The Greek theatre of Siracusa is amazing. It is one of the biggest and most ancient, and it resembles an upside down fossil shell that is turned towards the sky. Every other year, between May and June, Greek tragedies are performed, as part of keeping alive an ancient ritual, where the steps are animated by colourful crowds. This ritual is both lay and sacred, it is a collective ritual that comes from the lucid, sunny Greek civilisation, whose energy is sensational to watch. The major issues of the human condition questioned in the tragedies by Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides are just as poignant today as they were centuries ago. The atmosphere is unique, thanks to the perfect acoustics and the fact that the tragedies are performed at sunset, in this fascinating place surrounded by silent woods and mysterious `latomie' (caves). In 5t' century B.C. Siracusa was the most powerful Greek city in Sicily. Today this golden town has a cosy elegant historical centre on the island of Ortigia, and a modern part on the mainland, surrounded by sunny landscape, facing a clear blue sea. For those interested in art and archaeology it is a gold mine; you can visit the 'Paolo Orsi' Archaeological Museum (one of the richest and most important in the world), the Galleria di Palazzo Bellomo, the Fonte Aretusa fountain, with its mythical aura, and medieval/baroque churches and palaces.

For nature lovers, highly recommended is the 7 km boat trip up the river Ciane to the source, through the tall Egyptian papyrus grasses (the only place in Europe where they grow wild). Another thing to do in the wetlands around Siracusa is visit the nature reserves Valle dell Anapo and Cava Grande del Cassibile. The source of the Anapo river is found in Mount Lauro, the highest of the Iblei Mountains. It flows through woods of poplars, willows and elms through a deep gorge where the Necropoli di Pantalica is (5000 cave tombs dug out of the rock, where bee-keepers take their bees). The Cassibile river springs from the socalled Cava Grande, an impressive fissure in the white calcareous rock surrounded by huge eastern planetrees and also scattered with cave tombs.

Nearby Palazzolo Acreide is worth a visit, because of its superb archaeological remains (a little 3"d century B.C. theatre, perfectly intact, two 'latomie cave prisons and rock-sculptures dedicated to Cybele) and the Antonino Uccello house-museum, where a 19`" century farmhouse atmosphere is recreated. Heading along the coast north of Siracusa one meets Thapsos, a bronze age trade centre, the remains of Megara Hyblaea, one of the most .ancient of the Greek colonies in Sicily and, further up is the noble town of Augusta, founded by Frederick 11 Hohenstaufen, where the clashing contrast between modern oil refineries and its historical buildings can be disconcerting. Towards the mainland, among olives and almonds, in a much cultivated countryside, there are lots of pretty little towns scattered from the southern borders of the Catania Plain to the heart of the Iblei Mountains. For example, Lentini, with its big lake and remains of the ancient Chalcidian colony, where Gorgia the sophist was born. Carlentini sits above on a hill, looking towards Etna, founded in 1551 by the Spanish viceroy Giovanni Vega in order to move the inhabitants of Lentini away from the bad air of the surrounding marshes. Then there is Militello, with its Main Church featuring a broad lava stone flight of steps and the sanctuary of Maria Santissima della Stella, where a terracotta spade of the Della Robbia family and sculptures by Emilio Greco are exhibited. At Vizzini one can visit the 18`" century mansion that belonged to the Giovanni Verga family. Mineo is where Luigi Capuana was born. Giammichele was destroyed by the earthquake in 1693 and then rebuilt according to the town plan by architect Carlo Maria Carafa Branciforti, prince of Butera. Its famous hexagonal layout took its inspiration from radiocentric Renaissance models, described in all history of architecture textbooks. Proceeding in the direction of the Mar d' Africa, towards the towns of Vittoria, Comiso and Ragusa, Chiaramonte Gulfi is a must for its infinite panorama enjoyed from the beautiful Umberto I gardens. What renders this trip unforgettable, especially for food lovers, is the chance to try meats and cheeses produced from the pastures of the Iblei Mountains. The speciality of Chiaramonte is pork cooked in different ways, hence the famous trattoria whose sign says: "Qui si magnifica il porco" ("Pork is glorified here"). On the horizon lies Vittoria, golden green: rows of greenhouses capable of producing top-quality fruit and vegetables in January destined for markets all over Europe, a true wealth that has changed the face of this extreme edge of Sicily over recent decades. From Vittoria, along the Valley of the Ippari, the river celebrated by Pindar, one can admire the Pino d'Aleppo nature reserve, where the Aleppo pines thrive. Meanwhile, close to the source is the ancient city of Camarina, founded by the Corinthians in 6`" century B.C. Recent archaeological excavations have uncovered magnificent architectural remains, and the adjacent museum houses numerous findings and guides you through the interesting history of the city.
From Camarina, after a stop in S. Croce Camarina, surrounded by lush vineyards and olive trees, you can go to the gorgeous beach at Punta Secca and to the Castello di Donnafugata, with a vast collection of paintings. Then you can head towards the heart of the province of Ragusa, where there are some substantial towns all close to one another, rich in attractions: architecture, town planning and monuments and the beautiful surrounding landscape. This route is off the beaten track and unfortunately ignored by most tourist itineraries.


