Villas in Sicily near Siracusa
The province of Siracusa, in the south-east of Sicily, was once part of Greece, known as "Magna Grecia" and lined with Greek colony cities, one of which was Siracusa herself. Today the clearest sign of this might be in the beautiful cathedral of x, once a temple to Juno until the gaps between the columns were filled in and the temples inner chamber transformed into the nave of a christian place of worship. It may well have been a Mosque for a while too, during the centuries of Arab control, each layer enriching the architecture and the culture of the place.
Outside Siracusa the land rises towards the slopes of Etna, one of the few active volcanos in southern Europe. While it does occasionally burple and burp it is largely harmless and it's regular flows of lava make for a beautiful dark and fertile land, most often planted with vines but also with figs, olives, lemon and orange trees.
