We have rooms reserved at the hotels featured below in both Catania and Ortigia. These rooms will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis, and you will be asked to provide first, second and third choices. Our registration director, Andrea Lomanto, will confirm your reservation. Please note that accommodations for the post-conference journeys are listed on the itinerary for each trip.

Catania

Those of us joining our pre-conference journey to Mount Etna will spend the night of the 11th of June by the sea in Catania at Il Principe hotel, and the night of the 12th in Ortigia.  We recommend that you book the same Ortigia hotel in which you plan to spend the five nights of our main conference (information on Ortigia hotels follows below).  The cost of accommodations for both nights will be included in the pre-conference trip pricing.

Il Principe is a lovely hotel in a recently restored building in the baroque heart of Catania.  It features both internet and Wifi, air-conditioned rooms, and a Wellness Room with a Turkish bath.

This hotel will also be available on the 18th of June, for those of us returning home after the main conference on early morning flights on the 19th.

  

Price for the one night of 18th June (optional)
Single Room: $135
Double Room: $85 per person (pending availability)

For booking double rooms, please specify whether you will be attending as a couple, sharing a room with a friend, or wish to have a roommate arranged for you by the Open Center.

Ortigia

We will be providing both basic, and upgraded, accommodation choices during our stay in Ortigia: the Hotel Gutkowski, the Residenza alla Giudecca, and the Hotel Roma (which is our upgraded option).  Ortigia is the historic old center, and heart, of Siracusa, a small island connected by three bridges to the mainland.

The Hotel Gutkowski
The Hotel Gutkowski faces the sea in two late 19th century houses, situated on the Lungomare di Levante, Ortigia’s waterfront promenade, and a lovely ten minute walk to the Consorzio Plemmirio conference hall.  Beautifully simple in its architecture and furnishings, the Gutkowski rooms are cozy and cheerful, some facing the quiet of the courtyard, others the Mediterranean, with no two quite alike. 

Amenities:

  • Free WiFi wireless Internet access in common area
  • Air-conditioner in room
  • Mini bar / Satellite TV in room
  • Safe deposit box in room
  • Laundry service
  • Elevator available
  • Café on site

Price for the full five nights of the main conference
(13th – 18th of June 2013):
Single Room: $660
Double Room: $405 per person
For booking double rooms, please specify whether you will be attending as a couple, sharing a room with a friend, or wish to have a roommate arranged for you by the Open Center (pending availability).

Residenza alla Giudecca

The Residenza alla Giudecca is a medieval palazzo of stone arches, beamed ceilings and four-poster beds situated above a Byzantine-era miqwè, or Jewish ritual bath, the oldest in Europe.  Alla Giudecca is located just meters from the sea but a bit further south, and closer to the Plemmirio conference hall, than the Hotel Gutkowski.

Modern amenities are understated to preserve the integrity of the palazzo.  A limited number of rooms with private baths are available on a first come, first serve basis.  Other rooms (whether single or double accommodations) will share a bath with one other room.

Amenities:

  • Air-conditioning and kitchenette in rooms
  • WiFi wireless Internet access in common area

Price for the full five nights of the main conference
(13th – 18th of June 2013):
Single Room: $660
Double Room: $405 per person
For booking double rooms, please specify whether you will be attending as a couple, sharing a room with a friend, or wish to have a roommate arranged for you by the Open Center (pending availability).

Hotel Roma

The Hotel Roma is a four-star hotel built in 1880, replete with columns and vaulted ceilings, situated in the middle of Isola Ortigia and just a few steps from the Piazza del Duomo, Siracusa’s historic cathedral.  Tucked into the narrow streets that characterize the town’s center, and nearby to the Residenza alla Giudecca, the Roma offers a warm, intimate, atmosphere and attention to detail that make it a unique and delightful hotel.

Amenities:

  • Air-conditioning and satellite TV in room
  • Free WiFi wireless Internet access
  • Safe deposit box
  • Mini-bar
  • Hairdryer
  • Fitness area and sauna
  • Free use of bicycles
  • Laundry service available
  • Room service available

Price for the full five nights of the main conference
(13th – 18th of June 2013):
Single Room: $825

Double Room: $540 per person
For booking double rooms, please specify whether you will be attending as a couple, sharing a room with a friend, or wish to have a roommate arranged for you by the Open Center (pending availability).