Ragusa & Modica

 On Sunday morning after breakfast, we met our driver and guide and took a car about an hour outside of Siracusa to Ragusa. 

In addition to a walking tour and learning about the history of the area, our guide Marsha took us to a few shops where she knew the owners/artists. Our first stop in Ragusa was to a fashion designer. Along with her husband, they design purses, jewelry and handbags. We each bought a scarf that she had painted the design and then screen printed onto the silk. She showed us video of her latest show in Milan fashion week. 

We went to the two primary churches in Ragusa. One used to be a convent for women and they all live silently. That church was San Giuseppe. We prepared to go in and also be silent but we were surprised to find a nun speaking to a school group. 

After San Giuseppe, we walked to the cathedral: the Duomo of San Giorgio. It was so beautiful inside. What was especially interesting about the outside is that the church wasn’t facing the piazza, it was on a bit of an angle as if giving the whole town side eye. Before returning to our car, we walked through the Garden Ibleo and went into the chapel there. Marsha pointed out that in Sicily the depiction of Virgin Mary is more of a middle aged bereft mother wearing black and mourning her son, and less of a young woman. 

After Ragusa, we went on to Modica where we met Graciela. Graciela is a restaurant owner and grew up making Modica chocolate with her grandmother. Modica chocolate is prepared cold and to get its protected eating it has to have a specific sugar to cocoa ratio, it also won’t melt easily.  She told us about how during COVID she moved out of town and now makes a lot of things herself. After making a few chocolate bars to take home, we went upstairs for lunch. Before leaving the restaurant, we had hot chocolate made with the leftovers from our chocolate bars. Marsha then took us to the Duomo of St Peter. It was a very large cathedral as well. The steps have statues of the 12 apostles and she told us since the church faced the entrance to the Jewish quarter, it was to try to entice Jews into converting. After visiting the church and a shop where the owner and her mother hand embroider, we got back in the car and headed back to Siracusa. 

Back in Siracusa, we visited the Museum of Archimedes and DaVinci. They didn’t allow pictures but it was really fun. Each station had a write up written in 1st person as Archimedes and explained different designs and inventions- like different gear styles and different Naval weapons developed by Archimedes or the concept was started by Archimedes and the invention came from DaVinci.

After the museum we got pizza & beer, then gelato and went home to pack. On Monday we are going to the cooking school.