Off my beaten track...

Temple of Apollo, Siracusa

... I'm back in Sicily and today I'm in Siracusa...

A city of Shakespeare's choosing for some of the characters in A Comedy of Errors.  Egeon, Antipholus and Dromio are 'of Syracuse,' as Will puts it in his list of charcters - the spelling of the city name being his.  Egeon, father of Antipholus, is a merchant.  Antipholus is trying to find his long lost twin brother.  His servant, Dromio, also has a lost twin that he is searching for. And if you know your Shakespeare, you will recognise that what comes next, in my view at least, is one of the best farces ever written for stage.  But Siracusa is not the only mention of Sicily in Shakespeare.  Leonato, Governor of Messina is a central character in Much Ado About Nothing and the play opens in Leonato's court in the city.  A Winter's Tale is set on the island of Sicily and The Tempest?  Well, I think the magical place inhabited by Prospero, Miranda and Ariel might have been Sicily or perhaps somewhere very close by.  The play is set on an island somewhere between Tunis and Naples.  If you look at a map and draw a line between those two cities you will see that it skirts the islands off the coast of Trapani.  Perhaps it was one of those islands that Will may have had in mind, or a stretch of that particular Sicilian coast.  Who knows?  But I knid of like the connection.

What has this to do with being off my usual beaten track?  An awful lot.  I've been learning and reciting Shakespeare since I was six.  Reading about these unfamiliar and far away places has always fascinated me and I made up my mind that I would visit them at some point.  So, here I am in Siracusa, on the beautiful island of Sicily.

With a population of around 120,000 it is the 4th largest city on the island.  I've come in by train from Catania and it's a short walk from the station, along Corso Umberto to the old port.  As I stroll I'll tell you a little about the history.  Established around 730 BC by settlers from Corinth it won't surprise you to know that this city became a powerhouse in the ancient Mediterranean world and the population and the city grew considerably.  In the 5^th century, the city covered about 300 acres - that's about 150 football pitches, if you need to visualise the area - and the population was around that of Athens.  

At the end of Corso Umberto is a bridge and ahead I can see a square with ancient stones enclosed in a garden of palms. The stones are the remains of the temple of Apollo.  Constructed in the 6^th century BC.  Doric in style, it is one of the earliest temples on the island.  Over the centuries it has suffered many transformations, but is preserved today and forms one side of the Piazza Pancali.

As I turn away from the temple I notice the market stalls on my left and I stroll over, my plan to follow the route through the city recommended by the tourist's guide completely abandoned.  The stalls on Via del Mercato extend around the corner into Via Emmanuele de Benedictis and I'm suddenly hit with the rich smell of spices and herbs.  I progress between the stalls and the curry, ginger and cinnamon of the spice stall is replaced by the aroma of sea-fresh fish and crustaceans.  Vast stalls of any number of different kinds of fish. I spot a huge tuna, the dark flesh inviting and glistening as a moment of sunshine catches it.  I move on, the salt and sea of the air is replaced by a ripe essence of cheese.  I discover a corner shop full of cheese, oils and vinegars.  The counter is stacked high and

the customers are numerous and patient as they wait to be served.  I spend a while waiting for my opportunity for a pic.

Leaving the food stalls, my tummy now set a rumbling as a result of all those gorgeous smells, I continue my stroll along Via Emmanuele and I take a right into Via Vittorio Veneto and from there into the narrow streets of the old town…

I will be back in Siracusa next month, so, join me Here for more of my little Sicilian adventure...