Necropolis of Pantalica and Ragusa

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Necropolis of Pantalica

   Thousands of small square doorways riddle the limestone cliffs above the Anapo and Calcinara valleys, like the windows of a vast abandoned apartment block. These are rock-cut tombs, some five thousand of them, carved by the people who lived at Pantalica between roughly the thirteenth and seventh centuries before Christ. Together with Syracuse, the necropolis is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and it is one of the most evocative places in Sicily, in a gorge of the Hyblaean Mountains west of Syracuse, between the towns of Sortino and Ferla.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Pantalica write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Necropolis of Pantalica is where the day begins. Next is Palazzolo Acreide.

2. 2. Palazzolo Acreide

   Long before the Baroque churches, there were the Greeks. In the seventh century BC, settlers from Syracuse founded a hilltop outpost here called Akrai, controlling the routes into the interior of Sicily. The remains of their town lie on the hill above modern Palazzolo Acreide: a small, beautifully preserved Greek theatre with views over the hills, stone quarries turned into burial chambers, and the Santoni, a series of rock-cut figures of the goddess Cybele, carved into a cliff face, weathered but still powerful.

   Read the complete Palazzolo Acreide write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Palazzolo Acreide comes up about 29 km into the recorded legs. Next is Ragusa.

3. 3. Ragusa

   In 1693 a terrible earthquake destroyed much of south-eastern Sicily, and the towns of the Val di Noto were rebuilt in the baroque style of the time, creating a group of towns of extraordinary beauty, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ragusa is one of them, a town divided into two parts: Ragusa Superiore, the newer town on the ridge, built after the earthquake, and Ragusa Ibla, the old town on a lower hill, rebuilt on its medieval street plan.

   Read the complete Ragusa write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 66 km into the recorded legs you reach Ragusa. Next is back through Palazzolo Acreide.

4. 4. back through Palazzolo Acreide

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Palazzolo Acreide write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Palazzolo Acreide, late in the day. Next is Necropolis of Pantalica.

5. 5. Necropolis of Pantalica

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Pantalica write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Back at Necropolis of Pantalica. That is the ride.