Siracusa
Siracusa (UNESCO 2005, rif. 1200) è la città dove più culture si sono incise a strati su una superficie urbana senza interruzione per 3.000 anni — colonia corinzia del 734 BCE che divenne la più grande città greca del Mediterraneo, poi cartaginese, poi romana (Cicerone la chiamò “la più bella di tutte le città”), poi araba, poi normanna: ogni dominio ha lasciato la propria firma su Ortigia, l’isola originale di 60 ettari.
At a glance
Siracusa Sicilia (the most precisely Siracusa zone Siracusa Sicilia Italy 37.0755 N 15.2866 E UNESCO WHS 2005 reference 1200 Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica: the site (the UNESCO inscription covers 2 components: (1) Siracusa (the ancient city (the 5 quarters of ancient Syracuse: (a) Ortigia (the island: 60 ha; the original settlement (734 BCE); connected to the mainland since 1895 CE by a bridge (the Ponte Umbertino; before the bridge: the island was accessible only by boat or a wooden drawbridge); the current Ortigia: 13,000 residents; the most intact Greek colonial urban grid in Italy (the regular block pattern of 35 m × 175 m city blocks is still legible in the current streets)); (b) Achradina (the first mainland extension beyond Ortigia: 5th century BCE; the commercial quarter; the Agora (the main marketplace: located in the area of the current Foro Siracusano)); (c) Tyche (the 4th-century BCE expansion NW of Achradina: the residential quarter; the Roman-period catacombs (the Catacombe di San Giovanni: the largest catacomb network in Sicily; 20,000+ tombs; the “Cripta di San Marziano” (the first Christian church in Sicily, according to tradition built by Saint Peter during his passage to Rome c.42 CE))); (d) Neapolis (the 5th-century BCE expansion NW of Tyche: the theatre and entertainment district; the Greek theatre (the Teatro Greco: 5th century BCE; 15,000 seats cut from the limestone hillside; the largest Greek theatre in Sicily; the first performance of Aeschylus’s “Persians” 472 BCE took place here (unconfirmed; the performance is attested by the “Vita Aeschyli” but the venue is uncertain)); (e) Epipole (the plateau fortress above the city: 1st-2nd century CE; the Castello Eurialo (402–397 BCE; Dionysius I of Syracuse; the most complex Greek defensive system surviving in the Mediterranean)); (2) Pantalica (the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica: 25 km from Syracuse; the Anapo canyon; 5,000 rock-cut tombs (the actual count: 5,034 identifiable tomb entrances in the cliff faces of the Anapo and Calcinara river gorges); dating 1270–730 BCE (the Bronze Age Sicilian Sicel culture before the Greek colonization).
Key facts
- Il Duomo di Siracusa come palinsesto di 3.000 anni: come il Tempio di Atena del 480 BCE è diventato una cattedrale e perché le colonne greche sono ancora perfettamente visibili dentro la navata destra: the Duomo palimpsest (the Cathedral of Siracusa: the history of the site (the Deinomenid Temple of Athena (480 BCE): built by Gelon, the tyrant of Syracuse, to celebrate his victory over the Carthaginians at the Battle of Himera (480 BCE): the temple is a Doric hexastyle peripteral temple (6 columns on the short sides; 14 on the long sides; the intercolumniation: 3.20 m; the column height: 7.5 m; the column diameter at the base: 1.95 m; the column taper: 30% from base to capital); the rooftop golden shield (the ancient sources describe a gold shield mounted on the acroteria of the pediment that was visible from ships approaching the port of Syracuse from the south; used as a lighthouse); the Cicero description (Cicero, “Verrine Orations” II.4.119–121 (70 BCE): the most detailed ancient description of any Greek temple in Sicily; Cicero describes the painted panels inside the cella, the doors covered in gold and ivory, and the gold and silver ornaments looted by Verres from the temple in 73 BCE (Cicero’s orations against Verres are the most complete ancient source for Sicilian Greek culture)); the Christian conversion (the conversion of the temple to a church: 640 CE under Bishop Zosimus of Syracuse (the conversion method: the intercolumnar spaces were walled in with limestone blocks, creating the nave walls; the 12 columns on the north side of the cella (the right side of the temple = the north side) were incorporated into the right wall of the nave and are fully visible from inside the church today; the 12 on the south side were similarly incorporated into the left wall; the pronaos (the front porch) was demolished to make way for the baroque facade (Carlo Borromini-inspired, reconstructed 1728 CE after the 1693 earthquake))
- GPS (Piazza Duomo, Ortigia, Siracusa): 37.0617° N, 15.2933° E; Teatro Greco: 37.0755° N, 15.2766° E; Pantalica necropoli: 37.1428° N, 14.9888° E
History
Da Archia 734 BCE al UNESCO 2005 (the most precisely Siracusa zone history: the foundation (the Greek colonization of Ortigia: 734 BCE by Archias of Corinth (the founder: an aristocrat from Corinth who led the colonizing expedition; the choice of site: Ortigia (the “quail island”: the Greek name means “quail island”, from ὄρτυξ (ortyx): a reference to the migratory quail that used the island as a resting point on their Mediterranean crossing); the Corinthian selection criterion (the 3 factors that made Ortigia ideal: (1) defensive security (the island required only 1 defensive perimeter: the single isthmus connecting it to the mainland); (2) freshwater (the Arethusa spring: a freshwater spring emerging on the seafront of Ortigia (the legend: Arethusa was a nymph pursued by the river god Alpheus from Greece to Sicily; Artemis transformed her into a spring to escape; the spring (currently enclosed in a public garden on the Lungomare Aretusa) is a brackish freshwater lens floating above the seawater; the spring produces 70 liters/second of drinkable water); (3) harbor depth (the Grande Porto: 230 ha of naturally sheltered harbor (the largest natural harbor in Sicily)); the Athenian Expedition (the Sicilian Expedition of Athens (415–413 BCE): the largest amphibious operation in Greek history; the Athenian disaster (the Athenian fleet of 200+ triremes and 40,000 men was trapped in the Grand Harbor of Syracuse and destroyed: 413 BCE September; the Athenian historian Thucydides called it “the greatest disaster in Greek history” (“τὰ γενόμενα πρεσβύτατα καὶ λαμπρότατα τῶν Ἑλληνικῶν ἔργων”: the most glorious Greek deed ever)); the Roman period (Cicero as quaestor in Sicily 75 BCE: the most detailed description of Siracusa in antiquity; the Verrine Orations 70 BCE: the looting by Gaius Verres, praetor of Sicily 73–71 BCE); the Arab period (827–1072 CE: the most transformative Islamic urban period in Sicily; the UNESCO inscription (2005 CE: reference 1200).
