5/26 Tuesday in Siracusa, Ortigia, Sicily

A tiny history: Sicily is divided into “Burroughs” of sorts. We are in Ortigia, which is actually more of an island and separate from Siracusa. The ruins here are Greek and Roman. We are close to the Temple of Athena, The Temple of Artemis and the Duomo which transitioned over the centuries from a Greek temple, to a Roman temple, to a Mosque, to a Jewish Synagogue and now is a Catholic church! (yikes!)

Our guide regaled us with tales of Greek mythology and explained a great deal about the history of the duomo – The Church of Santa Lucia. It is lovely inside and today was filled with kids on field trips.

Our day actually began with a walk to the market (fish and produce) and an introduction to Alessia, our teacher for the day. We did a small tasting with cheese, caponata, salami and wine. Then she walked us through the market, we met the fishmonger (her father was one, and she herself was a fishmonger). We chose swordfish for lunch and then all the fresh vegetables to make a lovely salad. 

Next: off to the museum where she has her cooking kitchen and cooking class. Everyone cooked! Then, we made pasta and had a lovely lunch. The pesto sauce she had us create for the pasta was terrific.

Then, back to the B&B to re-group for 30 minutes and then off to see the ancient Mikvah. For those who do not know, this is Jewish ritual bath for women… meant to cleanse (as in purify) prior to marriage, making ready for Shabbat, or following menstrual cycles. It was “buried” in 1492-94 when the inquisition forbid the Jews to practice. It remained hidden and forgotten until the 1980’s when it was accidentally found by a woman renovating the palace on the property. A most interesting visit! (no photos allowed).

Our final stop was the very beautiful Church of Santa Lucia. Back to the room to rest and after all the eating today we canceled our dinner reservation. We’ll just walk back to the piazza near the church and get something small at one of the little cafes.