A maze of streets - Ragusa
- Tobias Heller
- 31. Okt. 2016
- 3 Min. Lesezeit
Ragusa is part of the Val di Noto and also a city of the late baroque, situated in the south of Sicily and not far from Noto. The most remarkable about the cities construction is the fact that it is consists of two main parts, which are separated from each other by a valley. In the east, next to the old center lies a sub city which is called Ragusa Ibla, and is the main touristic center, housing tiny winding streets, baroque churches and palaces.
Arrival
Perfect Imperfections
After a long day in Noto I arrive at Ragusa's train station and after the necessity to orientate myself I know which way to go in order to arrive at another Couchsurfers house, Cecilia. I cross over one of the large bridges that connect both parts of the city with a ravine forcing it's way right through. When I arrive at her place, I shout out her name as she had told me due to her broken door bell, and I hear the sound of a chair being pushed back echoing down the alley, and she hurries down the stairs to open the door. I put down my bag in her small but lovely apartment, she is currently chopping various vegetables to prepare a dinner for the two of us, which i appreciate a lot, regarding the fact that I only got some leftover pieces of bread, apples and cereal bars with me, expecting to eat that as I arrived quite late at night. She is travel experienced and has come around a lot until she decided to settle here for a while in Ragusa, and it shows in the way how she knows exactly what I need. I happily throw my dirty clothes into the washing machine. After several minutes, the light suddenly goes off, the washing machine stops and we sit in complete darkness. She lights candles and luckily the food is already done, so we sit here in the darkness of her cosy room, chatting about various things on the candle lit table, hoping that electricity might kick in later on, so the washing would proceed as well. And after about half an hour it fortunately does, the reason for this blackout though remains hidden from us. We will never know.
Sightseeing & City
Up and down, high and low.
At the following day I get up grumpily, feeling a bit shaky, troubled stomach and dizziness. Despite that I don't want to miss going around the city, and start my tour right away from the corner of Ragusa Ibla, the part of the city that sits separated from the rest of the center on a small, connected by a downwards and then upwards leading main street, which I follow initially but then stroll off through the small alleys, which cross each other randomly, one time leading to the right then swerving to the left. I climb up stairs that split up in several levels and directions, encounter small tunnels which would bring me unexpectedly to a new point of view, or I step into small but gorgeous squares. I feel like a rat that has been placed in some kind of weird mace, though not with the feeling of being trapped, moreover roaming freely in the maze, from left to right, down below and back up. In my opinion this is the spirit of Ragusa, which enables you to stroll without specific directions and anyways it would lead you somewhere. Somewhere good.
Unfortunately I feel overly tired and drowsy despite a good nights sleep, which worsens during the walking and climbing of several stairs. Is that now the final traveling exhaustion that seeps in, taking it's toll after crossing the alps and heading from city to city without breaks for more than a month? Thankfully Ragusa is small, and though running around here is entertaining and immersing, I decide to take it slow after having seen the main parts, buildings and tiny streets. I sit down at a street that seems abandoned to me, spending the rest of the afternoon drawing in my travel sketch book. Later on I rejoin with Cecilia and as she has deep understanding for my current condition due to her travel experience, we stay home for the rest of the day, drawing, talking, cooking and simply having a good time together without further sightseeing and running around.
Kommentare