Gillian Knows Best Guide to Ortigia

Let's start the shortest darkest month with some Sicilian sunshine

When a pal invited me to Sicily for a last minute trip I barely checked my calendar before I had booked my flight. I had big plans for all kinds of exploring, but it was unexpectedly and unseasonably hot. So instead I swam in the sea, ate cannolis and granita, and giant sandwiches stuffed with mackerel and lemon zest. I saw a little bit of art in Baroque churches and palaces and visited a very moving Mikvah. Here is my advice (and the addresses) for your own Sicilian exploring.

Where to stay in Ortigia

I stayed in the extremely comfortable and chic Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel. The AC is strong, breakfast is abundant (they have a DIY cannoli section!) and the staff is super helpful. They helped me find a place to swim, booked a car to the airport and gave me advice on boat tours. My room had two enormous windows one with a view of the sea and the second with a view of the pretty street and buildings next door.

We are going to a wedding in Ragusa in a few weeks. I have booked a few days at the charming Hotel Gutkowski as the place to start our early spring Sicilian adventures.

Where to eat in Ortigia

This is Sicily. Pack the stretchy pants and flowy kaftans. You are going to eat.

Chiodo: The eclectic dining room that is also a shop showroom is strung with fairy lights and mismatched furniture. There is an outside courtyard that is equally sparkly. I had a simple plate of busiate alla Trapanese and we shared a bottle of Etna red. I don’t remember which one because we just asked the waiter to bring us a delicious one. For dessert I had a slice of creamy and crunchy pistachio Italian style cheesecake.

Gutkowskino: I had dinner on the terrace under a full moon here. Everyone raved about the risotto and the bites that my pals shared with me were indeed fantastic. I was in. the mood for pasta and got a rustic and simple spaghetti topped with breadcrumbs, one of my favorite pasta toppings, and it was divine.

I had meant to go to Antica Giudecca but I got sidetracked and stopped one shop too early at U'Sicilianu. I had a hard time choosing between pistachio lasagna or a big tray of spinach tossed with chili but I got an arancino. It was filled with ragu and peas and cheese and I ate it in my pajamas with a view of the sea. A few days later I got a second breakfast arancino at Antica Giudecca. They are both great!

For excellent cannoli and granita go to Pasticceria Artale. There are tables outside, but I really dug the 1980’s florescent light vibe inside.

Ccè e Ddà This granita place on a side street parallel to the Corso Giacomo Matteotti has the traditional round brioche col tuppo, but they also make a brioche that has a long tapered shaped and is dusted with sugar and studded with raisins. I got the raisin brioche with pistachio and almond granita and it was delicious but that combination was a tad too sweet for me (I have a fierce sweet tooth.) I prefer the traditional brioche with pistachio paired with gelsi (mulberry) or tart lemon just on its own.

Caseificio Borderi: A number of people told me that I had to go here for the most delicious sandwich in Sicily. I ordered the one stuffed with mackerel, lemon, parmesan and capuliato di pomodoro. It is extra delicious with a cold Messina after a morning of swimming.

Piano B One night we crossed the bridge over to the Siracusa side to have pizza. The attention to detail here is remarkable. The water glasses were placed precisely on top of the printed O’s on the placemats. The menu is craft beer and gourmet pizzas. I got a cheese free pizza with tuna, anchovies, oregano, olives, capers, and onions.

Where to drink in Ortigia

Enoteca Solaria This enoteca around the corner from the Fontana di Diana in Piazza Archimede has a few tables outside with a less showy view than the cafes that ring the fountain but with much better wine. The crisp Catarratto di Porta del Vento was perfect for the warm October evening.

Antico Caffe Minerva is on the long side of the duomo di Siracusa. That’s the part with a row of columns (there were once 14) that were part of the Greek temple of Athena built in the 6th century BC. This is an old fashioned bar and the perfect place to have morning coffee or a late afternoon negroni with a bowl of potato chips.

