ON THE TRAIL
Follow in the footsteps of Indiana Jones’s latest filming locations with an architecture and archaelogy tour in Sicily’s baroque southeast city
1 CATACOMBS OF ST JOHN
Start your adventure at the ruined Basilica di San Giovanni in the heart of Syracuse, where crooked steps lead down to a subterranean labyrinth filled with more than 10,000 burial chambers cut into the walls of the cool, dank earth. Creep through the tight, arched tunnels to peer at early fourth- to fifth-century Christian frescoes under torchlight, as water drips from the rock above you and cobwebs drift in the stifled breeze. kairos-web.com
2 EAR OF DIONYSIUS
Nearby, the vast Neapolis Archaeological Park is home to a dozen sites spanning four millennia. Trails snake between orange trees to this 75ft high fissure in an ancient quarry wall — one of the Syracuse filming locations in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny movie, released in June 2023. Legend says the acoustics of this manmade cave, shaped like an ear, were designed to amplify the screams of labouring prisoners. visitsicily.info
4 LA SALUMERIA
Cross the bridge to the baroque island district of Ortygia and find a table at this restaurant and deli, among potted plants in the small, sun-blushed square. It’s within earshot of calls from a street market where traders have set out their stalls for centuries, selling edible treasures from the land and sea. Before leaving, browse the deli for Sicilian products; the speciality here is platters of cold cuts, cheeses, olives, artichokes and sun-dried tomatoes. Piazza Cesare Battisti, 4
3 ROMAN AMPHITHEATRE
Staying within the park, don’t miss the low-set ruins of the Roman amphitheatre — the third largest of its kind in Italy. Although trees and grass
