Last – A Roman Ruin from Agrigento to Ragusa – Day 9
Our Hotel and Host
Our stay in Ragusa was for only one night. The place was quite comfortable. We were in a small 4 room hotel. We had rooms 1 & 2. The rooms were immaculately set and waiting for us when we arrived. The street we were on was quaint and narrow. We spoke to our host the night before. He was manning a small stop and shop for his family across the street. We saw some prickly pears and my wife mentioned how her grandma used to love them. He asked if we wanted some. We graciously declined.
To our surprise, in the morning our host had prepared some prickly pears for us! Along with a great little continental breakfast. Some fresh orange juice, several filled croissants, some small pastry pizzas and other fresh fruit. They also prepared cappuccinos for us. It was a great start to the day. I was so excited about breakfast. So, I dug right in and forgot to take pictures! We then jumped in the car. We parked where our host suggested near Giardino Ibleo. Parking was free and went to explore the town of Ragusa Ibla.
Ragusa Ibla History
Ragusa Ibla is a compact quaint little town built on a hillside that ends in a garden overlooking a valley. It is very touristy with several restaurants and shops lining the streets. My wife spent some time the night before researching the area. She actually looked into an earthquake that had struck all of Sicily in 1693. The earthquake devastated this small little town. It killed tens of thousands of people and destroyed lots of buildings in the area. The town was rebuilt after the earthquake including the main church Duomo di San Giorgio. You can read more about how this historical event affected Ragusa here.
Exploring Ragusa Ibla
So we started at the base of the city near the garden piazza and had another cappuccino. We walked the area for a short time and really enjoyed the views and cold crisp morning air. Venturing upwards into the city, the main streets have little car traffic and are setup to accommodate tourists and pedestrians. We stopped at the church and checked out the inside. It was decadent but not as opulent as others we seen. It’s most interesting feature was the large glass duomo that let in the afternoon light.
We met a young couple from the US. They were living in Austria. We encountered them as we walked up along the main roads and back down to our car. Overall, the town was not very crowded. The views looking up from Ragusa Ibla to Ragusa Superiore were just as amazing. After spending the day there, we traveled back down to our car and set off for Ortigia.
Before getting to Ortigia, we stopped at our favorite grocers Lidl and got food for the day. We spent the evening working out logistics where to park and how to get our luggage up to the room. More on our apartment in the coming days. We are here for the next 3 days. I’m thoroughly excited about our place and where we are staying.
