By the students and teachers who travelled to Sicily.
The city is a modern one today with a population of about 125,000 inhabitants, located in the south-east of Sicily and home to many different cultures since its birth about 2,700 years ago. Travelling to Syracuse from Catania is easy but the traveller will need at least two days or three days if he wants to explore the area a bit in depth. Buses depart from Catania but they are not very frequent. A return ticket costs about 10 euro and the trip takes about an hour and a half.
The city is a modern one today with a population of about 125,000 inhabitants, located in the south-east of Sicily and home to many different cultures since its birth about 2,700 years ago. Travelling to Syracuse from Catania is easy but the traveller will need at least two days or three days if he wants to explore the area a bit in depth. Buses depart from Catania but they are not very frequent. A return ticket costs about 10 euro and the trip takes about an hour and a half.
Home
town of Archimedes, the famous Greek mathematician and philosopher,
it was described as 'the most beautiful Greek city' by Cicero. It
includes two parts, the one on the main island, where Neapolis and
the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica (about 40 kms away), are located
and the island of Ortygia, inhabited for around 3,000 years. They
were included in the World Heritage Sites list by UNESCO in 2005.
The
importance of Syracuse lies in the fact that it's an amazing example
of the cultures which have inhabited the Mediterranean for centuries
(or we'd rather say millenniums): Greeks, Romans, the Byzantine
Empire, Muslims..., with Sicily and Syracuse as a strategic
commercial and cultural spot in the middle of the 'Mare Nostrum', to
establish connections and trade between the East and the West.
Just
as you enter the outskirts of Syracuse on a bus along Viale Paolo
Orsi, you are impressed by the Greek and Roman archaelogical park of
Neapolis, created in 1952-55, that you can intuit on the left, behind
a metal fence. It was a pity there was no time for investigating the
site, which gathers together a Roman amphitheatre, a spectacular
Greek theatre, the sanctuary to Apollo, the altar of Hieron and the
popular Orecchio di Dionisio amongst other incredible remains,
showing the establishment of the Greeks on the island as far as the
8th century B.C. and of the Romans by the 3rd century B.C.
The
Ancient Syracuse is located on the island of Ortygia, which is
accessed along two bridges that connect it to the mainland of Sicily.
Ponte Umbertino offers an ideal entrance to the small island
providing nice views of the historical site on the right and a view
to a small marina on the left. Walking past Piazza Emanuele Pancali,
you'll find the first relevant monument on the island: the Temple of
Apollo of which just two columns remain. Piazza Archimede with the
beautiful Fontana di Artemide in the middle is reached after walking
along a commercial street called Corso Giacomo Matteotti. The
fountain displays a sculpture of the nymph Artemis, symbol of
Ortygia. From here, if you take the street on the left, you'll be in
Via Roma, one of the narrow streets with beautiful churches, palaces
and buildings with elegant wrought iron balconies which adorn their
façades and show the
medieval and baroque character of this part of the city. Tranquility
is the word that best describes the ambience of the streets full of
small typical craft shops, remains of ancient kinds of trade.
When
the visitor goes past Via del Crocifisso and turns right at the next
crossing, he'll be at Piazza Minerva,
a long narrow luminous
square filled with terraces on both sides. After passing the
terraces, looking
to the left, the tourist willl
be surprised by the sight of a few Greek
columns which stand out from the side of the wonderful
Cathedral.
If he keeps
walking along Piazza Minerva, he'll
eventually reach Piazza Duomo. This is
an amazing square with the
quite unusual shape of half an ellipse.
Piazza Minerva Piazza Duomo
The
Cathedral, which
dominates the square, was built on the
ancient Greek
temple of Athena (dating
from 480 B.C.),
transformed in a Christian church around
the 6th century A.D. and rebuilt in
Baroque style,
in the 17th century. Therefore,
integrated on the side walls of
the building, you can see the Greek columns (14
on the long side) which remain from the
Greek period. The façade
is richly decorated with columns, statues and emblems. It
shows the influence of the Spanish Baroque as, at that time, by the
end of the 17th century, when Sicily
was still ruled by the crown of Aragon. Under this influence, the
combination of the different elements conveys a feeling
of movement, strengthened
by the group of stairs which take to the main entrance.
But
the best part of this emblematic construction is the interior,
which features
simpler structures as it keeps the original Greek plan
and combines at the same time rustic
walls and Baroque details. As you go
past the entrance your first thought is 'Wow, how old this cathedral
is!'. In contrast to
the bright clear outer
appearance, the interior is dark and
transmits the feeling of peacefulness
and relaxation
with a nice altar at the far end painted in dark green and adorned
with an ancient
crucifix. Everywhere you look, you realize that it has been built
through very different architectonic styles. The Greek columns which
are vaguely perceived
outside are clearly seen integrated in the structure inside, embedded
in the walls. A
beautiful
Norman baptismal font held by a group of
small bronze lions, dating
from the 13th century, as well as some Norman mosaics can
be seen at one of the small chapels on the sides. There is a little
museum devoted to St. Lucy, the patron
saint of Syracuse, next
to this chapel. The entrance to the
Cathedral is not free, you must pay a little fare of about 2 euro.
