Dear friends,

This week I am including some art, architecture and literature and I am beginning with one of my favourite cities.

Siracusa, Sicilia

By cc-by-2.0, Attribution, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23148161

Sicily is full of gems - beautiful small cities with baroque architecture - but, for me, the 'Jewel in the Crown' is Siracusa with its incredibly beautiful island of Ortigia.

Siracusa is the most easterly city of . It is also the most Greek. Ortigia is an island connected to the more modern city by two bridges.

A brief history of Siracusa. The city was founded at about 734 BC by settlers from Corinth in the Greek Peloponnese and in its early days was allied with Sparta and Corinth. Cicero described it as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all", and by the 5th century BC it was as large as Athens. It was the most important city of Magna Graecia, the area which now is occupied by Campania, Apulia, Basilicata (or Lucania), Calabria and Sicily.

Until defeated by Rome and taken into the Roman Empire Siracusa was for the most part ruled by the 'Tyrants". Initially, it was a sort of republic which was created when the lower classes threw out the original settlers, the Gamaroi, but these then defeated the lower classes, the KIllichiroi, and the Deinomenid dynasty with its first tyrant, Gelo (or Gelon), the ruler of Gela, began to rule, moving citizens of Gela and other cities to Siracusa. This period included a battle against the Etruscans and military expeditions to Corsica and Elba. This dynasty ran from 485-465 BC, when it was overthrown and the 2nd Republic (465-405 BC) was created. The Dionysii dynasty then ruled until 344 BC, followed by a very brief republican interregnum and then more dynasties and republics. This period found Siracusa in conflict much of the time with Athens in the Peloponnesian War (allied to Sparta) and a series of wars with Carthage.

In 212 BC, following a two-year siege, the city fell to the might of Rome and it became the main base of Roman government in Sicily. It became an important trading post with a large port and became an early centre of Christianity following a visit by Saint Paul who worked with Siracusa's first bishop and subsequent saint, Marciano, to convert it to Christianity. During a period of Christian persecution the largest catacombs outside Rome itself were created in Siracusa and its most revered saint, Lucia, was one of Diocletian's martyrs.

From 476 - 535 AD Siracusa was under Vandal rule but was recaptured for the Eastern Roman Empire by Belisarius and it was for a time in the 7th Century capital of the Roman Empire. It fell to an Aghlabid seige in May 878 AD and came under and remained under Muslim rule for 200 years. The cathedral became a mosque and much of Ortigia was rebuilt in Islamic styles. It was recaptured by the Byzantine general, George Maniakes, in 1038, who sent the relics of Santa Lucia to .

In 1085 after a long siege by one of the Norman adventurers, Roger I and his son, Jordan de Hauteville, the Muslims were driven out and a period of Norman, then Hohenstaufen, rule began. From this time Siracusa shared the history of the rest of Sicily. However, in 1542 and, again, in 1693 the city was struck by terrible earthquakes, and in 1729 it was hit by the plague.

In 2005 the whole city was designated a World Heritage Site.

There are many remains from the various periods of Siracusa's history. From the Greek period are the following: the Temple of Apollo, converted first into a church and then to a mosque; parts of the Temple of Athena are visible which are incorporated into the cathedral (Il Duomo) on Ortigia; the Greek theatre - a huge space (an absolute furnace on the day we visited) of which little of the building remains but is impressive nonetheless. It was transformed by the Romans into a place for chariot racing. Close to the Greek theatre in the Archeological Park is the Orecchio di Dionisio (the Ear of Dionysius) cave, originally carved out of the rock for water storage; the Fountain of Diana in Piazza Archimedes; the Tomb of Archimedes - possibly Siracusa's most famous citizen.

From the early Roman period there is an amphitheatre which was partly carved out from the rock and which has a space in the middle for the scenery machinery.

By Berthold Werner - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=23400917

Roman Amphitheatre

From the early Christian era to the medieval period, there are: the original Cathedral of Siracusa was constructed for Bishop Zosimo in the 7th Century. It became a mosque and reverted to its Christian use in the Norman era when the roof of its nave and the mosaics in the apses originated. There is a font with a marble basin dating from the 12/13th Century. Considerably damaged by the earthquake of 1693, the cathedral was substantially built between 1725-1763 in the style of the High Baroque; Basilica of Santa Lucia built originally in the Byzantine style, modified by the and further modified between the 15th and 16th Centuries. Beneath it are the catacombs of Santa Lucia. Caravaggio painted "The Burial of Santa Lucia" for this church; it is now housed in the church of "Santa Lucia alla Badia" in the Piazza Duomo; the churches of "San Giovanni Battista" and "Santa Maria dei Miracoli" date from the 14th Century, as do the churches of "San Cristoforo" and "Chiese della Concezione", but which were rebuilt in the 18th Century; the 16th Century church of "San Benedetto", which was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693; the Basilica of "San Giovanni Evangelista" was built by the Normans and destroyed in 1693. Only partially restored, it was erected over an ancient crypt of the martyr San Marciano, later destroyed by the Arabs, The main altar is Byzantine. The church includes the "Catacombs of San Giovanni", featuring a maze of tunnels and passage, with thousands of tombs and several frescoes.

The Cathedral

There are two other notable churches: the Baroque church of "Santa Lucia alla Badia", built after the 1693 earthquake and a very modern one "La Madonna delle Lacrime", begun in 1966 and completed in 1994. It is a remarkable piece of architecture designed by two French architects, Michel Andrault and Pierre Parat and from a distance, and you can see it from a great distance, it is reminiscent of a huge tent, but it is beautiful, inside and out.

Other notable buildings include: the Castello , constructed between 1232 & 1240 by the Hohenstaufen King Frederick II the Regional Gallery in the 12th Century Palazzo Bellomo the 14th Century Palazzo Montalto with a it's original facade the Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco, built in the Middle Ages but was considerably modified between 1779 & 1788.

The railway station was opened in 1879 and it is the final stop for the trains from Milan, via Bologna, Florence, Rome and Naples, and the crossing of the Straits of Messina, when they run the 12 coach train, divided into three segments, into the base of the ferry for the crossing from San Giovanni, Calabria to Messina.

There is much else to see, including the best outdoor market I have ever experienced. And, of course, there is a wonderful climate, if you avoid the hottest parts of the year.

Piazza Duomo CC BY -SA4.0