Page 349 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

the goddess Artemis to escape the attentions of the predatory river-god Alpheus; all in

vain, though, for the determined Alpheus pursued her here to mingle with her in a
watery form. Other legends declared that the spring’s water would stain red at the time
of the annual sacrifices at the sanctuary of Olympia, and that a cup thrown into the
river there would rise here in Ortigia.

Porto Marina

The promenade runs both ways from the Fonte Aretusa, south towards the castle and

north along the tree-lined Foro Italico (also known as Foro Vittorio Emanuele II) to
Porta Marina, a fifteenth-century gateway surmounted by a curlicued Spanish
heraldic device. The vast, still pool of the Porto Grande spreads out beyond, dotted
with fishing-boats, liners and tankers, and the odd millionaire’s yacht.

Galleria Regionale di Palazzo Bellomo

Via Capodieci 14–16 • Tues–Sat 9am–7pm, Sun 9am–1pm • €8 • 0931 69 511

Siracusa’s tradition of architectural hybridism is again apparent in the Palazzo
Bellomo, with a courtyard that features thirteenth-century arcading and a Spanish-style

stairway leading up to the loggia. The palace is the home of the city’s Galleria
Regionale di Palazzo Bellomo, whose most treasured exhibit is an Annunciazione by
Antonello da Messina, painted for a church in Palazzolo Acreide, with the Hyblaean
mountains visible through the windows behind the angel and the Madonna. Early
Christian sculpture and a fine collection of altarpieces and icons are also fascinating
evidence of the enduring Byzantine and Gothic influence in Sicily. As late as the
sixteenth century, while the rest of Italy was swept by the Renaissance, Siracusa’s

artists were still painting heavily stylized Byzantine or Gothic works.

San Martino

Via San Martino • Usually open Sunday mornings as the local Scout group meets here
The church of San Martino is among Siracusa’s oldest. Originally a sixth-century

basilica, it was rebuilt in the fourteenth century and smartened up with a good-looking
rose window and Gothic doorway. It’s not often open, but the dusky interior is a treat
– plain stone columns leading to a tiny mosaic half-apse with a fifteenth-century
triptych to the right of the choir.

Castello Maniace

Via del Castello Maniace • Tues–Sat 9am–1pm • €4 • 0931 464 420

The dangling southern limb of Ortigia is entirely taken up by the parade grounds and
buildings of the stout Castello Maniace, a defensive bulwark erected around 1239 by
Frederick II, but named after George Maniakes, the Byzantine admiral who briefly