Off my beaten track...

… and I'm picking up from where I left you in Siracusa in my post last month…

I was guiding you along the narrow streets, my previously plotted and efficient route through the city abandoned in favour of my usual let's-see-what-I-find approach.  I have to admit, it is more fun even if there may be one or two things I miss as a result.  They can be my reason to return at some point in the future.

As I stroll along Via Vittorio Veneto, I happen upon the Palazzo Mezio Blanco.  The street is quiet and shaded from the sun by the nearness and height of the buildings that flank each side.  In this bit of town I'm surrounded by rows of 17^th and 18th century properties.  The balustrades for the compulsory balconies all beautifully decorated.  A Phoenix here, a Griffin there, a dragon, maybe or some other mythical beast.  The masonry work is stunning, even around the humblest of doorways.

I wander street after street until I find myself in Piazza Duomo.  A vast square surrounded by some stunning architecture.  It is also the cultural quarter of the city and I see a bill advertising a forthcoming exhibition.  I recognise the detail from a painting and I don't need to read more.  I already know it's Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.  Caravaggio led a turbulent life.  He was known for his brawling and erratic behaviour but his art was the talk of Rome.  In 1606, following the death - some say accidental - of a young man, Caravaggio fled Rome for Naples.  Feeling he was being pursued by his enemies he left Naples for Malta.  Arrested for brawling and causing severe injury to a knight he was imprisoned in 1608 in Valletta.  Managing to escape, Caravaggio fled to Sicily, initially to Siracusa.  He spent time in numerous cities whilst he was on the island, fleeing back to Naples in 1609.  Some months later, in July 1610, he died at the age of 38.  Luckily for those interested in art, he left a significant body of work despite his all too short lifespan.  But, here in Siracusa, you can see Caravaggio's Burial of St Lucy as it hangs in the church on this side of the piazza.

The cathedral which faces out onto the centre of the square occupies a space once used for a very ancient church.  The original place of worship - Temple of Athena - was built here in the the 5^th century and archeological work shows that there may have been a structure here that pre-dates that.  However, the origins of the magnificent edifice that we see today date from the 7^th century.  In the 9^th century the church became a Mosque and was subsequently converted to christian worship by The Great Count, Roger Bosso, the first Norman nobleman assigned to the island.  The baroque façade is later.  Following an earthquake in the 17^th century the cathedral was rebuilt and the current frontage was designed by Andrea Palma.  Take some time and look at the intricate masonry work - it's worth it.  Similarly for the interior of the cathedral.
Back out in the sunshine again and I need to begin threading my way back to the station.  But there's one other thing I particularly want to see.

One of the most famous sons of Siracusa is Archimedes.  Born here in 287 BC, he also died here some 75 years later in 212 BC. at the hands of an invading Roman soldier.  The father of calculus and geometry he wasn't just a mathematician. He was also a physicist, an engineer and an astronomer.  It seems quite fitting to me that he should be honoured in the city of his birth and you can find his statue in the square by Pont Umbertino, which I shall be passing on my way back to the station.  

You can read more about my little adventure in Sicily, Here and Here.  I will be back on the Island on June 30th, come and join me Here