Ortigia – Syracusa’s Stunning Island
Ortigia – Syracusa’s Stunning Island The ancient island of Ortigia has many delights. The Fountain of Diana in the Archimedes Square on Ortigia Island. Syracusa
The Fabulous Rose Stone of Noto, Italy
Noto is just a short bus journey West from Syracuse. In the promotional pamphlets it's called "garden of rock" because of the lovely rose-coloured local stone that has been used to create most of the buildings.
Where in the world are we?
It was the earthquake that did it!
The big earthquake of 1693 gave the townsfolk the chance to rebuild and with most of that done in the early 1700’s, the old part of the Noto is a baroque masterpiece.
When we visited, the city was going through something of a renaissance, with hoardings and scaffolding (overlooked by steel cranes) around a lot of the important buildings – obviously getting a facelift for the enjoyment of visitors in 2002 (or maybe it was preparing for its successful nomination as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. . But there was enough of the town visible to appreciate its beauty and the scaffolding that hid the front of the cathedral was adorned with a huge photograph of the building.
Take a walk
You enter the old part of Noto through an archway and the centre of the old town is a restricted area favouring pedestrians so you can wander fairly freely.
The one building that you can’t take a photo of is the old monastery and I was chased off by the machine gun toting polizia on duty (the building is now the local correctional facility).
There are some 20 plus churches in the space of a few blocks from this place so there shouldn’t be a need for a facility of that nature anyway!
It’s worth just taking a walk around the old centre of Noto to admire the grand palaces and get a taste of the local culture. You might come across the local grocer, or even find my favourite building the local bike shop.
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Travelsnapz is a collection of photos and stories from around the world designed for your enjoyment.
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