2020 Read Your Shelves Book Challenge

I am taking a short break from the Sicilian travel writing that has been posted lately to add this years 2020 Read Your Shelves book challenge. This is the third year of that particular challenge and before too much of the new year passes by, I'd like to post it. Much of this blog is book related, so here it goes- with the posting of this years challenge! There's more travel writing to follow in the coming months and other intriguing and interesting subjects just waiting to be explored this year!

Read Your Bookshelves Challenge 2020

Introduction: Read books you already have on your bookshelves! Tackle a goal that is not meant to overwhelm you-with 12 books already sitting in your house! Choose those 12 books however you want, and set yourself up for success -select your 12 books and just go for it! If you happen to not have 12 books, yet unread, in your house it's a perfect opportunity to get to know your local library or perhaps use a gift card you received as a Christmas present to get some books you have been wanting, but, you might want to change the title of the challenge to fit your circumstances though!

This is my third year doing the 'read your shelves challenge' and it has become one of my favorites because I generally always read more than 12 books a year, so I can realistically do it and I get to enjoy the books I've already collected but have not read yet.

2020 List: This year instead of just randomly taking books off shelves, I put a book I did not get to from last years challenge first on my list and then chose books I was most interested in from the shelves. Here's the list...

1. The Lions of Al-Rassan by Guy Gavriel Kay. I've been wanting to read something by this author ever since I picked up a few books by him at the thrift shop. This was on my challenge list last year but I did not put too much effort into actually trying to read it. I read many other books but this one slipped by me, so I have made it a priority this year. 
2. Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver. I enjoyed The Bean Trees by this author and had picked up some other titles by her on one of my haunts at the thrift shop.
3. Dreamsnake by Vonda McIntyre. This was on some 'best of genre' lists, an older title I had acquired from a desire to read more classic SF. It might not enjoy present popularity but is supposedly a 'classic' SF book (from 1978).
4. The Medical Detectives by Berton Roueche. A Non-fiction title related to my profession.
5. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Collection of Ghost Stories from 1898, satisfies my interest in Gothic Literature.
6. Adrift on the Haunted Seas by W. Hope Hodgson. Collection of classic sea stories by an acknowledged master of the genre.
   
   
   
   
   
7. Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn. A YA offering that has been sitting on my shelf and I wanted to preview it for some tweens I know.
8. Vampire Knight vol.1 by Matsuri Hino. Part of an ongoing interest in exploring graphic novels.
9. Thunderhead by Richard Preston and Lincoln Child. I am a fan of this pairs Agent Pendergast novels so when I find other works by them at the used book shop I snap them up.
10. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, one that has been sitting on my shelf for a few years with supposedly good reviews, but I don't know much about it.
11. The Woman Who Walked in the Sunshine by Alexander McCall Smith. A continuation of the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. Over the years I have been slowly reading through the series.
12. The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip. Fantasy work by an author that was recommended to me in a Library Thing book exchange.
    
    

Other reading goals for this year: Most of these I don't already own so they could not be part of the above mentioned challenge. 1.Read the newest Preston and Child Agent Pendergast book when it is released. 2.Read one or some Hamish MacBeth cozy detective novels (by M.C. Beaton) as a preview to visiting Scotland. 3.Read an Elizabeth Peters novel since I picked up several of them at the thrift shop, but already had my 12 challenge books picked. 4. Read the next installment of the Expanse series (SF) by James S.A. Corey.

The ancient city of Syracuse and Ortygia Island

"...the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all...." Cicero

Siracusa/Ortygia on the Ionian Sea.(Italianfix)

Siracusa/Syracuse is an ancient city founded by Greek Corinthians on the south-east coast or the Ionian Coast of the island of Sicily. (The Ionian Coast is a particular area of the Mediterranean Sea, it lies between the eastern coast of Southern Italy and Greece and continues around the 'heel of the boot' of Italy to the eastern coast of the island of Sicily.) 

Map showing the location of the Ionian Sea.(KeepTalkingGreece)

Syracuse, was one of the most important cities in Ancient Greece, and it is located in Sicily!! It was an important city in Ancient Greece and was settled in about 734 BC by Greek settlers from Corinth.  At the height of its power in the ancient world, Syracuse was a powerful city-state equal to Athens in size (in the 5^th century) and contained a population of some 300,000 persons. Ancient ruins can be found everywhere in this historical city. This city has a 2000 year old history and an ancient neopolis or amphitheater that is 1000 years old which is still used for performances. Today you can visit the Archaeological Park with a Greek and a Roman theater, the remains of a massive Greek altar, an ancient quarry (Latoma di Paradiso), and the cave known as The Orecchio di Dionisio or The Ear of Dionysius. Greeks controlled the city and then it came under Roman control. After Rome, it became a part of the Byzantine Empire. The city of Syracuse is mentioned in the Bible (Acts 28:12, Paul the Apostle mentions that they stayed in Syracuse for 3 days before traveling to Rhegium (on the coast of the Italian peninsula). Syracuse was part of the area known to Romans as "Magna Grecia", or the places where there were Greek settlers, which encompassed the coastal areas of Southern Italy, the provinces of Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria, and the island of Sicily. 

