February 11, 2010
Well, I’ve been blogging on and on about my adopted Sicilian village for several months now, forgetting to give you an overview of the place.
Do you want to see her? Shall I locate her in space?
Do you see why I fell head over heels?
Ragusa Ibla is a huddle of homes and churches, the kind of place you want to cradle in your hands.
She floats like an island, surrounded by a moat of gorges.
Ragusa lies south of Bizerte, Tunisia in latitude. The soft African air wafts through her piazzas on winter days; rainstorms can deposit Saharan sand.
xxx
[gmap]
My husband spent a few hours figuring out how to put this Google map on my blog. (Thanks, honey!)
Be sure to check out the satellite view, too.
xxx
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Yes Very NICe…p.
I can’t believe I’ve never been here. Niscemi, Noto, Caltagirone – all these I know pretty well. I can’t wait to take a drive… I leave for a new life a Agrigento in 5 days…a dopo.
Alex–Buon viaggio! You must be really busy getting ready! When you go to Ibla, try to make a swing through Modica downtown (there are 3 parts of Modica–go to the one in the valley), and Scicli if you have time. Is Niscemi nice? I’ve never been there.
Such a beautiful place!
Nice place. Love the colours!
I HAVE been wondering how it looks. What is the population of Ragusa? How long does it take you to get to the ocean?
Well, Ragusa has two parts–tiny Ragusa Ibla where I live. The population there is 300+ some full-time residents. Just above Ragusa Ibla is Ragusa Superiore, with about 60,000+ residents. The Mediterranean is 14-15 kilometers away, about 20 mins by car.
Jann, I thought the population of Ragusa Ibla was approximately 8000. I know for sure it is not 300+. All of the city of Ragusa has a population of approximately 73,000. I believe the Province of Ragusa is close to 300,000.
Thanks for this, Josephine. I’d better research it more. I was told the “full-time” population was about 300. That does seem small.
I absolutely love these photos!! I want to come to your town. Mine is not so beautiful!!
Thanks Little Queen Rules–i’ve just seen your Milazzo photos and was surprised to see the pillbox bunker. Looks just like the thousands in Albania! I’ve never seen the concrete ones in Sicily, though I’ve seen a few stone bunkers down here on the south coast. What town do you live in?
Jann, I loved these hilltop views of Ragusa. What is that large building on the very top? It looks like a grand palace. No wonder you love it so much. Aesthetically it’s very beautiful. Janet
Janet–thanks for your comment. I’m still so ignorant about the history of my adopted village. I SHOULD know more than I do about that big building on top of the hill because my house is just down the hill from it. This is what I know: there used to be a Norman castle on that very spot, but it toppled in the great earthquake of 1693. I don’t know the year or even the century that the “replacement” building was put up–it looks 19th century, but I could be wrong. Right now it is being used as part of the University of Catania’s Ragusa branch. Someone told me it used to be some kind of military building. When the Americans invaded Sicily in 1943, the building–or at least its large open courtyard–was where Americans handed out supplies to local people–blankets, mattresses, and food. Giovanna or Josephine, if you are reading this, do you know more?
I’m not exactly sure when the large building, called, Il Distretto, by the locals was built, but I do remember my dad talking about working on the installation of the doors and window frames. My dad was born in 1911, so I suppose the construction took place in the early 30s. It was a military building, but I have no idea how it was used. The Germans took it over for a short time during WWII, but left it quickly when the Americans invaded the coast of Ragusa. The Americans took it over when they entered the city. The building was not used for a long period of time and then in the 50s it was used for after-school tutoring. I remember spending time there with my teacher friends.