Sicily Day 4 (Siracuse - Catania)

We went to the southern coast of Sicily to visit the town of Siracusa, which had a nice big greek theatre. This was also covered in scaffolding, as they were erecting wooden seats (covering the remains of the existing marble seats) for summer performances of classical Greek plays. It was very dazzling with the white seats and sand, even with sunglasses on! Nearby we also saw the remains of an ancient quarry, which has a natural fissure of about 60 (or more?) metres. This was used as a prison by one Greek tyrant, and acts as a natural amplifier so that he could eavesdrop. It was called the Ear of Dionysus by Caravaggio.

Spent the avo at Catania, next town over from our hotel. Another bunch of crowded little cobblestone streets with cars and motorbikes zipping about. Gets quite exhausting! But there are lots of sights to raise one's spirits, like the remains of a Roman theatre hidden in the middle of a motorcade! The city has been built on top of this, so only a little bit is visble - though it has tunnels disappearing under the city (now closed after a school tour group got lost in its labyrinthine depths!).

Also of interest in Catania is the elephant statue in the main square. This is made out of lava stone, found in abundance in this area thanks to nearby MOUNT ETNA! The still-active volcano is visible from lots of streets in Catania, and its volcanic rock is commonly used in construction. The elephant, for reasons I cannot remember, is a symbol of Catania. As long as the elephant is smiling, Catania will be safe from an eruption. I just hope Mother Nature pays attention to this little rule.

We also wandered through the extraordinary Pescheria - Catania's famous fish markets. Alleyways stuffed to the gills (excuse me) with fish, meat, cheese, vegetables and people. Watch out or you'll get splashed with guts by the ubiquitous butchers!