My wife and I loved our first ever stay in Siracusa. Such a beautiful area. The apartment had good lighting, cool artwork, good washing machine with nearby drying lines that worked well, a courtyard restaurant steps away with delicious soups/sandwiches.
The overall location was perfect. Very close to the main fountain on the island, so we could always get back home easily.
When you first enter the building's hallway/staircase you might feel taken aback by the conditions (crumbling concrete, dust, darkness), but everything worked well in the shared building space (be sure to learn use the switch that turns on the lights in the staircase and the switch that opens the gate when you're leaving the building). And when you open the door to the apartment you feel like you're in a completely different building b/c it's so beautiful.