on Google Street View and the road was one of the main roads in the vicinity but...
The main road (SS115) was completely closed. The bridge was just visible from this position but we were forced to backtrack many kilometres and revert to use of the Autostrada.
Anyway, we found our way into a car parking area in Syracuse, just a few minutes' walk from the bridge that leads to the island of Ortigia, which has always been central to Syracuse's identity.
Courtesy of Google Earth and Photogene. Our car park marked by an arrow.
We could find no way of paying for parking, so decided not to worry about it. Other cars nearby, always a good guide for strangers, seemed to have adopted a similar attitude.
Syracuse was where one of the scientific heroes of the past, Archimedes, was born and where he died. He was Greek, because at that time this was part of Greece. The Romans eventually succeeded in adding that part of the world to their empire when Archimedes was in his mid seventies, and a Roman soldier killed him in the process in his home, allegedly as he was engrossed in solving yet another mathematical problem. So, know how to calculate the area of a circle? Thank Archimedes.
Our visit was restricted to the island, Ortigia, although there is an extensive Archeological park in the north west of the city itself.
Buildings range through the entire time range of architectural styles, interspersed with pleasant green areas.
The impressive seawall on the eastern side was showing why it was needed. These were the biggest waves we'd seen in Sicily.
Near the SW tip of the island, right next to the sea, a fresh water spring (fountain of Arethusa, well known in antiquity) emerges and provides a haven for large goldfish, large mullet, geese, and these bullrushes.
Scooters are preferred on Ortigia. Nice pic by Mary
Typically ornate balcony
The amazing Piazza Duomo
The western side of the island has a seawall also. Typical tourist propping up the guard rail.
Although it's probably over-run by tourists much of the year, we thought that Ortigia would provide a beautiful base for several days. Of course, a car is useless on the island, but it would be possible to catch a bus to Ortigia from the airport at Catania, and gorge yourself on the hundreds of tiny restaurants and pizzeria which line the pedestrian-only alleys. Small hotels abound.
Anyway, we enjoyed it, and were happy to have not tried to see the Archeological site on the same trip. We got back to our car and spent a quite pleasant hour and a bit driving first on the motorway then slowly through rural Sicily, then over the mountain to our temporary home here at Modica. Tomorrow it's likely that we'll have a long lunch in town, just a short walk away, after Mary has hit the shops in the early opening session (they close for several hours in the middle of the day). The weather continues to be superb, as you can probably judge from the pics.
Thanks for reading
Kev Long
Author iPad Traveller for iPad and Mac.
The technical stuff:
Our iPad is connecting to the Internet mainly through a cellular connection provided (prepaid) by the UK "3" network, including in Italy. On high ground and in town environments around Cornwall this connection proved quite good but many places, especially in valleys and in small coastal localities lack coverage so no or poor connection. So far, in Sicily, the connection has been good. There are quite a few WiFi options available although not always advertised. Just ask if you're unsure if available. WiFi is of course the preferred method of transferring large amounts of data but I have been posting these blogs and their images sometimes using only a cellular connection either from inside our apartment where possible or on the roadside.
The cellular connection gives us both in car and on foot navigation capabilities which are essential around Sicily, where mere printed maps struggle to provide sufficient detail at a manageable size.
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