Ragusa, like Noto was destroyed in the 1693 earthquake and then rebuilt in the Baroque style both "in place" and on an adjacent higher hill. Our original plan had us overnighting in Ragusa, but the modification to daytripping from Catania proved to be a good choice as both the bus station and train station turned out to be quite a hike to/from Ilba, the Old Town where we planned to sleep. In addition the sights can be seen in a few hours.
There were a few views of Mount Etna from the bus window as we headed south from Catania to Ragusa.
And a few ridges covered with windmills.
As usual for the trip so far, there was a rain shower as we walked into town past this modernist clock tower.
But the Tourist Office was friendly (with a helpful free map) and we carefully headed down the 200+ slippery steps of Via Scale to the Old Town; after poking our heads in to the Cathedral during a funeral - whoops.
At the top of Via Scale with great views to Ilba.
Inside the Church of Purgatory in Ilba.
The highlight of Ilba is the exterior of the Baroque Duomo and the sloping piazza in front.
The nearby Chiesa di San Giuseppe has a beautiful ceiling. We almost didn't get to see it as the nuns were closing the doors as we walked up, but an intrepid tour guide persuaded them to stay open for 2 more minutes (for her group) so we piggy-backed our way in.
One of the old city gates.
And a few more views; one looking up to the newer city from the base of Via Scala and then some back to Ilba.
And finally the Ragusa Post Office.
Sun-Ling and John have been traveling the earth since 2008 while blogging, eating vegetarian and vegan, and riding public transportation. We love uphill day hikes, 20th-century architecture, Roman ruins, all bodies of water, local markets, shopping for groceries, aqueducts, miradors, trip planning, blablacar, and more.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Most Recent Post
Uzbekistan: Khiva
Khiva is really the first stop on our upstream tour of the Silk Road. An important post on the Silk Road, Khiva was razed and rebuilt many t...
Most Popular Posts of Last 30 Days
-
Last week we hauled our canoe and tent over to Merchants Millpond State Park and enjoyed some very fine camping and paddling. One day we p...
-
Dubai, the most populated city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is an enigma for us. Dubai is now among the top 5 most visited cities in t...
-
Everything happened smoothly with our Galapagos trip. We had really good weather, two full days of sun and a couple of partly cloudy day in...
-
Tashkent, Uzbekistan is our entry into Central Asia. The Silk Road had been a destination for us for decades. Besides the usual concerns for...
-
The day before Easter we took the regional FSE train from Martina Franca to Bari, the 2nd largest city in southern Italy (after Naples) with...
-
From TashKent, we took a flight west to Nukus, located in Karakalpakstan, an autonomous region of Uzbekistan. Nukus itself is a city establi...
-
Abus Dhabi seems more familiar than Dubai. There is a recognizable downtown. There are city parks connecting downtown to the sea. There are ...
2 comments:
Holy bat guano, Robin! That statue of Christ is the most gristly I've seen.
The pictures are amazing as always. I especially like the 5th one - view from via scale
Post a Comment