In the heart of Syracuse's historical centre lies island of
Ortigia, selected by the Greeks as a location for founding the city.
Here, in a characteristic and peaceful alley, just a few steps from
Arethusa's Fountain and Piazza Duomo, in a 17th century palace is the
Casa Vacanze Aretusa, a holiday house which was completely restructured
in 2004.
The structure is situated a mere 50 metres away from 2 sun bathing
areas: one at Arethusa's Fountain, which has a small beach; and another
called the 'Lido Maniace'.
From the
terrace - where it is also possible to sunbath - one may enjoy a
magnificent sea view and overlook the rooftops of Ortigia.
Syracuse is the perfect spot to travel to: a gorgeous city, a
relaxing one, where the coexistence and overlapping of cultures and
styles and depth of Sicilian and Mediterranean history brightly spread
out before the eyes even of the most uncultured of travellers.
The holiday house offers one- or two-roomed apartments, all perfectly
equipped with the most modern comforts: en-suite bathrooms, linens, TV,
equipped kitchenettes, refrigerators and air conditioning, free wi-fi connection, post service. Laundry service on request.
The classical as well as the early Christian world, the life that Arabs
and Jews spent in the city (the labyrinth of narrow streets that can
suddenly widen out, the courtyards inside the old houses), the remains
of Gothic, Catalan - and in any case, Spanish-type - architecture,
every age indeed of Sicilian, Mediterranean and European history are
there represented in a way which is suggestive, not isolated as
monuments and traces of a forgotten world are, not remains of a past,
the echo of which reaches historians only, but in a kind of vital
fusion and continuity: as if everything mingled with everything else in
the most complex and widest - although sudden - concept of Baroque.