What Pasticceria Artale is and where it sits in Ortigia

Artale began as a dolciary laboratory and now combines pasticceria, rosticceria and gastronomia under one roof, so the same counter serves breakfast pastries, fried snacks and takeaway lunch. The shop describes itself as a few steps from the Duomo di Siracusa, on Via Saverio Landolina, which puts it in the busiest, most walkable part of the island. If you are planning a day across Ortigia, this is an easy stop to fold into the middle of it; our Syracuse Attractions: 5 Visitor Guides covers the rest of the island's food landmarks.

Ortigia is compact, so you will usually reach Artale on foot from wherever you are staying on the island; from the mainland side of Syracuse, cross the bridges onto the island and head for the Duomo area. Allow five to ten minutes' walk from Piazza Duomo itself. If you are coming from the Mercato di Ortigia, the route back through the lanes toward Via Landolina passes several pastry counters, Artale among them.

The shop sits in the heart of Ortigia near the Duomo, so it fits neatly between the market morning and a wander back toward the cathedral. Treat it as a pause rather than a destination in its own right: ten to twenty minutes standing at the counter for breakfast, longer if you sit down for a gastronomia lunch.

The counter, the table and the morning rhythm

Most of the trade here is counter service: you order at the display, pay, and either eat standing or take your pastry and granita outside. The morning is the busy window, when locals come for breakfast and the cannoli are filled to order; come early if you want the full range. Later in the day the focus shifts toward rosticceria and gastronomia, so the same shop works for a quick lunch or an aperitivo stop.

The shop's own pages give two different sets of opening times, so do not build your day around a fixed schedule; check the site or call ahead, particularly for a Thursday. The telephone number published there is 0931 21829. For a breakfast visit, aim to arrive before mid-morning, when the display is fullest and the queue, if there is one, moves quickly.

What to order: cannoli, granita and brioche col tuppo

Start with the granita, the semi-frozen Sicilian ice that is closer to a coarse sorbet than to a slush; pair it with a brioche col tuppo, the soft sweet bun topped with a little ball of dough, and dunk it. The cannolo is the other essential: a crisp fried shell filled with sheep's ricotta, ideally filled on the spot so the shell stays crunchy. Artale also makes cassatine, the glazed ricotta cakes known locally as pezzo duro, and traditional Sicilian cakes and semifreddi for a larger order.

The breakfast order at Artale is straightforward: one granita, one brioche, one cannolo if you are hungry, and coffee if you want it. The shop's own blog treats granita as a morning ritual rather than a dessert, which is exactly how to approach it. If you are choosing between the pasticcerie around Piazza Duomo, this is the one to pick when you want the full sweet-and-savoury range in one place.

The savoury side: arancine, rosticceria and gastronomia

Artale's rosticceria and gastronomia counters serve the savoury Sicilian staples: arancine, the fried rice balls, in the versions listed on the shop's site, including ragù, aubergine and pistachio, and pecorino and pepper. Order one to eat standing and another to take away, since arancine travel well and make an easy lunch on the go. The gastronomia menu, published on the shop's site, runs from breakfast through lunch and into aperitivo.

For a sit-down lunch, the gastronomia side is the reason to stay rather than grab and go, with hot dishes and prepared food alongside the fried snacks. If you have already eaten at Fratelli Burgio, Syracuse, on Piazza Cesare Battisti, Artale is the natural follow-up for something sweet on the walk back toward the Duomo.

Gluten-free options and what the kitchen can and cannot guarantee

Artale makes gluten-free cannoli, brioche and arancine, and the shop is not part of the Italian Coeliac Association (AIC) scheme because it does not have a separate kitchen. The gluten-free products are prepared in the same laboratory as the gluten-containing ones, so cross-contamination is a real risk. For a coeliac, that is the deciding factor, and it is worth calling ahead on 342 748 7318 to talk through how the items are made on the day you plan to visit.

If you are simply avoiding gluten rather than managing coeliac disease, the gluten-free versions of the cannolo and brioche are a reasonable choice; if you are coeliac, treat this as a shop that tries rather than one that can guarantee safety. Either way, say clearly at the counter that you need gluten-free, because the staff need to know before they serve you.

How Artale compares with the pastry shops around Piazza Duomo

The Piazza Duomo area has a cluster of pastry counters and cafés competing for the same footfall, and the trade-off is straightforward. Artale's advantage is range: a single stop covers granita, cannoli, arancine and a savoury lunch, so you do not need to move between shops. The cost is that it is busy in the morning and the counter service is quick rather than leisurely.

If you want a sit-down coffee with a view of the square, Caffè Apollo, Syracuse is the obvious alternative on Piazza Archimede; if you want gelato later in the day, Gelateria Belfiore is the other name worth knowing. Use Artale for the Sicilian breakfast and the savoury case, and the square-side cafés for the sit-down pause.

Address, opening days and how to get there

The address is Via Saverio Landolina 32, Ortigia, Siracusa. The shop's site and its 2026 thank-you page give different hours, so treat the schedule as changeable and check before a special trip; the site also lists delivery through Deliveroo within Syracuse. For a normal visit, the safe approach is to go in the morning for the sweet counter and around lunch for the rosticceria.

On foot, walk from Piazza Duomo down Via Landolina; by car, park on the mainland side of Ortigia and cross on foot, since the island's lanes are largely pedestrian. Ortigia is small enough that you will pass Artale several times in a day, so it works best as a first stop before the market and a last stop before dinner.

Is Pasticceria Artale worth the stop?

Yes, if you want one place that covers a Sicilian breakfast and a savoury lunch without moving between counters. Order granita with brioche col tuppo first, add a cannolo if you have room, and come back later for an arancina from the rosticceria. If you are coeliac, call ahead and be clear about the shared laboratory before you rely on the gluten-free items.