Assisi or Syracuse, Sicily?

This is the starkest difference between the two. Assisi is a hill town in central Italy, roughly two hours from either coast, and its only nearby swimming is the small lido beaches of Lake Trasimeno, which are warm but shallow and slightly murky. A pool at a valley agriturismo is the realistic alternative.

Syracuse lives partly in the sea in summer. Locals swim off the platforms beneath Ortigia's walls, Arenella and Fontane Bianche have sandy family beaches, and the undeveloped bays of Vendicari are about forty minutes south.

Assisi's cooking is honest Umbrian country food: strangozzi with black truffle, Castelluccio lentils, wild boar, torta al testo, Monte Subasio olive oil and Sagrantino from Montefalco. The catch is range, as many tables near the basilicas serve set menus to tour groups, and there is no market hall or street food.

Syracuse offers more to discover. The morning market on Ortigia sets the tone with swordfish, sea urchins and sandwiches made to order, and the seafood pastas, arancini, almond granita and cannoli add up to a far fuller food trip, with Nero d'Avola and Moscato to drink.

Assisi is built around one masterpiece: the stacked Basilica of San Francesco, with the Giotto cycle above and Cimabue and Simone Martini below, plus Santa Chiara, the Temple of Minerva and the Porziuncola. It is intense but focused, and two calm days cover it.

Syracuse has the broader range and more to fill your days. It runs from a Greek temple of Athena built into the cathedral on Ortigia to the rock-cut theatre and Ear of Dionysius at Neapolis, the Paolo Orsi museum and a Caravaggio, which covers over two thousand years and needs two or three full days.

Assisi goes quiet as soon as the day-trippers leave, and a glass of Sagrantino and a walk through floodlit lanes is the whole evening. For anything livelier you need Perugia, half an hour away.

Syracuse is no party city, but Ortigia's piazzas, sea-wall aperitivo and small cocktail bars stay busy past midnight on summer weekends, and the beach clubs to the south add some dancing in July and August. Serious clubbing means a trip up to Catania.

Assisi's outdoors is Monte Subasio, right behind the town: a climb through holm oaks to the Eremo delle Carceri and on to open summit meadows at about 1,290m, with gentle cycling among olive groves below. Autumn is the best walking season there.

Syracuse offers more variety. Inland there are the limestone gorges of Cavagrande and Pantalica, Vendicari has flamingos on its lagoons, the Plemmirio marine reserve is good for snorkelling and diving, and Etna is close enough for a day on the volcano.

Both are excellent bases, and the difference lies in the kind of towns you reach. From Assisi you tour medieval Umbria: Spello ten minutes away, Perugia, Spoleto, Gubbio, Todi and Orvieto, with the main valley towns on the railway.

From Syracuse the draw is the late-baroque Val di Noto, with Noto, Modica, Ragusa Ibla and Scicli, plus Catania, Taormina and the Piazza Armerina mosaics, but buses are thin and a car does most of the work.

Assisi is safe and welcoming, but its frescoed churches ask for silence, and the stepped lanes and hot afternoons tire small legs. The Rocca Maggiore and a walk on Subasio suit older children best.

Syracuse is easier with children mainly because of the sea. Its sandy, gently shelving beaches are full of Sicilian families, and there are papyrus boat trips, puppet theatre and gelato in car-free Ortigia, though there is still no zoo or theme park.

Assisi is the simpler of the two for getting about, with a few climbs to accept. The walled centre takes twenty minutes end to end, with lifts and car parks at the edges, and regional trains from the station 4km below run to Perugia, Spello, Foligno and Spoleto.

Ortigia is flat and even smaller, but once you leave it things get harder. City buses are confusing, regional services to Noto or Catania are limited, and Vendicari and the gorges need a hire car.

Neither is a shopping destination. In Assisi the lanes are dominated by rosaries and Tau crosses, with Assisi embroidery, Deruta ceramics, truffles and Sagrantino the worthwhile finds.

Syracuse offers a little more to browse. There are hand-painted ceramics, coral and silver jewellery and papyrus paintings on Ortigia, the market is good for capers, almonds and pistachio products, and ordinary chain stores line Corso Gelone.

Overall costs are much the same, but you save in different ways. In Assisi the basilicas are free and convent guesthouses offer cheap, clean rooms, though prices rise around Easter and the feast days.

In Syracuse the food is the bargain, from market sandwiches to trattoria meals with local wine. Summer rooms on Ortigia and the car you will probably need for beaches and day trips are what push the bill up.

Assisi's live culture is sacred and seasonal: organ and choral concerts in the basilica, and the costumed Calendimaggio contest between the town's two quarters in spring. Opera and the summer jazz festival mean going to Perugia.

Syracuse has one standout event that Assisi cannot match. Every late spring and early summer, Greek tragedies and comedies are staged at sunset in the ancient theatre, and Ortigia also keeps Sicilian puppet theatre alive the rest of the year.

Neither has thermal baths or much of a spa scene, so the rest comes from the place itself. In Assisi it is a contemplative stillness: convent retreats, silent walks to the hermitage and empty lanes at dawn.

In Syracuse it is the pace of the sea: long lunches, sunset strolls on the sea walls and swims. That calm fades in August, when heat and crowds take over Ortigia.