Piazza Duomo in Ortigia at blue hour

Ortigia is the island at the tip of Syracuse, and its cathedral square is the finest baroque space in Sicily. The cathedral itself is a Greek temple to Athena from the fifth century BC that was walled in and turned into a church: the Doric columns are still there, embedded in the side wall and visible from the street.

Everything in the square is built of the same pale local limestone, which behaves like a reflector. At blue hour the floodlights come on while the sky is still deep blue, and the stone throws that warm light back onto anything standing in the square — a soft, flattering fill that costs nothing. The piazza is long and slightly curved, which gives a natural leading line towards the cathedral facade.

It is entirely pedestrian and open at all hours, with cafe tables down one side and enough space on the other to work. Evenings are lively but rarely crowded to the point of obstruction; early morning is empty and the low sun comes straight down the length of the square. Ortigia is compact, so the sea walls, the market and the Fonte Aretusa are all within five minutes of here.