Sicily, Italy 2 - Syracuse
On Day 2 we had an excursion to Syracuse. It was slightly over an hour train ride from Catania. We visited a bakery near our Airbnb for breakfast before the train journey. There were various sweet pasties! I admire the Italian sugary morning ritual.
I had a Pistachio Cornetto - the Italian cousin of the French croissant filled with pistachio cream. Bravo! If I could pair it with espresso or espresso-based drinks like cappuccino or caffè latte, my breakfast would have been proper there. However, coffee is not usually my friend; I had a nice cup of camomile tea. I also had freshly squeezed orange juice so did J. Like Spain, it seemed that camomile tea as well as freshly squeezed orange juice were common in Sicily. I think J had cappuccino and a plain cornetto. The meaning of "plain" was without filling. The top of cornetto was sugar-coated, which he didn't like. Sorry, J! Apparently, a cornetto is supposed to be a sweet pastry with or without filling, which is different from the savory or neutrally flavored French croissant.
By the way, many bright yellow cakes were in the showcase at the bakery. Later I learned that the day was La Festa della Donna or Women's Day, celebrating by gifting mimosa flowers to women to symbolize strength, solidarity and femininity in Italy. That was why I saw some stalls in Catania and Syracuse selling bunches of mimosas and some people holding them. Those cakes must have resembled a mimosa bouquet. I wondered what the inside was made of. Google told me:
Based on traditional Italian recipes, a Torta Mimosa is typically made of:
- Sponge Cake: Very light sponge cake (often called Pan di Spagna), which is sometimes soaked in a sugar syrup with liqueur, such as Limoncello or Marsala.
- Filling: A "diplomatic cream" or "Madame cream," which is a mix of thick pastry cream (custard) and whipped cream.
- "Mimosa" Effect: The cake is often filled with pineapple pieces or other fruits, then coated in tiny cubes of sponge cake to look like the mimosa flower.
It sounds lovely!
The Catania Central Station was easy to find. It was easy to buy tickets and get on the right train. It had an about 7-8 minute delay, but it was not significant for us. By the way, we spotted some wild pink flamingos from the window on the train. They were hanging around in coastal wetlands. I haven't seen wild pink flamingos before. That was amazing!
It was a good long walk to the Neapolis Archaeological Park and more walk in the park. First we visited the Roman Amphitheater. Built within the 1st-3rd century AD, the elliptical corridor with a central rectangular pit was designed for gladiatorial fights and wild beast spectacles. Part of the structure is carved directly into the rock, while other parts utilized masonry stone. It was later damaged during the 16th century by the Spanish to build city walls, and most of the ruins were covered with grassy green today. Still, as one of the largest in Italy, the amphitheater looked magnificent.
Unfortunately, some walking trails in the park were closed and we couldn't walk around the Roman Amphitheater as well as the Ara di Ierone II, which was a massive ancient altar, built in the 3rd century BC by King Hiero II, designed for large-scale public sacrifices. It is believed that 450 bulls were sacrificed there simultaneously during annual celebrations.
On the other hand, we were able to freely explore the Latomia del Paradiso, a complex of ancient limestone quarries, notably used as a brutal prison for roughly 7,000 Athenian soldiers after their defeat in 413 BC. They faced forced labor, starvation, and extreme temperatures in the 45-meter deep pits, making escape nearly impossible. Today it is a tranquil garden filled with citrus trees.
The Ionian Sea was seen over there!
My own highlight of the park was walking around the ancient quarry park despite its dark history.
We took a taxi to the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, located in Ortigia, about 3km away from the Neapolis Archaeological Park. Ortigia is a small island, connected to the mainland by bridges. In 734 BCE, Greek settlers from Corinth settled the island, overcoming native Sicel resistance. When we got off the taxi, we found ourselves right next to the Temple of Apollo. It's a 6th-century BC Greek temple, notable as the oldest Doric stone temple in Sicily, which is an ancient Greek structure designed in the Doric order, characterized by sturdy fluted columns with simple, pillow-like capitals (the top of the columns), resting directly on a stone platform without a base.
Actually, two brown bunnies immediately stole all of my attention from the historical monument.
We walked by the Fountain of Diana in Piazza Archimede several times while we explored the island, which was located at the center of the island. The early 20th century fountain features a statue of Diana, the ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and protector of Ortigia.