We are in the midst of Sicilian baroque, late 17' century baroque. Indeed in eastern Sicily after the 1693 earthquake 25 cities were rebuilt, a spectacular example of baroque at its most excessive and sumptuous, that makes Sicily second to none as far as European architecture and town planning. Comiso is where the late Gesualdo Bufalino, one of the great contemporary Sicilian writers, was born. This town became known world-wide in the `80s because one of the most strategic NATO missile bases in Europe was based here, attracting a lot of interest from pacifists who, through protest, made Comiso a major point of reference for international peace. Today the NATO base has been dismantled and the war machines dismembered; the facility is once again news as it has become a shelter and solidarity centre for 5,000 Kosovan refugees fleeing from the atrocities of the war. Not everybody knows that Comiso is a noble and ancient town, full of elegant buildings, owned by the aristocracy, such as the Iacono-Ciarcià mansion and the Naselli d'Aragona castle. Moreover there are beautiful churches, such as the Main Church, the Church of San Biagio with a bell tower covered in polychrome majolica, the church of San Francesco with artworks by Antonello Gagini. Leaving from Comiso, along the Ippari river course, is a lovely nature trail through the surrounding countryside, lush and well cultivated, scattered with carob trees and divided by dry stonewalls typical of the area. The area is dotted with masserie, large farm/homesteads where up until a few years ago all farming activity was tied to the natural rhythm of the seasons.

Ragusa, the capital of the province, is mostly modern, with a regular layout, sitting on a hill facing a deep valley from where you can see Ragusa Ibla, the old town, fascinating and quasi-fictional, clinging to the steep mountain side, higgledy-piggledy like a nativity scene.

Here are important medieval remains next to extraordinary baroque buildings, such as the church of San Giuseppe, the church of the Anime del Purgatorio, and the spectacular basilica of San Giorgio, with its impressive and animated facade with three orders, standing out on its grand stone steps. Yet Ragusa is not only architecture and nice scenery, traditional culture is very much alive: craftsmen still produce unique objects, such as the last hand decorated Sicilian carts, skilful embroiderers still execute drawn-thread work, filet and cross-stitch with great mastery. In the kitchen, the famous caciocavallo ragusano (a hard salted cheese), savoured at all stages of maturation, eaten fresh in sandwiches or, once matured, grated on cavateddi (home-made pasta) with tomato sauce, never fails to please the palate.

Modica is a short distance from Ragusa. This town has an important artistic and monumental heritage and many civil and religious buildings to visit. To mention but a few, the main Church of San Giorgio, a "masterpiece of curved stone" and the Museum of Art and Folklore, displaying a vast coherent collection of the different aspects of rural labour and daily life in the legendary Modica county, where life was poor, hard work and archaic.

Fortunately the old way of life no longer exists, but we regret that some values and wisdom have disappeared. Idrisi, the 12`'' century Arab geographer-traveller reported the riches and wealth of Scicli's inhabitants. The town, thanks to a fortunate strategic location, was already a trading place and a meeting place for merchants and soldiers. "Royal city" under the Normans, Scicli remained prosperous until the mid 17" century, when a terrible outbreak of plague decimated the population, while the earthquake of 1693 raised it to the ground.
The rebuilding started in the 18" century and continued throughout the following centuries: the town has thus become a jewel of elegant architecture with an incredible concentration of beautiful monuments. Last, Noto, known as the capital of Sicilian baroque, is rich in suggestive and enchanting nooks and decorated with beautiful churches and sumptuous buildings made of sandy yellow calcareous stone.
South of Modica, towards Capo Passero, the extreme south-eastern tip of Sicily, there is a narrow calcareous cave, the Cava d' Ispica showing signs of prehistoric human presence:
the necropolis, Troglodyte dwellings, Christian catacombs, Byzantine remains and medieval traces. Further south, around Pachino, there is the nature reserve of Pantani di Vendicari, where the scenery is superb.

It consists of a series of salt marshes, a paradise for bird-watchers hoping to photograph flamingos, swans, hoopoes and falcons. Here is where the blackwinged stilt nests and thekingfisher fishes.