Viaggio in Sicilia / 8: 21 giugno 2024 – venerdì
Packed bags and car and had our last breakfast on Terra del Sole’s terrace overlooking Ragusa Ibla, thanked Nanni and headed out to Noto en route to Siracusa.
What an extraordinary city Noto is! It rivals Ragusa in size and importance, administratively and architecturally. Although it does not have the drama of Ragusa’s cliff-hanging setting (and corresponding views), the quantity of churches, palaces, and buildings, its charming theater and probably most importantly its plazas –the junctures where church, palace, and all else are coordinated, where the city’s aesthetic and urbanistic coherence is articulated– all make Noto a Sicilian Baroque wonderland, every bit as mozzafiato. We spent a good deal of time wandering the streets and wondering at the interiors of several churches before having our daily salad, grabbing a caffè and setting out for Siracusa.
One final point regarding both Noto and Ragusa… and Modica for that matter. In rebuilding their cities after the cataclysmic 1693 earthquake, Sicilians seem to have been bent on the notion of ascent. The staircases that rise from the streets ascending straight up, it seems, beyond the most dizzying Baroque façades and from there on to the heavens: nothing defines the architectural typology of southeastern Sicily nor, I would imagine, the local (or regional) frame of mind more than this ubiquitous detail. To stand at the foot of these stairs in Ragusa, Noto, or Modica and gaze upwards and beyond… the invitation to the lofty is one of these cities’ main attractions and one of the quintessential pleasures they offer.
Noto is a short distance from Siracusa so we were able to arrive there comfortably in time to park at the marina, in Ortigia, just a few blocks from our BnB, and check in in time for our evening stroll around the old city. Although the “4 Elements Boutique” seemed somewhat sterile (after all the warm and personal welcomes we received from Alessandro in Trapani and Andrea and Nanni in Agrigento and Ragusa, the room was very clean, modern and comfortable and, most importantly, extremely well located just a few meters off the central via Cavour on the narrow via Mario Gemmellaro. The location proved ideal for our aims, something that we discovered immediately.
We headed out across the old city to its eastern harbor (we bought tickets for the following day’s puppet show) and walked along the waterfront out as far as the Castello Maniace then back along the western shore to the Fonte Aretusa and on to our dinner at La Cambusa. The air of antiquity, the sea-salt decay of the buildings facing the harbor where Syracusans battled Athenians in ancient times, the smells-sights-sounds make Siracusa such a unique place, uniquely evocative of a very particular corner of Ancient Greece: Magna Grecia.
La Cambusa was delightful, the closest experience we could remember to our revered Agrigento meal with the kids back in 1991. The owner of this family run joint, probably 70+ in age, serving tables solo (fortunately we arrived early!); the table with a window view onto the ancient harbor, the vast and vaulted interior with brick walls, wooden beams and high ceilings… one wonders how long such treasures will withstand the winds of time, money and power, how long we will be able to connect in such ways with the past.
Photo album available on Flickr at: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBBMTH
