When you make it to Sicily, one of the must see places is Siracusa, an old Greek city-state and…read moreone of the most beautiful and oldest parts of Sicily. Archimedes lived here. Plato lived here. Yes, it is a classic destination, less known yet Siracusa was a very powerful city-state. Goosies. Yet you come here and you don't get that Sicilians are braggarts. Not at all. They have so many reasons to be proud. You can feel the ancient and privileged life the Siracusans led once you admire many facets of their existence: i architecture, the amazing temples, town center, the pastry shops, mom/pop stores, the open air Greek theater and then Ortigia, the ancient small island at the tip where Domus Mariae is located. There are many hotel choices in Siracusa, some 5 stars, some very high-end. But one of my faves is an older hotel, not so 5 star, Domus Mariae. Domus Mariae used to be a convent. It's a pretty cool building inside and out. The rooms are spartan yet comfy. In fact it's still run by nuns, who make the nice breads, jams and cheeses at breakfast. For visitors, it's an amazing treat to have locally home-made breakfast foods. The staff however are laypeople, like Cinzia, the tiny desk clerk (with the demeanor of a Brooklyn native) who carried all 5 pieces of luggages to 4 rooms with no issues and Francesco the quiet, smiley and attentive bell hop. The staff is amazing here. They made our stay worthwhile and we felt attended to at all times. They made reservations for restaurants, car service, trips and everything you can think of that a concierge will do, they did.
But why do I stay here? First we get the sea front rooms for unbelievable sunsets and sunrises. Second, the artisan breakfasts come with the room, you can tell the products were made with care and sensibility. Third, the history of Siracusa is ahhhhhmayzin' so much to know to put in a review. Fourth: Siracusa has probably the best marzipan based cookies (pasta di mandorla), even better than Palermo (the sweets center of Sicily). Fifth, on a beautiful clear day, you can see Malta from here.
Hope you enjoy this somewhat relatively unknown town, at least to us Americans. Until now. The LA Times just featured Siracusa on last Sunday's paper. Check it out. You now have a great place to stay.
Visits: 3. Yelp=2
Tip: There are no elevators, staff will carry your luggage to your room. Get seafront rooms as this hotel is on the southern side of the island of Ortigia. There are 2 buildings. We stayed in the older building situated across the street from the water. The other building is slightly in back of the other but also have water views. The water tours around Siracusa are beautiful and informative. To get to Siracusa, you can either rent a car in Catania (CTA) airport or train or bus it here. It's cheap to take the train or bus if you don't feel driving. The iPhone maps app worked beautifully all over Sicilia. Driving is easy in Sicily, not frenetic or disorganized like London, Rome or Paris. Finally get full insurance (not cheap) on a car if you rent...it's called piece of mind. If something happens to the car, American Express/Visa will not cover many expenses as the rules in Sicily are "different".