The monuments on the square are outstanding
pieces of art. All of them are palaces in Baroque style and there is
a beautiful church too, on the right side of the square. Here is a
brief description of the most relevant ones.
Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco.
In its
previous version, it dated
back to the 15th century and was owned by the Arezzo family until it
was destroyed by a violent earthquake in 1693. It was, then, bought
by the family Beneventano and refurbished in the Sicilian Baroque
style. The works were directed by the
Sicilian architect Luciano Alì, who
rebuilt it around an enclosed courtyard. Today it is a perfect
example of baroque architecture. It has housed important leaders like
the British Admiral Horatio Nelson or King Ferdinand I of the Two
Sicilies (founder
of the House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies),
whose father (Charles III of Spain) was
Spanish. A monolith on top of the door to the central balcony shows
an inscription so that the visit of king Ferdinand would be
remembered.
On the left of Palazzo Beneventano,
Palazzo Arezzo della Targia,
built by the Arezzo family in the 15th century can be admired too.
Palazzo Vermexio
(or The Senate Palace),
which today hosts the
Town Hall of Syracuse, iss
a monument which dates back to the 17th century and its
construction was directed by the
architect GiovanniVermexio, who came from Spanish origins. Its style
is mainly Baroque
and its main characteristic is the perfect geometrical design of its
exterior. The balcony divides the ground floor with Renaissence
decoration from the firts one, which is Baroque. A small gecko carved
on the stone can be seen on the left cornice. It is like a kind of
signature representing
the architect.
Palazzo
Arcivescovile (The Archbishop's
Palace). The palace, as we know it
today, was ordered by Juan de Torres
Osorio, a Spanish priest who became bishop in Syracuse and Catania
(Sicily) and, later, in Oviedo and Valladolid (Spain). In Syracuse he
was known because of his good heart and charity when dealing with the
poor. The construction of the palace was started in 1618 and it was
assigned to the same family of architects as the Palazzo Vermexio, in
this case, to Andrea Vermexio. Its style
is late Baroque mixed with Neoclassical.
Santa
Lucia alla Badia is
a very beautiful church located on the right of Piazza del Duomo. The
original church was destroyed by the earthquake in 1693 as some other
monuments on the square. Its façade
displays
two amazing
twisted columns on
both sides of the entrance, which confer movement from ground to sky.
An
elegant balcony in wrought
iron separates
the ground floor from the upper part like in most other edifices on
the square. In the same way, it is decorated in late Baroque style,
dating from the 18th century. Its most outstanding feature is the
painting by Caravaggio, The
Burial of St. Lucy, which
can be seen inside.
Castello
Maniace
originally
was
a Byzantine fort located at the far end of the island and
named after a Byzantine Greek general, (George Maniakes).
Afterwards,
it was
transformed in a citadel and castle between 1232 and 1240 by
the
Emperor Frederick II (Holy Roman Emperor). It became a royal
residence by the end of the 13th century, after the Spanish king
Peter III of Aragon conquered Sicily becoming its king too. Between
1305 and 1536 the castle hosted the Spanish queens: Constance of
Aragon, Maria of Aragon, Blanche I of Navarre and the second wife of
Ferdinand II (Ferdinand the Catholic), Germana de Foix.
It
can be visited today but you must pay attention to the scheduled
times or, otherwise, you can be trapped inside as it happened to some
people when we were investigating it from outside.
The
Fountain
of
Arethusa
comes
from Greek times and
is
located
in the oldest part of the ancient Ortygia.
It is a nice pool where some papyrus grow and a group of fish swim.
An old legend related to Arethusa, a river nymph, who
dove into the sea in Greece and appeared here in Sicily in the form
of a spring is associated to the fountain.
Palazzo
Bellomo,
which is home to a National Museum, the Museum of the
Papyrus,
the
church of St.
Martin, the
church of San Cristoforo, the church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli and
many other churches and palaces.
When
you walk along the pretty narrow medieval streets, you are amazed at
some churches as they are located in a really tiny space. As
well, you must pay attention to the beautiful decoration many
buildings display. As well as it features many other influences,
Ortygia
in Syracuse
is a live proof of the Spanish heritage in Sicily. Even there is a
street which is called 'Via
della Maestranza'. Maestranza is a Spanish word, very popular in
Andalusia. It can refer to a place were armoury is made or a group of
gentlemen who practise horse riding.
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