This bird"s-eye view lets us take in the charms of Ortygia, a small island just offshore from Syracuse, on Sicily"s east coast. Ortygia is considered Syracuse"s "old town" and the historical heart of the city. Two bridges cross the narrow channel that separates Ortygia from Syracuse. Ancient Greeks first colonized this island in the 8th century BCE, and the town is brimming with 2,700 years of history. Walk Ortygia"s web of narrow streets and you"ll see Greek and Roman ruins, medieval Norman buildings, and examples of Baroque architecture as well.
A center of antiquity on the Mediterranean
Today in History
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
It’s Weihnachtsmarkt time!
-
The Children’s Cultural Festival in Reykjavik begins today
-
Edinburgh festivals
-
Sanday Island and the North Sea, Scotland
-
Monarch butterflies migrate south
-
India Republic Day
-
Great Backyard Bird Count
-
Autumn in the cypress swamp
-
An unlikely friendship in the wild
-
The Battle of the Bulge 75 years later
-
National Park Week: Olympic National Park, Washington
-
Lake Bled, Slovenia
-
Desert rose of Qatar
-
Manhattan
-
Oud-West, Amsterdam, Netherlands
-
Boating on the Bojo
-
Balloons and camels are two ways to catch a ride here
-
The old guard at Old San Juan
-
Swinging into International Jazz Day
-
Kluane National Park
-
The stylish Spanish shawl
-
Happy Halloween!
-
It s World Bee Day
-
The dry days of winter in Etosha
-
From pirate port to nature preserve
-
Land ho in New Zealand 250 years ago
-
Park of the Monsters, Bomarzo, Italy
-
Mountain hare hopping into Lunar New Year
-
Happy New Year! (Again!)
-
The Alhambra in Granada, Spain