Siracusa - Things to See

     The singular articulation of the actual city. The historical centre is constituted by the small island, Ortigia that is about 1 km2 by the coast. The rest of the city, the modern part, built in the eighth hundred. The modern city is characterized by an orthogonal plant and wide streets. Nevertheless, there are antique monuments, since this area in the past was occupied by the Greek colony.
     Besides the antique ruins, there is a character of Baroque since the city was re-built after the earthquake of 1693. Still, the composition of the eighth hundred of the new city is harmonious with the classical ruins, so that in the island of Ortigia its predominant Baroque character is mixed with Greek elements, Byzantin, Norman and Gothic.

MAINLAND (City) - Archeological Park of Neapolis, Greek Theater and Dionisio’s ear, Santa Lucia’s Church.

Archeological Park of Neapolis, created during the nineteenfifty’s contains the major Greek and Roman monuments of Siracusa.      From Via Romagnoli, that is on the south-east of the park to the Viale Rizzo on the north side, there is a suggestive panoramic view.

      The major important monument inside the archeological area is the Greek theater.
Masterpiece of architectonic tecnique of V century B.C. is very well preserved despite che modifications and dismantle made in the past.
      Of course, it’s useless to say that the Greek theater in Siracusa is famous internationally for the classical rappresentations held each year by the National Institure of Antique Dramma.

    Dionisio’s Ear is an artificial cave that gets narrower from the bottom to the top when you go inside. This place takes the name “ear” because of its singular form. According to the tradition the name was given by Caravaggio, famous painter that visited the sicilian city in 1608.
    Because of the name and the physic propriety followed a legend, that the Greek tyrant Dionisio used the cave as a prison so that he could hear what the prisoners said and panned. In fact due to its acoustic propriety to amplify whichever sound, makes it perceivable at the entrance.

     Santa Lucia’s Church erected in the Byzantin period and arouse, according to tradition on the area of the martyrdom of the Siracusan Vergin.
     The entire complex rappresents a commission of styles due to the massive re-management. Inside the Church there was the famous painting of Caravaggio the burying of Santa Lucia.
     Now the Opera is in the Regional Gallery of Palazzo Bellomo in Siracusa.

ORTIGIA’S ISLAND - Cathedral, Maniace Castel, Font Aretusa

     Sited on the elevated part of the island in the Baroque monumental complex of the Cathedral Square. The Cathedral was erected in the VII century, on an existing antique temple. It was repeatedly transformed in the successive periods.
      The Cathedral has a large stairway, presents a grand Baroque façade of the seventeen century.
      Inside there are three naves and contains vestments in various styles In the Chappel of the crucifix there is a gold board with the image of Saint Zosimo opera of the famous sicilian painter Antonello da Messina.

     Sited on the sothern part of the island the Maniace Castel was erected by Federico II of Sweden (1239) with military functions. It is a massive fortress in a square plant with angular towers of cylindar forms. It is interesting the entrance portal, in a pointed arch covered in polychrome marble.
     Compared to the outside the internal of the castle has totally lost its original aspect.

     Font Aretusa rappresents one of the dearest places for the Siracusan, and it is the symbol of the city “Aretusa” since the antique times. Because of these waters the choice determined the island for the colony guided by Archia.
      The waters that are in the Ciane river are the same (on the opposite side of the big port) as Font Aretusa. This mythic place has given origin to the inspiration of many poems by: Virgilio, Pindaro, Ovidio, da Silio Italico, in Lycidas di Milton, in the Nouvelles nourritures of Andrè Gide, in the burying of Pindemonte, and also in Gabriele D’annunzio and Salvatore Quasimodo.
      According to the Greek myth and according to Pausania and Stradone, Aretusa was a nymph and to escape the love of Alfeo was transformed by Artemide in the font of Ortigia.
      Alfeo in order to find her transformed himself in a river, and from Greece, and by means of a passage travelled the Ionian sea and arrived in Siracusa. Once arrived in Ortigia joined Artemide for the eternity. Even in our days near the font there is a spring that in the fantasy everyone identifies as Alfeo. In the ancient times the spring had a different aspect, it was divied by more rivulets forming a big lake of about 200 meters. After there was built a church (destroyed in the earthquake of 1693).
      No trace remained from the door of Aretusa (one of the two passage ways to ortigia
     Only after the works done in 1847 that the font assumed the actual aspect.

Photo copyrigh www.ortigiaonline.com / www.tiralongo.it / www.siciliainfoto.it / www.coloridisicilia.it / www.flashcom.it
Text copyrigh Ente Regionale del Turismo

Useful links:

• http://www.siracusa-sicilia.it
• http://www.ortigiaonline.com
• http://www.foto-sicilia.it
• http://www.tiralongo.it

Museum Paolo Orsi

      The museum is sited in the expansion zone of the city inside the Park of the Villa Andolina that extends between the S. Giovanni’s Catacombs and the Cassia’s Vineyard, that is a rich testimonial of archeological interest (Christian hypogeum, sections of archaic necropolis,and elements of normal life of Siracusans) and historic (the Catholic cemetery where there is the famous tomb of the poet August Von Platen).
      The Museum illustrates the prehistory and the history of all the principal archeological places in Sicily. When the mounting of the museum will be finished, it will also include the material of the era Hellenistic, Roman and Christian. The collection has origin from an Archiepiscopal collection at the end of ‘700, and also from local donations. In 1811 the museum became the Municipal museum and in 1878 became a National Museum. The majority of the collection comes from the archeological excavations directed by the Soprintendenza of Siracusa. The exhibition is articulated in three sections rotating around a vast circular environment where there is illustrated the history of the museum supported by photographic documentation.

Photo and text copyrigh www.sicilyweb.com

Useful links:

• http://www.ibmsnet.it
• http://www.karontenet.it
• http://sicilyweb.com
• http://www.regione.sicilia.it