Sicily Ortygia

Ortygia, which together with Siracusa was one of the largest cities of the ancient world and is now a World Heritage Site. With a central position on all major trade routes , it was an important port and one of oldest and most influential cities on the Mediterranean.

Some background
Ortygia is a small island off the coast from Siracusa and joined to it by bridges.

It was founded by Corinthian colonists who landed on the island around 734BC, being attracted by the plentiful supply of fresh water. The island was easily defensible with good natural harbours on both sides and on one of the major trade routes of the Mediterranean. The mainland city was established four years later. It quickly flourished becoming a rich commercial city and major regional centre.

In 211BC, the Romans took control of the area, being followed by the Byzantines and the Arabs in 878AD. From being the largest and most important city on Sicily, it became little more than a provincial town. Famine, earthquakes and plague reduced the population. After the 1693 earthquake there was a programme of massive Baroque reconstruction.

By the C20th the population of Ortygia had fallen and many of the buildings were disused and in poor condition. Since becoming a World Heritage Site in 2005 money has poured in to restore the churches and buildings. It is again becoming a desirable place to live and prices are rocketing.

The island is enclosed by a sea wall with a walk around it with good views across the harbours on either side and the mainland city of Siracusa.

At the southernmost tip is Castello Maniace, an imposing C13th Norman fortress built to defend the island. It is named after General Maniakes who took the city from the Arabs in 1038.

Ortygia needs to be explored on foot and it is impossible to get lost as nowhere far from sea. There is a grid pattern of streets with narrow alleyways running off them.

These are lined with tall buildings, many with metal balconies.

There are many small piazzas often with a church. Some are still awaiting restoration.

The Basilica of St Peter the Apostle is the oldest church to be built in Siracusa, dating back to 300AD, although it has been altered many times since then. It is now deconsecrated and was unfortunately when I was there.

A walk around Ortygia

Dionysis the Great built a wall around the Greek City of Ortygia and Siracusa between the C6th and C5th BC, making it the oldest remains on the island. All that remains is the Porta Urbica, on Via XX Septembre. This was the gateway through the wall which controlled access to Ortygia. All that is left are parts of the two massive pillars on either side of the gateway.

Near it on Piazza Pancalli, is the Temple of Apollo. This is the oldest Greek temple in Sicily dating from around 565BC. All that survives are two of the original columns with numerous partial and fragmented columns and a section of wall. The Piazza is an attractive place with its date palms and plenty of seats

On a Saturday there is a large open air market on Piazza Pancali and along via de Benedictis

Nearby is the late C19th Piazza Archimede surrounded by splendid palazzi, commemorates Archimedes who was killed by the Romans in 212BC. In the centre is the Fountain of Diana (Artemis) and depicts the myth of Aretusa.

A bit further is Piazza del Duomo, which is considered to be one of the most beautiful squares in Italy. It sits on the site of the former Acropolis and is surrounded by Baroque palazzi, the cathedral (#2) and the Church of St Lucia alla Badia.

The Church of San Lucia alla Badia is dedicated to the patron saint of the city was was martyred here in 304AD. The original church and convent were destroyed in the 1693 earthquake and rebuilt by the nuns in the Baroque style. This was a closed order of Cistercian nuns with grills set in the walls of the vestibule so the nuns could talk to their families without being seen. The tours of the C4th catacombs beneath the church begin from here.

The main reason to visit is for the Caravagio painting above the altar, depicting the Burial of St Lucia. This is rather a dour painting and generally felt not to be one of his best. No photographs are allowed inside the church.

Narrow alleyways drop down to the sea front and Fonte Aretusa, which overlooks Porto Grande. This is a fresh water fountain and was one of the sources of fresh water for the early city. According to legend, the nymph Aretusa was a handmaiden of the goddess Artemis who wanted to escape from the persistent advances of Alpheus, God of Rivers, who was madly in love with her. She asked Artemis for help and was transformed into a fresh water spring. Depending on the legend, Alpheus is either still trying to find her or else he located Aretusa and changed into a spring so their waters could mix together. Papyrus grows in the centre of the fountain, the only place it is found in Sicily.

The Jewish Quarter is an area of narrow streets and alleyways on the east side of the island, where the Jews lived until they were ejected by the Spanish.

