FOLLOW THE CARTHAGINIANS TO SICILY

SICILY IS ONE OF THOSE PLACES every person of color should visit! The island is a unique place full of art, archeology, history, folklore and breathtaking scenery. And, of course, great food. Sicily is almost a nation unto itself. The enchanting land where Archimedes taught and Saint Paul preached was a Greek colony, a Roman province, an Arab emirate and a Norman kingdom.

The Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Swabians, Angevins and Aragonese made Sicily their own, leaving behind an eclectic history that you can still touch today. And Sicily will touch you. Sicily is Europe, Africa and Asia on one island. Greek tyrants, Arab emirs, Norman knights, Byzantine bishops and Holy Roman Emperors made Sicily the place it is. You can experience the legend in Phoenician settlements, Punic cities, Greek temples, Roman amphitheatres, Norman Arab castles and Aragonese churches. Thirty centuries of history expressed in the Classical, the Romanesque, the Gothic, and the Baroque.

Sikania to its most ancient peoples, Sicily was Sikelia, Plato's utopian society, to the ancient Greeks. Later, the sonnet was created at the Court of Frederick II, and Sicily found her place in the literature of Dante and Boccaccio. Sunny Sicily is Punic Palermo, towering Taormina, ancient Agrigento, splendid Siracusa and medieval Monreale and Cefalu.

Located near the southeastern corner of Sicily on the Ionian coast, Siracusa (Syracuse) is built on an ancient Greek settlement founded by Corinthians in 734 BC. More than any other modern city in Sicily, Syracuse is a visible continuity from its ancient Greek past, both historical and mythological. Its older quarter is an island, Ortegia (or Ortygia, from the Greek for "quail" probably named for that bird's abundance in this area). Ortegia is known for, among many other things, the freshwater Spring of Arethusa. When Artemis changed Arethusa into a spring of water to escape the river god Alpheus, it was here that the transformed maiden emerged. On a more factual note, Syracuse was the city of Archimedes, Pindar and Aeschylus. It was the most important city in Magna Graecia, and for a time rivaled Athens as the most important city of the Greek world. It is also on Ortigia where you'll find a hotel that recalls the spendor of the past. The Grand Hotel is located right on the sea overlooking the harbor. If you can't book a villa or small inn, the Grand is your best option.

Carthage, Athens and Rome were the only cities of the ancient Mediterranean world to challenge the power and prosperity of Syracuse during its Golden Age. Though it was an important city from the time of its foundation, Syracuse flourished unhindered after Hieron's victory (with the help of the Agrigentans) over the Carthaginians at Himera, near present-day Termini Imerese, in 480 BC, and soon became the most important Greek city in Sicily, both economically and politically. It would not be overzealous to say that the history of Hellenistic Sicily is largely the history of Syracuse.

Check out the city's ancient structures before looking at its medieval treasures. Some of the ancient sights in Syracuse are located in Ortegia, which is the medieval city's historic center. Ortegia is reached via the Ponte Nuovo, or "New Bridge." However, most of the more spectacular of the ancient landmarks are on the Teminite Hill, on the city's periphery, in an archeological park near Viale Teracati and Via G. Emanuele Rizzo. Greek and Roman structures are ubiquitous in Syracuse; even a wall of the cathedral was part of a Roman structure, the Temple of Minerva.

Located in Ortegia, the Temple of Apollo, or Artemis, is probably the oldest Greek temple in Sicily built in the Doric style, dating from around 565 BC.  Unfortunately, only its remains can be seen in Piazza Pancali. Nearby, in Piazza Duomo, the 5th century BC temple known as the Athenaion (and also part of the Temple of Minerva) forms a side of the cathedral. This is one of the few surviving examples in the former Magna Graecia of a temple being turned into a church, though in Rome examples abound. A medieval church at Taormina was also built on the site of an ancient temple, though not in precisely this manner. Closer to the Sea, the Spring of Arethusa, which takes the form of a large round fountain, is reached either from the Foro Italico or Via Capodieci. Among Ortegia's medieval relics is Maniaces Castle, named for the able Byzantine general (George Maniaces) who occupied part of the Ionian coast of Sicily during the 1030s. Most of the medieval structure was actually built during the reign of Frederick II two centuries later, though the fortress has been extensively modified in successive centuries.

The city's patron saint, St. Lucy, was martyred near the site of the church of that name, in Piazza San Lucia, in 304. The church itself was built during the Byzantine era, restructured by the Normans during the 12th century but, modified almost beyond recognition in the 17th century. Beneath the church are extensive catacombs.

In the Neapolis Archeological Park on the Terminite Hill a clear distinction can be made between the Greek and Roman structures. Siracusa has a Greek amphitheatre (literally carved out of the rock) and also a Roman one, both well preserved.  In conformity to tradition, the Greek Theatre is semicircular and open, the Roman one oval and enclosed. This archeological park has some charming surprises, such as the Altar of Geron II and the Ear of Dionysius, formerly a limestone quarry. There is also the Saint Venera Quarry and various necropoli and other caverns. Quarries are not exclusive to Neapolis; there are several elsewhere in Syracuse, such as the Capuchin Quarry in the city.

About 6 miles west of the city towards the Belvedere locality is Euryalus Castle, an ancient fortification complete with moats and immense walls. It was probably designed, at least in part, by Archimedes, a distinguished military engineer. This vast fortress was remarkable in 401 BC, when it was built, and still magnificent when it was later expanded during Byzantine times. For that matter, it is still impressive today.

To the Greeks, it was a defense against Carthaginians and then Romans (it fell to Marcellus due to betrayal rather than siege). To the Byzantines, it was a bulwark against the Saracen threat. In 309 BC, during the war against the Carthaginians, it held 3000 foot soldiers and 400 horsemen. Euryalus Castle today is may be a shadow of its former self, but it remains one of the few examples of Greek defensive architecture anywhere.

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