It was sad to see the facade of the Cathedral of Syracuse was completely covered in scaffolding. It was supposed to be a magnificent Sicilian Baroque facade...
We tried to see inside, known as a stunning interior that blends ancient Greek temple architecture with 18th-century Baroque design. The cathedral was built upon the original 5th-century BC Greek Doric Temple of Athena. However, a Sunday mass was being held, so we couldn't stay there. Well, next time!
The landscape of Ortigia features buildings and streets built from white and yellow local limestone. It was blindingly bright compared to the dark gray city of Catania.
Lunch time! We tried Le Vin de L'assassin, a quirky bistro offering French/Sicilian fusion with some Asian twists.
My appetizer was Arrancino with sea bass ragu. The arrancino was huge, like a baseball ball! The inside was classic saffron-infused risotto and melting cheese. It tasted nice but the middle of the huge ball was cold... A lesson learned: Avoid a large arrancino, or the inside could be uncooked. The sea bass ragu was good, but tasted somehow like meat ragu.
J had fried cod bites with yogurt and mint as an appetizer. They were simple in a good way as they looked.
My main dish was Syracuse-style tuna fillet because I was curious about what Syracuse-style would be like. I was asked how I would like tuna done, so I ordered medium. Well, my tuna was almost rare. The fish was topped with sweet and sour vegetables stew (onion, tomato, and red bell pepper, I think). I guess the stew was called Agrodolce sauce, literally meaning sour (agro) and sweet (dolce), which is a traditional Sicilian sauce, often paired with fried fish, particularly sardines. In fact, Japan has a very similar dish, called Nanbanzuke, which was introduced to Japan by southern Europeans (especially from Spain or Portugal) in the 16th or 17th century, so the taste was familiar with me. However, in this case, the sauce was a little too sweet and too salty for my taste. Rather, just the tuna steak with a bit of soy sauce would have been more enjoyable.
J's main was Pasta della Nonna, or Grandma's pasta - orecchiette with turnip greens, mussels and stracciatella. J let me taste some orecchiette. They were also pretty salty but I liked the green sauce. I wondered why it was called Grandma's pasta and found out that while "Pasta della Nonna" is a general term for grandmother-style pasta, making Orecchiette with Turnip Greens (Orecchiette alle Cime di Rapa) is a tradition from Puglia (a region in southeastern Italy), where grandmothers have perfected the art of hand-shaping "little ears" for generations. Anchovies, garlic, and chili flakes are the key ingredients along with turnip greens. Adding mussels are a common variation particularly in coastal areas of the region. I don't know how the dish was related to Sicily, but it was nice to taste one of Italian grandma's recipes in Italy.
The restaurant was very close to the ocean. We followed the shore around the island's southeastern corner. There were several people enjoying the sun on the tiny beach. I didn't see anyone in the water. It must have been still cold.
Then we strolled along the western coastline of the island. I never get tired of watching the beautiful sea.
We walked by the Fountain of Arethusa by chance. It's a famous spot in Ortigia because it's a rare freshwater spring flowing immediately adjacent to the sea and one of the few places in Europe where wild papyrus grows.
I saw something small moving fast...
Baby ducks? There were large white birds, but I wasn't sure who and where their parents were. Anyway, they were so adorable!!
We got back into the maze of the island and wandered around more.
I reached somewhere on the eastern shore. The island was small; the turquoise blue was always around the corner.
Hello again, Temple of Apollo!
It was time for desserts. I asked Google where we could get the best cannoli in the historical center of Syracuse. One of their recommendations was Mangano Sapuri Siciliano. You can choose a type of shell (plain, pistachio, hazelnuts, or chocolate chips) and a cream flavor (ricotta, pistachio, vanilla, or chocolate). I chose a plain shell and pistachio cream. J did a pistachio shell and vanilla cream. The cannoli were filled on order, which was good to prevent the shells from becoming soggy. Mine tasted ok but wasn't as impressive as Savia's that we had a day before. J's vanilla cream was mediocre according to him.
We headed to the Syracuse Station to go back to Catania. We saw some of the same people from the Catania Station getting on our train in Syracuse. It seemed that Syracuse was a common weekend destination from Catania. I hope they had a wonderful time in Syracuse like we did.
To be continued...