In the Middle Ages, there was a substantial Jewish population living in Ortygia, estimated to be about a third of the total population. It included many wealthy merchants and bankers who lived in the area around Via della Giudecca. In 1492, the Spanish King Ferdinand II gave the Jews an ultimatum - convert to Catholicism or sell off your assets within three months and leave. Five hundred years later, many of the old buildings have cellars with the remains of the mikveh or ritual baths. One of the best to survive is that beneath Hotel Alla Giudecca on Via Alagona.

The Church of St Philip the Apostle was built in 1742 over the site of the C15th synagogue. The ritual baths beneath the church became catacombs used for burying important members of the community. These were in use until 1800 when burials in the church were forbidden. They can be accessed by the metal grille in the nave floor. The church was damaged by bombing in 1945 and was closed in 1968 after signs of structural damage and subsidence. It has only just reopened after extensive restoration. It can be best described as austere Baroque.

Inside is equally as plain with white walls with a frieze around the top of the walls. Four massive arcade columns support the dome. These have smaller grey marble columns supporting pointed arches. At the back is a small balcony with the organ.

In October 2017, the marble high altar was being regilded. at the base set behind a glass, is a reliquary skull.

There are small chapels with marble altars at the end of the transepts.

There are two marble altars in each side aisle with paintings above. This depicts the Holy family with St John, Zaccaria and Elizabeth.

In the left aisle is the processional bier containing a statue of the dead Christ which is carried in procession on Good Friday.

 

[Eleanor]

Ortygia Cathedral, the Duomo

This is one of the few examples of a Greek temple that has survived as a Christian church.

In the C5th BC, the Greek temple to Athena dominated the Acropolis on the highest point of the island. It was a typical of Greek temple with six columns on short sides and fourteen along the long sides. It became a church when the island was evangelised by St Paul. The present cathedral was constructed in the C7th by Saint Bishop Zosimo of Syracuse. The Doric columns of the Greek temple became part of the outer walls. These, along with the three stepped platform they were built on, can be seen along Via Minerva.

Arches were carved through the walls of the cella inside, to form the nave.

The church was elevated to a Byzantine cathedral in 640AD. During the Arab settlement, it was converted into a mosque.

When Sicily fell to the Normans at the end of the C11th, they appointed Latin bishops and the building became (and still is) a Roman Catholic Cathedral. The original roof was removed and the walls were extended upwards and crenellated. An apse was added at the east end.

The west front was damaged in the 1693 earthquake and was replaced by the splendid Baroque facade with the statue of the Virgin Mary above the west door. On pinnacles on either side are St Lucia, the patron saint of Siracusa and a C5th bishop, St Marciano.

Next to the cathedral is the Archbishop’s palace which looks very plain in comparison.

Splendid Baroque doorways with decorated columns lead into the cathedral.

The inside of the cathedral is unique and very different. It still retains the feel of a Greek temple. The only natural light comes through windows high in the walls adding to the intimate feel.

The original Doric columns can still be seen along the outer walls of the side aisles and on either side of the west door.

At the end of the north aisle is a simple Norman apse with a blocked Norman window containing a small stone altar with a statue of the Madonna of the Snow.

It is very different to the main apse at the east end. With its white plaster walls, Baroque altar and reredos with a painting of the Nativity of the Virgin, this feels out of place feels out of place compared to the rest of the building.

A passage to the right of the main altar leads to the Chapel of the Crucifix, with its C13th crucifix and painted dome. This is very dark with little natural light.

On the side walls are altars containing reliquary boxes with the bones of saints.

There are Baroque chapels off the south aisle behind decorative metal grille doors. The Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament is reserved for private prayer and has a massive Baroque altar with gilded pillars and a huge tabernacle. On either side are large Baroque plaster door with fluted pillars and a painted ceiling with C17th frescoes.

Next to it is the Chapel of St Lucia. The altar holds a silver reliquary box with bone fragments from the saint. Above is a portrait of St Lucia. A C16th silver statue of the saint kept in a locked glass fronted niche, is paraded round the streets on December 13th, her festival day.

At the back of the right aisle is a small baptistry, containing a C13th Norman stone font with seven bronze lions round the base.