Siracusa Local Custom Tips by TheWanderingCamel Top 5 Page for this destination

Papyrus

The papyrus you see growing in the Fonte Aretusa is not an exotic import from Egypt. The plant has been growing in Syracuse for thousands of years, along the banks of the Ciane River. The plant has a myriad of uses, the best known of which is the production of a medium to write or paint on - don't call it paper! The technique for producing sheets of papyrus is completely different from that of making paper, even though the word "paper" in virtually all languages is derived from "papyrus".

Sheets of papyrus are made by a laminating technique whereby the the stems are split , the outer skin stripped away and the inner pith beaten into flat strips which are then laid side by side with all the fibres going the same way. They are wet and two layers are then laid together with the fibres of one at right angles to the other. The sheets are then pressed together and dried with sufficient pressure for the fibres to bond. When the sheets are dry they are polished to smoothe the surface. It's a painstaking process to say the least.

If you're really interested in the manufacture of papyrus and the history and other uses of the plant, you could visit the Papyrus Museum (near the Archeological Museum). We gave that a miss, but having had a go at making papyrus-type "paper" I have an appreciation of the skill involved (mine was hopeless) so I was more than happy to buy a couple of small paintings on papyrus from the studio of someone who still practises the craft.

Mostly featuring scenes of Ortigia, flower-decked balconies, painted doorways and such, they're not fine art, but at just a few euro apiece they make pretty souvenirs and gifts and they pack easily. I found mine in a studio near the Porte Marina, there are one or two others around the town. If you want something finer, you could go to the shop at the Papyrus Institute where, instead of a few euro you could spend a few hundred.