We stayed in Fabio's lovely apartment for a week over Christmas and it is the perfect base to explore the best of Siracusa.
His father picked us up from the train station, gave us the tour of the apartment, showing us how everything worked, and kindly left us bottled water, soft drinks, a few beers and a bottle of wine!
Located just one block away from the bridges onto the island of Ortigia, the apartment is tucked away from the main street in the first floor of a quiet residential building, and looks as good if not better than the photographs - it's bright, spacious, modern and spotlessly clean. The WiFi was fast, and the only thing we missed was a washing machine but there's a nice laundrette opposite. On the main Corso Umberto I heading away from Ortigia, there are a couple of small convenience shops, a cake shop and a delicatessen, and near the park there's a small supermarket. The nearest bread shop is on Ortigia and there's a fantastic fresh produce market most mornings there too. When we weren't cooking, Fabio had plenty of recommendations for restaurants, cafes and bars and all were close by.
It took us about 15 minutes to walk to the Piazza Duomo or Cathedral Square, through the narrow twisty streets of interesting boutique shops. In the other direction, everything is within a 20 minute walk - the large Archaeological Park (Parko Archeologico Neapolis - Teatro Greco, Anfiteatro Romano, Ear of Dionysius), the Sanctuary of the Crying Madonna (Santuario Madonna della Lacrime) and the the bus and train stations.
Fabio’s communication was excellent throughout, his English is good and he arranged a restaurant booking for me using his surname so now I have a Sicilian brother!
Fabio's is easily the best place to stay in Siracusa, ciao!