Siracusa - On the mainland
Please do not hesitate to ask our Concierge Service for further details organising a guided tour or renting a bike info@hotelcavalierisiracusa.it.Although it's not nearly as picturesque as Ortigia, you should still devote time to exploring the sights on the mainland. The Acradina quarter is directly across the bridge from Ortigia is the modern city and was bombed twice during WWII. Near Piazzale Marconi the old Syracusan Forum (Foro Siracusano), once the site of the agora (marketplace), is now bisected by a number of busy streets and overshadowed by some hideous architecture.
A few hundred metres west of the forum along Via Elorina, is a sight well worth visiting: the ruins of the Ginnasio Romano, built in the 1st century. Despite the name, this was actually a small theatre at the heart of a building that also contained a large atrium and another theatre directly behind the stage.
Along the water to the east of the forum (take Via dell'Arsenale) are the fenced-off remains of the ancient arsenal, once a set of rectangular pits into which ships would be pulled for re-provisioning.
North of the arsenal is one of the city's biggest squares, Piazza Santa Lucia, whose northern end is dominated by the Chiesa di Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. The 17th century church is built on the spot where the city's patron St Lucy, an aristocratic girl who devoted herself to saintliness after being blessed by St Agatha, was martyred in 304. Underneath the curch is an impressive network of catacombs (not open to the public) that are the largest in Italy after those in Rome.
Catacombs of Tyche
According to Roman law, Christians were not allowed to bury their dead within the city limits. Forced to go elsewhere, Christians conducted their burials in the outlying district of Tyche and its underground acqueducts, unused since Greek times. New tunnels were carved out and the result was a labyrinthine network of burial chambers, most of which are inaccessible except the ones underneath the Basilica di San Giovanni. The church itself is pretty, with its skeletal rose window open to the sun.
Archaeological Area of Neapolis
The area was opened to the public in 1955 showing a variety of ancient buildings and places: Greek Theatre, Hiero's Ara, Roman Amphitheatre and the Tomb of Archimedes.
Greek Theatre
The Theatre is one of the largest ever built by the ancient Greeks: it has 67 rows, divided into 9 sections with 8 aisles, could seat 16,000 people and saw the work of Sophocles, Euripides and the last tragedies of Aeschylus, including Ther Persians, Prometheus Bound and Prometheus Unbound, which were first performed here in his precence. Only traces of the stage and the orchestra remain. The edifice was modified by the Romans, who adapted it to their different style of spectacles, including also circus games.
This magnificent theatre is still used: every year in May and June the National Institute of Antic Drama (INDA) organizes wonderful presentations of two different ancient authors, usually performed on alternate nights. Tickets start from 25 Euro and go all the way up to 80 Euro for seats on weekend evenings. You can splah out or get a standing ticket, but make sure you go and catch a show if you're in town during the festival.
Siracusa (Syracuse) boasts the only school of Classical Greek drama outside Athens and the productions attract some of Italy's finest performers.
Performances in Siracusa's theatre were pretty intense affairs in ancient times, particularly during the six-day Feast of Dionysus, god of wine and merriment. Daily performances of a tetracycle (three tragedies and a satirical work thrown in for good measure) and no less than five comedies kept audiences glued to their seats from dawn till dusk. As the festival was essentially a hedonistic religious ceremony, the hight point of the day's performance (usually during the third tragedy) saw the audience whipped into a frenzy of delirium described by Aristotetle as â?ocatharsisâ?, after which they were made to laugh for a few more hous and then sent home. After 20centruies without a festival, 1914 saw the start of a new series of productions.
 Greek Theatre |
 Greek Festival |
Please do not hesitate to ask our Concierge Service for further details organising a guided tour or renting a bike info@hotelcavalierisiracusa.it.
Latomie
Near the theatre are the latomie, stone quarries, also used as prisons in ancient times. The most famous latomia is the Latomia of Paradise which entrance is the "Ear of Dionysius".
Roman Amphitheatre
The Roman amphitheatre, of Roman Imperial age, was partly carved out from the rock. In the centre of the area is a rectangular space which was used for the scenic machinery.
Tomb of Archimedes
The so-called Tomb of Archimedes, in the Grotticelli Necropolis, is decorated with two Doric columns.
Archaeological Museum Paolo Orsi
Has collections including findings from the mid-Bronze Age to 5th century BC and is Sicily's most extensive archaeological museum and is named after the archaeologist Paolo Orsi, who arrived in Siracusa (Syracuse) in 1886 and devoted the next 45 years to uncovering its ancient treasures.
The collection runs the gamut from prehistoric artefacts (such as the earthenware pots from Pantalica), to early Greek settlements such as Megara Hyblaea, the most thoroughly excavated site on the island, to Siracusa (Syracuse) itself and its satellite settlements at Eloro, Akrai, Kasmenai and Kamarina. The star of the show is undoubtledly the sculpture, the development of which can seen beteween the archaic work from Megara Hyblaea, most notably the statue of a mother suckling twins, and the immodest modesty of Venere Uscendo dell'Acqua.
Visiting the museum will easily take a whole morning, while the afternoon can be pleasantly spent in the Parco Archeologico della Neapolis.
|