What you see
Ortigia Piazza del Duomo, Teatro Greco, Orecchio di Dionisio, Pantalica (the most precisely Siracusa zone visit (2 days minimum): Ortigia (the island: 60 ha; best explored on foot; the visit sequence: the Ponte Santa Lucia from the mainland → Piazza del Pancali (the Temple of Apollo: the oldest Doric temple in Sicily (565 BCE; the 2 standing columns); → Via della Maestranza (the baroque palaces: 17th-18th century CE) → Piazza del Duomo (the best baroque piazza in Sicily: Cathedral + Palazzo del Senato + Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco; the light in the morning (8:00–11:00): the Cathedral facade in full sun; the late afternoon (17:00–19:00): the facade in profile shade with warm light on the colonnade outside) → Fonte Aretusa (the freshwater spring on the seafront: the papyrus plants (Cyperus papyrus: the only wild papyrus in Europe outside of Egypt; naturalized at Siracusa from the 2nd century BCE); the ducks; the freshwater fish visible through the clear water; the sea is on the other side of the 3 m seawall)); Neapolis (the Archaeological Park: €13.50; 9:00–19:30; the Teatro Greco (the best viewing: from the top row looking toward the sea: the Bay of Augusta visible at 15 km on clear days); the Orecchio di Dionisio (the “Ear of Dionysius”: the 23 m high × 5 m wide × 65 m deep limestone latomia (the ancient quarry) with extraordinary resonance: whisper at the back and it can be heard at the entrance 65 m away; the etymology: Giorgio Vasari (1568 CE) coined the name when he visited the cave with Caravaggio; Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio) was in Syracuse in 1608–1609 CE, fleeing from Malta after wounding a Knight of Malta in a duel).
Practical information
- Come raggiungere Siracusa da Catania, Palermo e Roma, e il Bussolino (bus interno di Ortigia) come unica alternativa ai taxi nell’isola: il trasporto (Catania Fontanarossa aeroporto → Siracusa: Flixbus o AST (1h30; €6; 5 corse/giorno; lo shuttle navetta AST dall’aeroporto di Catania ((il pullman dal terminal arrivi fino alla stazione di Siracusa senza cambio: 08:00 09:00 10:00 12:00 14:00 16:00 18:00 20:00)); Palermo Centrale → Siracusa: Trenitalia (3h; €18; ogni 2h); Roma Termini → Siracusa: Frecciarossa a Napoli + EuroCity a Palermo + IC a Siracusa (6h30; €85; 1 cambio a Messina in traghetto); l’aereo (Roma FCO → Catania CTA: ITA/Ryanair 1h15; €40–80; poi Flixbus a Siracusa 1h30); Ortigia senza auto (l’isola di Ortigia è ZTL per la maggior parte del giorno; il Bussolino (il bus elettrico interno a Ortigia: AST; €0.90; percorso lineare dall’imbarcadero fino a Porta Marina; ogni 15 min 8:00–20:00); il parcheggio consigliato: Talete (Via Talete; €1.50/ora; il più vicino ai ponti di accesso a Ortigia))
Getting there
Da Catania aeroporto: Flixbus 1h30 (€6). GPS Piazza Duomo: 37.0617/15.2933. Teatro Greco: €13.50 (9:00–19:30). Ortigia ZTL: usa Bussolino (€0.90).
Nearby
- Ragusa e la Valle dei Templi di Agrigento (UNESCO 1997 rif. 831 — il più grande parco archeologico greco al mondo) — Agrigento: 130 km (auto 2h; i Templi della Concordia + Era + Zeus Olimpio + Castore e Polluce; museo regionale; €14)
- Noto (Baroque Town UNESCO 2002 rif. 1024 — ricostruita completamente post-terremoto 1693) — 33 km (bus AST 1h; €3.50; Via Nicolaci con i balconi barocchi; la Cattedrale (1776 CE: crollo e ricostruzione 1996 CE; uno dei 4 cantieri UNESCO vivi in Sicilia))
Gallery
Sources
- Wikipedia, Syracuse, Sicily; Ortigia; Pantalica; Temple of Athena, Syracuse, accessed June 2026
- UNESCO, Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica, WHS reference 1200, inscribed 2005
- Cicero, Verrine Orations II.4 (70 BCE: the primary ancient source for the Siracusa Temple of Athena)
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