Thursday, August 27, 2026
Ragusa, Sicily
Exploring Ragusa on our Wedding Anniversary:
We devoted the day to discovering Ragus Ibla. This is the other portion of Ragusa that sits across the ridge in the mountains. It is referred to as Lower Ragusa and it takes at least half a day to see it all. But first, breakfast—and what a delightful breakfast it was!
Breakfast at Conchita’s Family Mansion:
Just a minute to the left of the main door of our Locanda Le Meridiana, we found Conchita’s unique family home. It is an old mansion of three-stories in which she was born and where she now lives with her sister and brother’s families. She had set two tables for us in the garden and as soon as we entered it, we were engulfed by the pleasing fragrance of jasmine—a really glorious touch. Conchita sat us down at a table beautifully set in navy blue with heirloom pieces (silver sugar pot, monogramed china) and took our order for coffee—con latte caldo. Pastries, freshly baked that morning by her and filled with apricot jam and Nutella spread stood waiting for us. There was also freshly baked sliced bread, the largest variety of jams and preserves that I have ever seen (all made by her!) plus lovely fresh fruit. Apart from figs that I love, I was delighted to see cactus pear, all peeled and ready to be eaten. It has the color and look of passion fruit and when you cut into it, similar seeds too. But it was really incredibly and unexpectedly sweet. There was also a platter of Italian cheese, one studded with whole peppercorns, another was a parmesan and a third provolone—all very tasty and I know because we tried them all. As if this were not enough, Conchita asked us if we would like scrambled eggs and we gladly opted for them too. We really did enjoy our breakfast thoroughly and were deeply grateful for such a good meal that fueled us fully for the day ahead.
Exploring Ragusa Ibla:
And so our exploration of Ragusa Ibla began. We followed Conchita’s instructions to the T and went down steep flights of narrow stairs—down, down, down—until we arrived at the stunning panoramic point that offered views of the entire city right opposite us complete with cupola, domes and turrets of the many churches and the cathedral in this part of town. At every step, we stopped to take pictures as the uniformity of the colors (a monochromatic palette of shades of beige) was so enchanting as to leave us breathless. Soon, we found ourselves in a piazza where we first visited the Church of Our Lady of Purgatory
The Church of Our Lady of Purgatory:
After the earthquake levelled the town in 1678, Ragusa was rebuilt in the Baroque aesthetic. Most of its churches have the fulsome interiors of this style, i.e. Over the Top-interior Neo-Classical elements (Corinthian columns lavished with acanthus leaves at the top—heavily gilded), a variety of oil paintings in each of the side chapels, silver candlesticks galore, domes that are painted by renowned contemporary artists depicting versions of Biblical scenes. This one was no exception. In most cases, we walk around the churches, take pictures, read curatorial notes, then pause prayerfully before exiting. We did the same here.
Our map of Ragusa, thoughtfully provided by Conchita, took us into the narrow, honey-colored stone streets of the town, characterized charmingly by old-fashioned street lamps and gas lights, flights of steps carved curvingly along a passage or corridors. In this town, we found Baroque splendour even in the plainest residential buildings: wrought-iron balconies were supported by stone columns featuring the faces of gnomish characters—like flat gargoyles. We tried to visit the Church of our Lady of Il’Tria (of the Steps!), but it was closed tightly. At every turn I was clicking photographs as the landscape (natural hill country) seen against brilliant Neo-Classical arcades, passageways, etc. was impossible for a camera’s lens to ignore. We stopped in one of the arcade shops and bought a few souvenirs to give away as gifts and to have an ice-cold Coke as we really craved something cold and carbonated. The humidity took its toll with every step and my body was simply covered with moisture.
