Back to the past In Italy - Юрий Степанченко

There’s no such thing as an Italian tour. You can’t do justice to this magnificent country by reducing it to that homogenised prospect. Even where there are superficial similarities between destinations across the country, the story behind what you’re seeing, the layers of history written into the shape, design and placing of buildings – the whole tale of why they’re there at all – will doubtless be very different.

That’s because, in Italy, time is deep and so many lives have been lived and bound together to create every piazza, every narrow alley and every dish. Take Sicily as an example… visit the ancient city of Siracusa. Head to its superlative Piazza Duomo and drink in the bright, creamy stones. The fine lines and curves of the proud 18th-century façade of the duomo stand in shining, stark contrast to the cerulean sky, colours so bold they only need to be framed to make a masterpiece fit for any wall.

But pass within and you’ll see there’s a yet more complicated story at work. Stand in the nave and you’ll be surrounded by huge Doric columns that reveal there’s more going on than that delicate façade suggested. In fact, the Baroque building wraps itself around Athena’s ancient temple, stretching back nearly 2,500 years to the very beginning of the Classical period, blended with Byzantine and Islamic details.