Would highly recommend staying with Marco and his apartment in Siracusa.
While the street itself is a typical Sicilian city street, and may not appear very inviting to an unseasoned traveler, its a very good area, with plenty of parking, and located next to a lovely little market where we were able to get fresh breads, cheeses and meats daily to have with our breakfast. There is also a larger market just 5 minutes walk down the street. The apartment is also a good 10-15 minute walk from either the Historic old city on Oritiga Island, and from the Archeological sites of the Greek and Roman ruins. Its maybe a 10-15 drive from the highway as well, so this was a good base of operations for us as we spent the week covering much of the Island of Sicily itself.
As for the apartment, its a freshly updated ground floor unit, with 2 spacious bedrooms, and comfortable sleeps 4. There is a large and open common room/kitchen, and a large bathroom with standing shower. Everything was clean, and new. Marco even left us a nice bottle of Sicilian wine and some local pastries in the fridge when we arrived.
Marco was quick to reply with any thing we needed (which wasn't much, short of the occasional update or check in), and is extremely pleasant and friendly. We would definitely recommend this stay for anyone traveling to Sicily for a long stay.