The Cathedral of Saint George:
We finally arrived at the Cathedral of San Giorgio (Saint George). This was another rust-colored church set high up on a hill and reached by a number of steps. Inside, its Baroque elegance was striking: hot pink altar backdrop was rather unusual but made a good contrast with the austerity of white marble statues scattered around. A very distinctive aspect were wooden carved choir stalls, so minutely worked that they reminded me very much of the rich carvings of the English Tudor, Grindling Gibbons, whose work I love and instantly recognize. The amin altarpiece presented St. George killing the dragon. The church’s reconstruction began in 1839 and finished in 1891. This church contains a large silver reliquary containing the remains of Saint Cascia, popular in these parts and I was struck (and photographed) a stunning luminescent statue of Our Lady of Glory, resplendent in a royal blue robe.
Our Walking Tour Continues in the Guiardini Ibleo (Ibla Gardens):
The sun was torturous, I should add, and we were consuming bottles of water like they were going out of style. We badly needed to rest somewhere in the shade. Eventually, following a meandering path, we arrived at the ornate Baroque gates of the garden and happily sank down on one of the benches as we pulled out our sandwiches (ham and cheese) and ate them—both of us were peckish by this point (it was almost 2.00 pm). When we’d rested a while and people-watched, we got up again. In front of us was a church and we could not resist entering it.
Visiting the Church of St. Francis:
This is a little gem of a church—the sacristan, who let us in, informed us that it is very popular with couples for their weddings. Indeed, it is picturesque and small and attractive. It has the most beautiful wooden painted ceiling (looks like a carpet stuck on the ceiling) and painted dome. There is lavish gilding on the walls and on the sculpted altarpiece presenting St. Francis. I was particularly struck by a frieze depicting God the Father surrounded by a bevy of angels—all in embossed stucco. Outside, in the garden, there was a lovely War Memorial honoring the dead patriots of Ragusa, playful fountains that arose in spikes from the ground to offer children the opportunity to frolic gleefully and in relief. We encircled the garden and then left to look for the final highlight of Ragusa Ibla—the Portale (or Gate) of San Giorgio.
The Gothic Gate of Saint George:
We found the Gothic Gate of Saint George just a few feet ahead of us. It is all that remains of a Gothic cathedral that was destroyed by the earthquake. It reminded me a bit of the main door of Chartres Cathedral in France—same carvings, similar set of bas-reliefs, etc. When we had photographed it, we moved on.It was almst 2.30 pm and we were tired—I mean really exhausted by the heat, humidity and our rambles. We had found out that we could get a bus from this spot—we waited more than 45 minutes for it, but eventually it did show up and took us to the place we wanted to hop off. In our B and B, we sank down gratefully in the cool shade and took naps and we both needed the rest. I had to teach an online class (to Vikram, my student in Bombay at 5 pm) and at 6pm, we had scheduled a zoom chat with our friend Annalisa in Padua. Llew was chatting with her after ages and wanted to find out all about her current life and that of her town boys whom we knew when they were little and of whom we are really fond. After an hour of chatting with her, it was 7.00 pm—we said Bye and decided to look for a place for dinner. It was, after all, our wedding anniversary and we wanted to mark it.
Celebrating Our Wedding Anniversary in Ragusa Superior:
Both of us had carried a nice set of clothes to wear for our wedding anniversary dinner and were glad that the day finally dawned when we had a chance to use them. Dressing in travel style, we walked up Corso Italia (the main artery right outside our B&B) and arrived at the Piazza of San Giovanni. There, we started to look for a place to eat and after surveying the many offerings at a few places, we settled down for a side street and a small Mom and Pop place (rather than a place for fine dining which we’d had last night) called Mama’s Trattoria. This time we finally tasted the Arancini (Fried Rice and Cheese Balls) for which Sicily is famous (it is featured on their magnets too), had Spaghetti Carbonara for a Primi (First Course) and finished with Roasted Pork served with a delicious gravy and pureed spinach for a Secondi (Main Course). Again, we were too full to have dessert, but our meal was really delicious. We then took a few photos and left.
Until tomorrow, ciao…
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