ADVICE FOR TRAVELLERS

BEST TIME TO GO

Late spring, when Syracuse’s ancient Greek theatre hosts the annual festival of Greek theatre. Avoid high summer when the city’s stone streets warm up like an oven and its archaeological sites are too hot for anyone except the tortoises that trundle about the ruins.

GETTING THERE

The closest airport is Catania around 45 miles away – an hour’s drive – along coastal motorways. And if you fly into Catania you get a splendid view of Mount Etna, which looms over the airport.

WHAT TO TAKE

As boring and un-Italian as it sounds, sensible shoes. Those flagstone piazzas and marble church steps may be breathtakingly beautiful but they are also very slippery. Also take with you a good translation of Plutarch’s Lives. The biographer’s style lies somewhere between that of Herodotus and Hello! magazine, and his book is stuffed full of vivid descriptions of the history of Syracuse.

WHAT TO BRING BACK

Sicily’s specialities don’t travel especially well. Its mouth-watering ice creams, perhaps its greatest draw, are unlikely to prosper in a suitcase. Still, Sicilian wine will survive any trip, as will its bitter liqueur, Amaro Averna.