3 Best Sights in Ortigia, Sicily

The southern tip of Ortigia island is occupied by this castle built by Frederick II (1194–1250), from which there are fine sea views (until recently, it was an army barracks). The grounds (with bar) are open to the public and have become a popular spot for picnics and lunch breaks. Highlights of the castle are the vaulted main hall and the cannon emplacements in the basement—at their most evocative on stormy days when you can hear the waves crashing against the walls. Contemporary art shows, usually featuring sculpture, are staged in the cathedral-like interiors and even in the surrounding waters.

For a glimpse of the magnificent interiors and gardens of the Palazzo Arcivescovile, the palace of 17th-century Archbishop Giovanni Antonio Capobianco, which is next to the Duomo, and the wondrous Biblioteca Alagoniana, this museum is well worth 45 minutes of your time. Visitors proceed through the ground floor, first taking in the pious displays in the vaulted Cappella Sveva, reminiscent of (and probably hewn by) Castello Maniace's stonemasons. Next is the atmospheric 17th-century Carcere Vescovile, with austere prison cells, narrow windows, and internal courtyard, all designed for the control of the inmates. Corridors lined with historic portraits of Ortigia worthies and documents lead to the uplifting itinerary highlight, the Biblioteca Alagoniana (1780), named for Bishop G. B. Alagona. Reeking of knowledge, intrigue, and mystery, the wood-lined library contains over 70,000 volumes, including 21 priceless Latin, Greek, and Arabic codexes, 17 incunabolo pamphlets from the late 1400s, and an illustrated Liber Cronicarium (1493, Nuremberg) by German polymath Hartmann Schedel (1440–1514). You exit the palazzo via the beautiful, flowery gardens.

Scattered through the piazza just across the bridge to Ortigia are the ruins of a temple dedicated to Apollo, which dates back to the 6th century BC. A model of this is in the Museo Archeologico. In fact, little of this noble Doric temple remains except for some crumbled walls and shattered columns; the window in the south wall belongs to a Norman church that was built much later on the same spot.