Ortygia is small, and hence a good wander will cover everything you want to see - and perhaps a bit more.

I must say that some of the washing hanging out suggested considerable poverty and it did not feel right that it should be 'on show'.

Having said that, it is in most respects a very pleasant place to go, marred somewhat by the inaccessibility of the tip which is used by the army.

Ortygia is entered across a bridge and almost immediately there is an old temple ahead. The Duomo further in is big and impressive rather than beautiful from the outside, but inside the huge Romanesque columns are a most congenial sight.

There are a few squares with monumental buldings and churches that make an impresssive spectacle.

The Fonte Aretusa, a freshwater spring not far above the sea on the north side has ancient legends attached to it but I found it mildly disappointing. Perhaps, when truth is told, that was my overall view of Ortygia, well worth a visit but not quite what it is cracked up to be.

This offshore island was occupied by the Greek colonists who fortified it and constructed the earliest structures, including the temples of Athena and Apollo, whose remains can still be seen today.

Attraction type

Island; Religious site