Best base for any exploration of the area is RAGUSA , a busy and likeable provincial capital with an encouraging, friendly atmosphere. The destructive earthquake split the city in two: the old town of Ragusa Ibla, on a jut of land above its valley, was comprehensively flattened, and within a few years a new town emerged, on the higher ridge to the west. Ibla was stubbornly rebuilt around its medieval ruins, while its new rival developed along grander, planned lines. All the bus... [More]