Today we toured the ruins of Siracusa and the nearby island of Ortygia. I’ll spare you most of the history to concentrate on our guide, another piece of work named Giovanni Toro. Like any good promoter, our tour company saved the best for last. Giovanni talked a mile a minute in a heavy accent so I didn’t catch all the history stuff I was supposed to learn. (I’m going to have to refer to Frommer’s or my Michelin Guide to fill in the blanks.) However, he was a show in itself.

We visited a cave (called the Ear of Dionysius) near the Greek theatre in Siracusa and to demonstrate its amazing acoustics (the sound ricochets, NOT echoes, mind you), he gave a powerful rendering of Santa Lucia. He had quite a nice voice. You can hear him in the link here, when he performed in the cave for a group of students who captured him on YouTube.

Then it was a short ride to the island of Ortygia. Ortygia was more typical of other small Italian towns we’ve visited previously – pretty square with a Duomo, charming side streets. It would make a nice overnight stop. The church was worth seeing thanks to its schizophrenic nature – it had a little of everything – Greek, Roman, Norman, Rococco, Baroque, Byzantine and something that looked like a modern art rendition of Santa Lucia, the patron saint of Siracusa. I had to agree with Giovanni that the Duomo was the highlight of a visit to Siracusa/Ortygia – you’ve seen one ancient Greek theatre, you’ve seen them all. But there aren’t many Duomos as strange as this one.

The other highlight was in a former convent a few steps from the Duomo – it houses Caravaggio’s painting of the martyrdom of Santa Lucia. Giovanni explained how Sicily fought to get the painting. After all, “Rome has so much to see. We need something to bring the visitors to Sicily.” The building is closed on Monday, but during our tour, Giovanni received a call. A tour group wanted to see the painting on Monday night. He made another call, and – no problem – the building would be opened for the group. See, Giovanni knows the boy with the key. It pays to know people.

As I write this, we’re in our room in Taormina overlooking Mt. Etna and the Ionian Sea. Today was the last day of our tour and tomorrow is our first day with nothing planned. I’m looking forward to that.