Syracuse's cathedral was not built: it was converted. The Doric columns protruding from its walls belong to the fifth-century BC temple of Athena, enclosed by the Byzantines and dressed in Baroque after the 1693 earthquake — two and a half thousand years of uninterrupted prayer inside the same building. Around it, the island of Ortigia: Syracuse's ancient heart, one kilometre of golden stone ringed by the sea.
What to see
Piazza del Duomo, among Italy's most theatrical Baroque drawing rooms; the temple columns, inside and outside the cathedral; the Aretusa spring with its papyrus, where the nymph of legend resurfaced from the sea; the temple of Apollo at the island's gate, Sicily's oldest Doric temple; the morning market of voices and swordfish; and Maniace castle on the point, sea on three sides.
Visiting
Ortigia IS the visit: half a day of lanes, churches and lookouts, the cathedral on its own ticket. In the evening the island changes register and becomes where the Syracusans gather. The Neapolis archaeological park, with the Greek theatre and the Ear of Dionysius, lies on the mainland and asks its own half day.
Getting there
Two bridges join Ortigia to the modern city: twenty minutes on foot from the station, or shuttle buses. Leave cars in the gateway car parks — Talete above all — because inside there is simply no room.
Our editors' tip
The proper rite is double: Piazza del Duomo at eight in the morning, limestone honey-coloured and almost yours alone; and sunset from the western seafront by the Aretusa spring, sun dropping exactly behind the Porto Grande. In between, granita and the market: Ortigia is to be tasted.