Long, long ago I studied ancient Greek and learnt about Archimedes and the city of Siracusa. It took me a while to connect the dots and realise that Ortygia, the city I was visiting in Sicily, was that Siracusa. The ancient city of Syracuse that was turned by Greek colonists into the largest city in the Greek world. Later it scored victories against Carthage and Athens and it was the home of Archimedes – yes, he of the bath tub and the Eureka! exclamation.

Siracusa / Ortygia is a beautiful place and on many people’s itineraries when visiting Sicily.  The city is full of old stone buildings, Greek ruins and remnants that often have a unique form and radiate soft hues in the late afternoon sun. It was a pity I didn’t have a lot of time to spend here, a mere day and a half, squeezed into a weekend before a work trip.

If you arrive at Catania airport, it really pays to book the bus in advance. I didn’t and wasn’t able to buy a ticket at the airport straightaway, but would have had to wait to see if there was a place on it. Rather than waiting to see what my chances were, I chose to jump in a taxi to the railway station and catch a train from there. If you go for a taxi, anywhere in Sicily, negotiate your taxi fare before you get in and don’t believe what they ask you. My taxi driver was a cantankerous old man who kept fiddling with his meter during the relatively short drive, cranking it up to astronomical figures. I took issue with that, we ended up yelling insults in Italian at each other, and I threatened to call the carabinieri, before he settled on a fare that was still too much. The train ride was an oasis of calm compared to that.

After arriving in Siracusa I walked towards the old town and found a spot to have lunch and watch the scenery, while spending some time before I could check into my accommodation. I had booked Lemoni Suite in the old centre, run by Marcello and Milagros. I highly recommend it if you are looking for accommodation in Ortygia; it’s impeccably clean and they serve a breakfast that will fuel you for the day ahead. Having completed check-in, I headed out again, meandering around the old part of town, visiting the main piazza and enjoying the beautiful sunset before going for a light dinner at a small restaurant around the corner, recommended by Marcello.

The next morning, after a copious breakfast, I walked through the old centre again, taking photographs in a completely different light compared to the late afternoon light the day before. I visited an interactive display about Archimedes, which was a lot of fun and just before midday headed up to the Parco Archaeologico Neapolis that features some amazing ruins. The enormous Greek Theatre is the main drawcard, but the park also features a Roman Amphitheatre. At the latter, I overheard a mother asking her young daughter about what differences the young girl had observed in both sets of ruins. I really had to bite my tongue not to blurt out my observation that in one they performed plays and in the other they killed each other. Quite the contrast.

In another area of the park there is an astonishingly large cave in the rocks, known as the Ear of Dionysius. It refers to the tyrant Dionysius I of Siracusa. According to a legend he used the cave as a prison for political dissidents, using its acoustics to eavesdrop on plans and secrets of his captives. But another version claims that the cave was carved in this shape so that it would amplify the screams of prisoners being tortured. The acoustics remain impressive, although the only screams you will hear these days are those of kids who can never resist testing those acoustics at the highest volume they can produce.

After a couple of hours in the archeological park, it was time to head to the railway station and jump on a train to return to Catania. I really wished I could have stayed longer in Ortygia and Sicily in general and will have to plan a return here to do the island full justice.