Siracusa, Italy

We traveled down the coast of Sicily to the city of Siracusa this week. It is about 70 kilometers from our apartment in Motto Sant’Anastacia; a very pleasant drive along the coast.  It has a culture of its own and a tourist atmosphere as we drove into the city.  Very clean with Baroque style architecture, large piazzas and the most unique LDS church I have ever seen.  We were assigned to do apartment inspections for both the Anzani and Sorelli who call this city there home.

Syracuse's showpiece square is a masterpiece of baroque town planning. A long, rectangular piazza flanked by flamboyant palazzi, it sits on what was once Syracuse's ancient acropolis. Little remains of the original Greek building but if you look along the side of the Duomo, you'll see a number of thick Doric columns incorporated into the cathedral's structure.

Built on the skeleton of a 5th-century BC Greek temple to Athena, Syracuse's cathedral became a church when the island was evangelised by St Paul. Its most striking feature is the columned baroque facade added by Andrea Palma after the 1693 earthquake. A statue of the Virgin Mary crowns the rooftop, in the same spot where a golden statue of Athena once served as a beacon to homecoming Greek sailors.

The original temple was renowned throughout the Mediterranean, in no small part thanks to Cicero, who visited Ortygia in the 1st century BC. Note the interesting baptismal font to the right as you enter; it consists of an ancient Greek krater (large vase) adorned by seven 13th-century bronze lions.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints also has a contemporary interesting chapel.

 This LDS Church is referred to as" the elephant church!"

 Those amazing blood oranges!