Synthetic itinerary for a complete visit of the city
The itinerary begins from the archaeological park of the Neapolis, the most rappresentative zone in the ancient city, with the Greek Theater; the grandiose construction, of the V century a.C., is almost exclusively drawn in the rock of the hill Temenite.
The cavea consists of nine wedges; some native 67 orders of steps stay only from there 46.
Gone beyond the avenue Heaven we reach the macaw of Gerone, the greatest altar of age Greek joint up to us; it was erect from Gerone II in the III century a.C.
From the avenue Heaven is also accessed the Roman amphitheater, of the II-III century a.C., also it drawn entirely almost in the rock; of notable dimensions, of few inferior to that of Verona, it was supplied of water (for the naval fights) from a rectangular cistern trisected by pillars, still visible under the small and interesting church of S. Nicolò, with apse and side portal of Romanesque age.
The latomies were cave for the construction of the district of the Neapolis and they probably go up again to the V century a.C.; subsequently they served as jails and perhaps as humble residences.
The Latomia of the Heaven, deep from 20 to 30 meters, it is formed from the ear of Dionisio - so called by the Caravaggio for his particular form and for the acoustic effect that allows to also amplify the smallest sound - and from the cave of the Cordaris, extraordinarily scenografica thanks to the effects of light, to the policromia of the rocks and the varied son-in-laws of plants that grow you.
The latomia Intagliatella, characterized by a big central pillar to from trees of citrus fruit and that of S. Venera, suggestive for the luxuriant vegetation type tropical, they complete the complex.
To east of this last latomia the necropolis grotticelli is found, with datable graves from the Hellenistic period to that Byzantine; the so-called grave of Archimede was originally a funeral colombario of Roman epoch (The century AD).
Long street Bruno we reach the beautiful church of S. Giovanni Evangelist, in the homonym street: founded in Byzantine age, it was elaborated again in Norman epoch and therefore at the end of Six hundred.
The crypt of S. Marciano, which is accessed by the inside of the church, introduces pillars, arcs and capitals with the images of the four Evangelists, all additions of Norman epoch; under the apse north has been open an ipogeo with the fresco of the Two Alessandres (V century). From the crypt it is accessed the catacomb of S. Giovanni, vast underground necropolis of the IV century AD.
Taken street S. Sebastiano we divert in avenue Teocrito where villa is found Andolina, whose garden entertains the center of the new regional archaeological museum; it also deserves a visit the adjacent Institute Siracusano of the papyrus, where the techniques can be admired with which to get the paper from the plant.
The regional archaeological museum entertains the more important and rich archaeological collections of the whole Sicily, with testimonies of the prehistoric civilizations and protostoriche of the island from the paleolitico to the age of the iron, up to the first phase of the Greek colonization and to the following ones.
Long avenue Teocrito we reach the catacombs of Vineyard Cassia, in the street Von Platen, that occupies a vast zone cemetery uniform in various regions.
Crossing the Low street Acradina is reached the Latomia of the Cappuccinis, in wide Latomia, one of the most monumental and fascinating structures of the kind.
To this point we take street Pordenone, we turn to the left at the street Turin and therefore to the right in the street Bignami emerging in S. Lucia plaza: here the church of S. Lucia is found to the Sepulchre, erect in Byzantine epoch, referred in Norman age and totally elaborated again at the end of Six hundred.
For street Enna we reach plaza of the Victoria, in which the excavations have brought the rests of the sanctuary of Demetra and Kore of the V to the light century a.C.; behind the plaza the Sanctuary of the Madonna of the tears is risen. We take avenue Cadorna that we will cross up to the I bring; we turn to the left in the alley of the arsenal where the ancient arsenal is found: here the excavations have brought to the light of the long collections cut in the rock where the ships were mended. In the near the interesting rests of a thermal complex they are visible, risalente to the Byzantine period (There-VII century). Returning on our footsteps and continuing for avenue Diaz we meet the hole siracusano, in the homonym square, where the agorà of the most important and populated district in the Greek city rose, Acradina; to the left of the modern monument to the Fallen ones they are visible the rests of the parvis. Continuing over square Marconi for street Elorina we meet the Roman grammar school, monument risalente to the The century AD, that articulates in quadriportico, theater and temple.
