Syracuse was an important city-state in the Greek Empire. The Fountain of Artemis shown above left is in a piazza named for Archimedes, who was born in Syracuse in 287 BC.

At left is the Temple of Apollo, the oldest Doric temple in Western Europe. After its service to the Greeks, it's been a Byzantine church, a mosque, a Christian church, and Spanish military barracks.

Above, the Greek theater dates from the fifth century BC. Many ancient playwrights staged their works in this theater, and Aeschylus premiered some of his tragedies there.

Crotone, once the Greek city-state Kroton, was the home of the great mathematician Pythagoras.  Crotone was preparing for a large spring festival, expecting to draw thousands of visitors, to begin only a few days after we had to leave. There would be a boat parade and fireworks in the harbor. But we needed to move on. 

This is the capital (the top part) of a first-century Roman column in Brindisi. On the Adriatic coast, Brindisi gets its name (which means "the head of a deer") from the shape of its large harbor. The column is believed to signify the end of the Appian Way that begins at Rome. We were lucky to be so close to the column's sculptured capital, because the column is under restoration. Very near these steps are the remains of the house in which the Latin poet Virgil died.