A legend of Syracusa - The Island awakes
- Tobias Heller
- 26. Okt. 2016
- 6 Min. Lesezeit
Saying goodbye to one of the loveliest and coolest Italian girls I have ever met yet in Italy, one which made my stay in Catania special and unique, I proceed on further to Syracuse. It appears to be a strongly overcast day, hopefully it will not rain. Syracuse is known to have lived through a strong greek influence. Remarkable about it is, that the main historic city center isn't located on the mainland, but on an attached Island called Ortygia connected by a several meter broad bridge.
Sightseeing
Welcome to Syracuse - Stormy Introduction
The wind blows heavily into my face once I step out of the train and I try to get a sense of orientation. Thank god the GPS system on my phone would help me to find the place where Beth, my next couch surfing host, lives. She is located not on the mainland, but in the aforesaid Island Ortygia. While I walk towards the Island, the wind begins to start pushing me back, my heavy backpack providing the strong flow of air with a target to attack. I have to stop for a while in order to put down my burden and disentangle my jacket out of the chaotic mess inside because it is cold due to the strong wind whistling around me. I fight my way over the bridge and finally arrive at the correct spot. Beth also travelled for about half a year around mainly the northern countries of Europe, hitchhiking a lot while doing so and has some impressive stories. I feel unexperienced in the face of those terrific tales, trying to calculate back. When did I start traveling? Ah yes, nearly two months have passed since I left home, by the time it seems at the same time not like a lot of time considering what I have experienced in these two months, and how enriching it all turned out to be.
Being with a person who has travelled a lot herself is refreshing, as she asks just the right questions: Are you hungry? Do you need to wash clothes? Do you want to take a shower? I feel in the right company and we get along very well. Later on she introduces me to her friends, who work similarly like her here in Syracuse, teaching english: Robert and Tanya.
The previous day, Tanya offers me her time to go around with me, first exploring the mainland side of Syracuse. We stroll around the harbor, explore the local flea market, trying to find a proper locker for tanya's bike. It sometimes seems to be weird how easily you can connect with another person, having been two strangers to each other just a few hours ago can switch within only several minutes into a feeling of sympathy and fondness, giving you the freedom to be completely yourself without fearing to scare someone off with weird behavior - I indeed can act strangely, but hey that's lovable - suppose so at least.
Sightseeing & Island
Ortyga - The Island Part of Syracuse
The Island Ortygia is not overly large, therefore looking around the whole Island won't take too much time and can be done in one day. As soon as you cross over the bridge from Syracuse to Ortygia you will certainly encounter leftovers of a previous temple site, the Tempio di Apollo right in one of the squares of the Island. Using this as a starting point you may stroll directly inwards into the tiny winding streets or circle round the coastal line and then invade the deeper insights.
In the historic center the Fontana di Artemide is placed prominently in a round square and depicts a wild and exaggerated vivid and slightly muddled scene. Amidst the water basin with fountains shooting up in various directions, a startled franticly struggling horse seems to be frozen in the act of jumping out of the pond with a young similarly frightened boy on it's back. A grown up muscled man sits on an enormous fish, his maw gaping widely open and making the observer of the scene stare into the depth of his body. In the middle of all this ongoing chaos a woman stands elevated on a high rock and seems to overrule the whole staged mess. while another naked woman to her feat leans back in a movement of despair and a man behind the woman which I suppose to be Artemide is lurking around her waist, similarly in motion. The fountain is an interesting scene to see, full of strong dynamic.
On the main Piazza you will find the Duomo di Siracusa, which mirrors a similar display of might and preciousness as the fountain, raking up high into the air and decorated with various statues looking down at the ongoing movements of the people in the square. The inside of the church though is plain and simple with large flat archways separating the main aisle from the side aisles. The whole square in front of the Duomo is lively populated by tourists and locals alike, children run around the open space playing whilst the parents tend to have a coffee in one of various Cafes and Bars.
Sightseeing & Island
A lap around the coastline - Framing the Island
I enjoy myself by strolling along the whole coastline of Ortygia, which is all around framed and uplifted by walls that keep the waves outside during heavy winds. The previous night I went for a run around the Island, the wind blowing so strong it was a struggle to move at all. Once I arrive at the seaside, the foam that occurs by the wildly crashing waves blows up high into the air and splatters into my face, leaving bubbly clumps everywhere. The wind pushes the waves in so heavily, they bump into the walls with a massive impact, sending sprays of further water up onto the walkways. Captivated I observe this display of natural forces colliding with the cities walls for a while but keep on running soon again as the blowing wind starts to become freezing.
Today the wind isn't that strong, and it is possible to take down the stairs to the small strip of beach which has dark rocks lying in front of it like grumpy little soldiers keeping intruders apart from the open ocean, all the while enduring the ocean that pushes them constantly onshore. Once the sky begins to darken as the night falls upon Ortygia, the lights jump into life, the waves of the ocean still audible clearly, even clearer than during daytime, whereas the waves become less recognizable with the darkness that seeps in. The feeling is great though with the salty breeze and the lights along the coast which flicker over from the point where I stand, blinking friendly from along the coast until most of the light fades out into the background and vanishes into dark.
Sightseeing & Churches
Strange & Dark Church - New Interpretions
I meet with Tanya again in order to have a look at one of the weirdest churches I have ever seen. Many people refer to it as 'the ugly church', whereas I can't yet decide if I should think it is ugly or somehow utterly refreshing at it doesn't look like any other random church you could encounter in any Italian city. The church called Sanctuary Madonna delle Lacrime stand cone shaped in front of us as we cirlcle around, completely made of concrete. When we enter, the atmosphere inside is gloomy, depressing but yet somehow fascinating and captivating. Never have I seen a church like that, thus I deem it worth a visit. Inside the crypt of the church, located in the basement, instead of stairs several broad softly declining passages lead downwards, each hung with an oversized painting, depicting rather gruesome, creepy scenes that add to the churches macabre and murky atmosphere. It is by far not comparable with one of those gothic churches with high growing long walls, light flooding in through large painted window and dipping everything into a mesmerizing beautiful light that leaves the visitor awestricken.
We walk up into the main church, where a holy ceremony is currently taking part, and as we would not like to attract negative attention by walking around here, we only regard the place from the entrance. The architectonic structure that is visible from he outside also displays inside here, with a cone shaped dome piercing up high, artificial golden light glooming out of the pattern of indentions. Overall a place worth to see, quite controversial but nonetheless beautiful - by it's own measurement.
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