Seafront at Ortygia

The seafront at Ortygia, Siracusa, Sicily with buildings dating back over 1000 years including the Castello Maniaces - left - (named after a Byzantine general who briefly reconquered the island from the Arabs in 1030 AD before dying in a failed coup d'etait against the Emporer Constantine IX) and the dome and facade of the Church of the Holy Spirit, headquarters of the Confraternity of the Holy Spirit and one of only a few churches opening on to the open sea.

Ortygia occupies the ancient Greek city of Syracuse. Originally a Greek colony but latterly a powerful city state ruled by the Tyrant of Syracuse. The title "tyrant" (female - tyranta) did not have it's modern meaning but rather was indicative of a king or dictator, often benign. However, since tyrants often came to power following a coup d'etat and were almost allways from outside the established ruling classes of a city, they were often painted as (modern) "tyrants" by those they had usurped.

This whole area is undergoing much restoration and rebuilding and I wager it will become a property "hot spot" in the not too distant future.... beautiful!

see...

<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrant_of_Syracuse">en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrant_of_Syracuse</a>