Italy
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
0.61km²
Area
6km
Coastline
35m
Highest point
4,269
People
26°C
Warmest sea
August
104km
To the mainland
When to go to Ortygia
Best for the beach in June and in September.
The sea is warmest in August (26 °C) and coolest in February (15 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from June to October.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Syracuse, Italy
Ortygia is an island in Italy. It covers 0.61 km², with 6 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 35 m. About 4,269 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 104 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
- Catania-Fontanarossa Airport (CTA)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 49 km in a straight lineCar hire at CTA airport (Catania)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 104 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- June and Septemberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Ortygia.
- 4beachesSpiaggetta di Cala Rossa, Spiaggetta di Aretusa and 2 more
- 8viewpointsTerrazza Ibn Hamdis, Belvedere della Turba and 6 more
- 4marinasYacht Club Lakkios, Porto Grande, Porto Piccolo and 1 more
- 3castles and fortsForte Vigliena, Forte San Giovannello, Castello Maniace
- 6ruins and archaeological sitesBagno ebraico - Mikveh, Artemision, Porta Urbica and 3 more
- 1dive centresOrtigia Diving
- 130hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 214restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 14 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
0.2 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 14 | 14 | 16 | 20 | 25 | 31 | 35 | 34 | 29 | 24 | 19 | 15 |
| Night low (°C) | 6 | 6 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 19 | 15 | 11 | 8 |
| Sea (°C) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 23 | 20 | 17 |
| Rain (mm) | 70 | 62 | 48 | 31 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 9 | 54 | 70 | 87 | 82 |
| Wet days | 10 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 11 |
| Sun h/day | 4.9 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 7.9 | 9.8 | 11.2 | 11.7 | 10.4 | 7.7 | 6.1 | 5.0 | 4.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 16 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 16 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | +0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.5 | −0.4 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +1.5 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +1.1 |
| 2021 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.3 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | +0.2 | −0.5 | −0.8 | +0.1 | +1.1 | +1.8 | +1.5 | +1.5 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.1 |
| 2023 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.4 | −0.3 | −0.9 | +0.3 | +1.8 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +2.0 | +0.9 | +0.5 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.9 | +1.5 | +2.5 | +1.5 | +1.1 | +2.1 | +1.4 |
| 2025 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.1 | +0.8 | +1.7 | +1.9 | +1.1 | +1.9 | +1.4 | +1.6 | +1.4 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Malta
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q1233234) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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