Paolo Orsi, born in Rovereto in 1859, was one of the most important Italian archaeologists. He arrived in Syracuse in 1888, as a third-class inspector of the Excavations and Museums of Syracuse, under the direction of Francesco Saverio Cavallari. Orsi devoted himself to the study of prehistory, wi...

An ogival arch is a pointed Gothic arch. The design of two parts of a circle which meet at a central point forming a tip, characterises an ogival arch or vault....

The Cathedral of Ortygia is the island's treasure, thanks to its historical testimony and the richness of the finest details that make it a sober yet sumptuous monument. The small sculptures on the pediment of the façade do not depict little angels, but small Cupids, surviving proof of the mixture...

In classical architectural orders, the trabeation is a horizontal structure that includes the architrave, frieze and cornice and rests on vertical supports such as columns or pillars. The architrave, which rests on the capitals of the columns, has the structural function of supporting the parts abo...

A flat triangular wall, it is the final part of a composition or structure, inside the cornices that delimit the pediment of classical temples, and sometimes contains decorations in high relief....

Architectural styles are a complex of rules that characterise a building, such as a temple. In Greece the main ones were the Doric, Ionic and Corinthian orders. The first, and oldest, was widespread mainly in the Peloponnese region. The columns of Doric temples were very strong but also very line...

Stalactites are elongated, mineral formations often found hanging in underground envi-ronments such as caves. Small drops of water ooze from the rocky walls of these natural places and solidify thanks to a chemical process. But this happens over a very long time: a stalactite can grow around two mil...

The discovery of the remains of the Ionic temple below Palazzo Vermexio, near the Cathedral of Ortygia, was particularly significant. Its uniqueness lies in the fact that it is the only known building in the West inspired by an Eastern Greek model. The investigations carried out on the remains of t...

In Pantalica, this building was the residence of the local chief and testifies to the level of social organisation achieved by the indigenous peoples of eastern Sicily. The Anaktoron, probably built around the 12th century BC under the influence of Mycenaean Greek architecture, stood on one of the ...

The Anaktoron, or King's Palace, was built around the 12th century BC and had six large square-shaped rooms. The largest of these was probably a workshop where bronze weapons were made. The remains of this large building are still present in the Acropolis of Pantalica. [dettaglio_immagine id=...