At the entrance to the island of Ortygia, the base of two columns and a part of the cella (shrine) form the monumental ruins of the Temple of Apollo, the oldest Doric temple in eastern Sicily. [dettaglio_immagine id="18781"] The building, dating from 565 BC, had a[approfondimenti id="3289" testo_l...

Ortygia's main square is like a sumptuous Baroque parlour and is the most important urban area of the historic centre. In fact, it houses two fundamental buildings: the church-cathedral and the Senatorial Palace. The heart of the city offers a treasure far more precious than its elegant and refined...

Today Syracuse is an invaluable treasure chest of memories that preserves different moments from its history, from the [approfondimenti id="3377" testo_link="Siceliot "] tyrants to the Spanish sovereigns who chose it as their royal residence. Its origin, however, remains linked to the worship of wat...

Some findings in the heart of Ortygia have provided proof of ancient worship in this land. Of particular interest was a Greek protocorinthian vase, called [approfondimenti id="3105" testo_link="oinochoe"] by the Greeks, which depicts a goddess identified in the figure of Artemis. [dettaglio_immagi...

Today, the church is a three-nave basilica. The main nave has a wooden roof hidden by a coffered ceiling, while the side naves are covered by stonework barrel vaults. Along the right nave, the rhythm of the Doric columns is interrupted by a series of side chapels covered with marble and embellished...

The Athenaion, or temple of Athena, now incorporated into the Cathedral, was erected at the behest of the tyrant Gelon with a dual purpose: on the one hand, to enrich the city with majestic monuments, and on the other, to celebrate the victory by the Greeks over the Carthaginians during the battle o...

Piazza del Duomo is characterised by a curious "exedra" or "eye" shape. Its design appears complex, but it is not random. Over the centuries, the spatial organisation has responded to newer needs and requirements, to the point of becoming an environment with an unusual shape, a compromise between th...