Greek Archives - Palermo For 91 Days

The Views of Taormina

On the last day of our final road-trip through Sicily, we drove a few kilometers up the coast from Catania to Taormina, the island's most popular beach resort. Word of its charm had reached our ears from just about everyone we'd come in contact with: friends, strangers in bars, neighbors, Twitter acquaintances. Even my grandmother called to say that we should really visit Taormina. She's never even been to Sicily and she's been dead for ten years! Phone calls from beyond the grave are pretty persuasive: we had to go.

The Ruins of Segesta

Segesta was founded high upon Mount Barbaro by the Elymian people, one of three Bronze Age cultures that flourished in Sicily before the arrival of overseas powers. Eventually, though, the foreigners came knocking and, after a doomed alliance with Carthage, Segesta attached its fortunes to Athens. The Romans and Arabs also took possession of Segesta, but the city was abandoned completely at some point during the Middle Ages. This desertion allowed Segesta's ruins to survive relatively untouched, shielded from the destructive march of history.

The Archaeological Park of the Neapolis

On our second day in Syracuse, we made our way to the Parco Archeologico della Neapolis, where some of Sicily's greatest ruins are bunched together, almost as though our ancient forebears wanted to facilitate future tourist groups.

The Temple of Apollo and the Fountain of Arethusa

The moment you cross the bridge onto the island Ortigia, where the ancient center of Syracuse is found, you're confronted with what the word "ancient" truly means. The ruins of the Temple of Apollo greet visitors at the island's gateway, and serve as the perfect introduction to a city rich in myth and history.