Ortigia
Overcome the New bridge that connects the island Ortigia to the dry land, Pancali plaza and he are reached he/she takes away XX Settembre, where some lines of the Greek mures of the IV emerge century a.C. Continuing the church of S. Maria of the Miracles they are met, with rich portal in marble and the Door Marina, in the homonym breadth, only element survivor of the medieval boundaries of the XIV century. Crossing the I walk Aretusa and the garden of the italic hole it is reached the fountain Aretusa, in the homonym breadth; it deals with a source of sweet water coming from a cave celebrated in the antiquity by Pindaro and Virgilio. To little distance the tropical aquarium is found.
Continuing toward the extreme point of the island, in Fred plaza of Swabia we meet in the notable Castle Maniace, of the first halves the XIII century, with the central portal of refined persons Gothic forms.
Returning back for the waterfront the fourteenth-century church of S. Martino is found, in the homonym street; the inside preserve a notable polittico of the Gothic international (VX century). In the near street Capodieci rises the Building Bellomo, typical Sicilian building built between the XIII and XIV century. To the inside it is orderly the regional gallery: the ground floor entertains the Sicilian sculptural production from the age paleocristiana up to the beginnings of Five hundred.
In the neighbor plaza of the Cathedral they look out upon the senatorial building, built in the Six hundred second the typical forms of the Baroque Sicilian and today center of the town hall; the building Beneventano of the Wood, restructured at the end of the Seven hundred one; the building arcivescovile, reconstructed to the beginnings of the VII century and finished in the XVIII; the church of S. Lucia in the Abbey, whose elegant façade has a baluster in beaten iron planned by L. Caracciolo between Six hundred and the Seven hundred one; the cathedral, with the imposing eighteenth-century façade of A. Palma. The building is the result of the overlap of various structures, among which the most ancient belongs to the great temple of Athena (V century a.C.), turned into the VII century in the church paleocristiana; the boundaries perimetrali of the church was gotten walling up the intercolumnis of the Greek temple, whose columns are visible still. Among the works of the inside we quote: baptismal source Norman (XIII century) in the right chapel; Baroque statue of S. Lucia of P. Rizzo up (following chapel); Madonna of the Snow (apse of the left aisle) and S. Lucia (left aisle), sculpture of Antonello Gagini.
In the not distant street of the College is found the beautiful church of the College precious example of Baroque architecture and eighteenth-century decoration. From here Archimede plaza it is reached, where they look out upon the building of the Bank of Italy and the fifteenth-century building Lanza: to the center it is the fountain of Artemide, that represents the metamorphosis of the nymph Aretusa in rising. Building Montalto, in the homonym street, it was erect at the end of Three hundred: turning to the right itself forwards in the picturesque medieval neighborhood that is introduced at the street of the Maestranza, long which the church of S. Francesco is notable, in whose inside they are preserved interesting Gothic structures.
The road reaches the belvedere S. Giacomo; on the left the street Vittorio Veneto extends him where we meet the be-eighteenth-century church of S. Filippo Black and the fifteenth-century building Interlandi. We take to the left the street Mirabella where they look out upon the seventeenth-century building Dongiovanni, the church of the Carmine of the XVII century, the building Abela, with inside structures of the XV century and the small church of S. Tommaso of the end of the XII century. In an indentation on the right the ex church of S. Pietro is found, elaborated again in Four hundred with the addition of the portal. In the wide neighbor XXV Luglio is found the temple of Apollo, risalente to the You century a.C.: two columns trabeates stay, from there various stumps of the others (south side) and a line of the wall of the cell. In the building they are visible the traces of the reconstructions Byzantine, Arab and finally Norman.
In the outskirtses
Castle Eurialo (10 kms), the most original and mighty work of military architecture of the whole Greek world, was built in the IV century a.C. You great ingeniousness of the complex consisted to make the rapid inside move of the troops possible through the tangled system of galleries and underground passages that put in communication all the various parts.
Source Ciane (7 kms). water's course, flanked by a residual hedge of papyruses, it flows in a suggestive and picturesque environment. Going by boat, before reaching the source they are visible, on a high ground to the right, the rests of the Temple of Jupiter Olimpico (You century a.C.).
Drawn from:
GUIDE OF ITALIA
GEOGRAPHICAL INSTITUTE DEGOSTINI
Edition for It Italian (1994)
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