Where to shop in Ortigia

I bought a hammered brass Christmas ornament of Santa Lucia’s eyes and a tiny bottle of perfume that smells like the sea at Laghetti. I found a small white ceramic cactus pala at Pura Sicilia. Look for Fratelli Burgio on a corner of the Ortigia market near the sandwich shop. This is where you can buy jars of Strattu, that super concentrated tomato paste that you have probably seen on Instagram, and slabs of chocolate that are named for Sicilian places and flavored with Sicilian things like sea salt and capers and fichi di India.

What to do in Ortigia

Ortigia is one of Sicily’s Baroque gems. There is lots of swirly golden architecture with the occasional Greek ruin thrown in. All of this is surrounded by the sea that changes from emerald green to steely gray depending on the time of day and the light. I had big plans to explore more of the surrounding towns, but in the end I didn’t even get through my list of things I wanted to do just in Ortigia.

These pictures are from October 26, 2023

Swim

I was expecting good weather in late October in Sicily. I was not expecting it to still be summer (I packed a jacket and a vest!) I always pack a bikini no matter my destination because you never know if there will be a pool or hot springs or a turquoise sea opportunity. There is a small slice of sand that I walked by a few times but the front desk at the hotel recommended the Solarium Forte Vigliena. This is a large wooden platform built over the water with a set of stairs from the street. Pick a spot on the platform or on the rocks and then there is another set of stairs that go into the water. If you stay at the Algilà, they have beach towels.

See

Santa Lucia is the patron saint of Siracusa. There are 3 churches and a crypt dedicated to her. The Duomo di Siracusa is just spectacular. Make sure you don’t miss the small room right before the exit that is filled with relics and jewels and personal items related to the saint. The Chiesa di Santa Lucia all Badia is in the corner of the piazza and is best known for once being the home of Caravaggio’s Il seppellimento di Santa Lucia (Burial of St Lucy) More on that in a minute. Wikipedia says the church is now deconsecrated, but it certainly still feels like a church. The hand-painted majolica floor is wonderful. The Caravaggio is now across the bridge in Siracusa, inside the Basilica Santuario Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. It is not my favorite Caravaggio, the colors are muddy and his famous chiaroscuro is all but absent, but it was still worth the 20-ish minute walk. There are catacombs underneath the church that have hourly guided tours and a crypt next to the church that has a sculpture in glass of Santa Lucia that is said to have bled miraculously. Despite all of this adoration in Sicily, most of Santa Lucia is actually in Venice!

Before their expulsion in 1492 there were almost 3,000 Jews living in Ortigia. The Giudecca neighborhood of 7 streets bound by via della Giudecca and via Larga is still here. The church of San Giovanni Battista is where there was a synagogue. The most special site is the Mikveh at Casa Bianca that is next to the lobby of a hotel. This ritual bath was hidden underground until 1989 when building renovations revealed the perfectly restored spring fed pools and rooms, all carved by hand. It is thought to be the oldest surviving Mikveh in Europe. There are tours every 30 minutes. No one else showed up when I was there so I got a private tour.

Galleria regionale di Palazzo Bellomo di Siracusa is a jewel of a museum filled with rooms of marble sculpture and gilded altar pieces. If you love a painting of the Madonna this is the museum for you. I had the place to myself.

I didn’t take a boat tour. I am spoiled by Ponza where you spend all day on a boat swimming and eating pasta and being served hot sweet coffee for a third of the price as a 90 minute tour with no snacks. I kind of regret not taking a sunset tour that includes a stop where a bottle of Prosecco is lowered down to the boat in a basket.

A scirocco wind blew in and made the air stuffy and the sky overcast so I didn’t go the Il Parco archeologico to see the amphitheater or Museo archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi. I have been before and these sites are at the top of my agenda for my trip in a few weeks. I also want to take this hike along the sea. Make sure you are following me on Instagram so you can come along with me.