Monday, May 15
Making papyrus
Here we are in Siracusa, ancient Syracuse, home of Archimedes. We’re staying in a 15th century convent overlooking the ocean. The city looks like no other because most of it was destroyed in an earthquake in 1690 and rebuilt in the Baroque style.
One feature of the town is a fresh water spring that forms a pond near the ocean. Papyrus plants grow there. There is a woman in town who makes papyrus paper from the plants and then paints on it. We bought one of her artworks, a painting of one of the beautiful ornate balconies of the old town.
We enjoyed a traditional Sicilian marionette show. Although we couldn’t follow what was going on, we were enchanted by the costumes and expressive movements of the puppets. Remarkably, it was all done by only 4 people, including voices and lights.
There are Roman ruins right in town. In fact, the church has been used for worship of one sort or another for 2500 years—a Greek temple, a Roman temple, a mosque and a Christian church. Now a statue of Mary coexists with the pillars of the temple to some Roman god.