Syracuse

Syracuse became our favorite city in Sicily even before Cefalú.

 Syracuse's most beautiful part lies on the island of Ortygia, the eastern of which shore you see here. In the background is Neapolis on the mainland. There are the Greek theater, the Latomia del Paradiso — the quarries where one infamous tyrant held a large group of Athenians prisoner — the archeological museum, and some of the oldest, pre-Greek sanctuaries amid the modern town. The acropolis of the Greeks was on Ortygia, its duomo replaced its main temple.

 Two different friends had recommended the two-star Hotel Grand Bretagna, which had only a tiny room for the exorbitant price of 80 Euro, but they recommended a rental apartment at the southern tip of Ortygia to us. Tanino's place on Via Maniace 75 — the two windows on the second floor (85 Euro) — was just what we needed: two rooms and bathroom, a kitchen, a washing machine, and wires on the balconies to hang our laundry.... We stayed there for three nights and recommend it highly — a real Sicilian experience.... 

Tanino's living room....! He waved his hand at the modern painting, some guest had left it behind — like we forgot a terracotta fruit plate Barbara had purchased for Susanne.... 

 Barbara meditating on the tiger skin in the bedroom....

Tanino's trousseau.... contained an ample supply of additional bed covers. 

Between the two balconies hung a sodium street light, so that the world was cast in a deep-yellow light at night. 

 Sunset over the harbor bay of Ortygia

 The Greek theater with Ortygia in the middle background, the harbor basin, and the southern mainland in the distance. In antiquity there were no trees hiding the acropolis

 Above the upper circle of the theater are a number karst springs...

 ... which must be very old sacred places

 The Tyrant's Ear in the Latomia del Paradiso

 Archeological Museum: A "Kourotropia" or "Leda with the Heavenly Twins" (the Dioscuri Castor and Pollux). One of the more remarkable sculptures in the beautiful and excellent archeological museum of Syracuse (photographing forbidden, this is from a postcard).

The lovely courtyard of the Museum Palazzo Bellomo on Ortygia

 Barbara at Palazzo Bellono

 The Three Phases of Woman: as young girl, as bride, and as an old crone. Man is only a bystander — selling plastic wares.... Wedding party on Piazza del Duomo, the location of the Greek acropolis, why the bride was alone was not clear - maybe she was only a bridesmaid.....

Mount Aetna

 We left Syracuse on a magnificent day, the only clear autumn day of our three weeks in Sicily. Travelling north on the autostrada, as we approached Catania we saw Mt. Aetna for the first time. This was when we decided to drive across Aetna — or at least to the 2000-m level, far from the active craters (which are closed to the public).

The road from Catania (which we by-passed) leads through most beautiful country, vineyards, stands of chestnuts and deciduous woods interspersed with small villages and — lava streams. This is a view of the town of Acireale from the road above Nicolosi. 

 The sweeping view south over the Bay of Catania from near the Rifugio di Sapienza (1960 m), the highest point on the open road. (click on the photo to enlarge)

All volcanos I have seen (Vesuvio, Ararat, Aetna) have two major peaks, this is the North Peak of Aetna seen from the Rifugio Citelli (1740 m) 

We had by now decided to spend the night at the familiar hotel in Randazzo — but 12 km before Randazzo the road had been blocked by a stream of lava, cold all right, but impassable with our car. It needed a detour of 50 km to reach our hotel...  

 Randazzo again, closing the loop of our Sicilian Odyssey.

The last view of the North Peak of Aetna next morning

We had four more days to return to Monterotondo. Barbara voted to drive north from Randazzo on another wild and beautiful mountain road via the charming town of Novarra di Sicilia to reach the autostrada from Palermo to Messina in Barcellona.  

This time we ended on the ferry from Messina to Villa di San Giovanni, faster, better organized, more convenient, and twice as expensive than taking the "Ulisse" to Reggio di Calabria. Driving along the (free!) inland autostrada we got as far as Cosenza the capital of Calabria — and put up in the once-upon-a-time Grand Hotel Excelsior across from the now disappeared railroad station.

Cosenza

 We once stayed at a similarly renovated 19^th -century palace in Las Vegas, New Mexico....

 Our room, quite adequate and reasonably priced, and...

 an amusing view behind the facades.

The same view early next morning.... 

Facing a storm over the Sila Massif on the autostrada....

 ... bridges and tunnels, magnificent engineering in a fabulous landscape — and it rained in torrents...

Later in the afternoon, near Naples I persuaded a reluctant Barbara to drive all the way to Monterotondo, a day early. She finally gave in and called Cornelius....

The extra day (Cornelius went, of course, to work) we spent in Rome seeing the Sistine Chapel again — a most arduous undertaking. On Friday night Anne-Cecile arrived with Ulysse.  

 Cornelius and Ulysse's first time on a swing....

 ... and yours truly, the writer, as seen by his daughter-in-law....