Ortigia is the little island base for the oldest part of Siracusa, linked to the mainland by ponte Nuovo, an extension of corso Umberto I. This handkerchief of land, just about a square kilometre, holds a labyrinth of alleyways, streets and courtyards whose names – vicolo dei Tintori, quartiere dei Cordari – reflect ancient professions. There are numerous Baroque palaces, Arab courtyards and alleyways with artisan workshops, cafes and shops. The Darsena canal is particularly evocative.
The nerve centres of the island are piazza Montalto and piazza Duomo: the Baroque cathedral conserves the remains of the Temple to Athena built in the 5th century BCE. Other religious buildings include the imposing Baroque Church of Santa Lucia alla Badia, once part of a convent and today deconsecrated. On the extreme point of the island is Maniace Castle.
Near piazza Archimede, whose fountain is surrounded by buildings which, one by one, tell the medieval, Gothic and Baroque history of the city, is the Temple to Apollo, an imposing Doric temple in Sicilian stone built in the 6th century.
Sicilia Film Commission
Via Emanuele Notarbartolo 9 — 90141 Palermo
Phone: +39 091 7078008; +39 091 7078264; +39 091 7078133; +39 091 7078145
Email: filmcommission@regione.sicilia.it