Looking down towards the Teatro Greco/Greek Theater.

Inside the Teatro Greco.(my photo)

The Greek Theater here (Teatro Greco) is one of the biggest in the world, is well preserved, and it was carved into the rock in the 5^th century BC. 15,000 spectators can be seated within it. The theater was used for plays and assemblies anciently and hosts present day performances as well.. The Roman Theater (Anfiteatro Romano) was built around 100 AD, it was the site of Roman games with gladiators and is believed to have the ability to be flooded with water for mock sea battles. It also has remains which lead archaeologists to believe that machinery was used to raise and lower platforms or cages for battling wild animals and tunnel areas similar to the Colosseum in Rome. When the Spanish conquered the city in the 16^th century, they removed vast quantities of rock from the Roman theater and used it to fortify the city.

Roman Theater in the Archaeological Park.

The massive Greek altar seen in the Archaeological Park is named for Hieron II (Ara di Gerone) a ruler of the city in approx. 250 BC who allied the city with the Romans. It is such a large altar that it is estimated that 450 oxen could be sacrificed at one time on this altar (length: 196 meters or 214 yards).

The Ear of Dionysius, outside view.

The Ear of Dionysius is a cave next to the quarry (Latoma di Paradiso) which is shaped like a gigantic ear on the outside and has unique acoustical properties which amplify sound. It is said that in the 4^th century BC, Dioysius, the tyrant leader of the city, manned the quarry with slave labor from war prisoners from their the war with Athens in 413.  This cave was a jail for the prisoners. The story says that because of the strange acoustical properties of the cave Dionysius was able to listen in on the prisoners from above, spying out anyone who might be fomenting rebellion or any other unsavory plotting among the prisoners.

The Ear of Dioysius from the inside.

Recognizable from all over town for its unique shape, is The Madonna of the Tears or Madonna delle Lacrime, a Catholic sanctuary built in 1953. It contains an image of Mary, the Mother of Christ which is said to have wept real tears for three days and has become a site of veneration for those seeking a miracle at the hand of the Holy Mother.

View of the Siracusa showing the distinct pointed edifice of the Madonna of the Tears.(Sailo)

The island of Ortygia is considered part of

Ponte Umbertino/Umbertino Bridge

Siracusa and is accessed by the Umbertino Bridge. It is the site of 2500 years of history packed into a 1km by 500m land area. This is the home of Archimedes, the engineer, mathematician and astronomer. He is known for the first calculation of pi, devising laws for the use of levers and pulleys, hydrostatics (fluid mechanics), and for the exclamation "Eureka! Eureka!". Archimedes suffered a cruel end. During the Second Punic War (212 BC), the Romans besieged the city for two years (Syracusa was a Greek settlement). Archimedes, aged 76, was fleeing the chaos carrying some of his scientific equipment. A Roman soldier killed him while he was fleeing, thinking that he was trying to run away with some kind of treasure.

Temple of Apollo.

Archimedes (Thoughtco)

On Ortygia Island there is also an ancient Greek ruin built in the 7^th century BC, the Temple of Apollo. It is the oldest Doric temple in Sicily. The temple relics have been transitioned over time into a Christian church, a mosque, and even a military barracks. Little is left of it today and it is now kept as a historical site. On the isle can also be found the Fonte Aretusa a fresh water spring from the river Ciane. There is a semi-circular pool next to the sea where the only natural papyrus in Europe grows and where the ducks frolic beside it. It is not surprising that there is a myth attached to the fountain, as is usual when investigating Ancient Greek historical places.

Baroque facade of the Syracuse Cathedral.

The main piazza (public town square) with the Syracuse cathedral has been turned into a UNESCO historical site. The original cathedral dates back to 480 BC and was originally a Greek temple of Athena. Over the years with different groups governing the city it has been turned into a Christian church and given a decorative Baroque facade. Inside the cathedral one can see the original Doric columns from the Greek structure incorporated into the architecture of the church.

Front of the Cathedral

Interior of the Cathedral showing columns from the ancient Greek Temple of Athena incorporated into the walls.(my photo).

At the very tip of the island Castello Maniace (Maniace Castle) sits brooding in the bright Sicilian sunshine. It is named after the Byzantine Commander, Giorgio Maniace. It was used as a citadel, royal residence and place of fortification for the defense of the city. The castle started out as an ancient fort (1038) and was rebuilt by Frederico II and fortified (1232 to 1240). Ancient Emperors and various Queens of Sicily have resided there. In the 1500's it was used as a prison, and after that the place was fortified again and continued being used as a site for the defense of the city, being renovated several times. It was the property of several Dukes over the years and has now been made a historical site which is open to touring by the public for a nominal fee and is a popular tourist attraction.

Castello Maniace, rebuilt in the early 1200's on top of a former ancient fort.

Interior Castello Maniace,.(my photo)

There is much to see, learn and appreciate from a visit to this gem of a city. Siracusa has remained a sought after destination for over 2000 years.