During the tyranny of [approfondimenti id="3553" testo_link="Gelon"], starting in the year 485 BC, Syracuse experienced a period of great expansion and wealth, becoming the capital of a kingdom that also included Gela and other territories in eastern Sicily. The tyrant gave such strong impetus to th...

In Sicily, the floor mosaics of an important location, the UNESCO site of the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina, depict an evocative testimony of how complex the organisation of the shows in the Roman amphitheatre was. The ambulatory (a portico in the upper part of the Villa), around 60 m...

The most impressive and fascinating historical memory of Syracuse resides in its Greek Theatre. Dug into the rock of the Temenite Hill, it has been a monument of exceptional formal beauty from antiquity to the present day. Its original layout, by the architect [approfondimenti id="3239" testo_link="...

Since its primitive stages, humankind has tried to overcome its fear of natural elements using dance and song. These rites already involved two of the founding elements of theatre: gesture and mime. With the birth of Greek theatre, the space in which the performance took place was born, as was the ...

Above the Greek theatre there is a terrace where in ancient times there was a sanctuary dedicated to the muses. In this place, called the museion, actors would gather before going on stage and performing at the theatre. In the middle of a rock wall on this terrace, there is a cave with a vaulted ce...

Valerius Maximus, a historian from the age of Tiberius, wrote that during a gladiator fight in Syracuse, Haterius Rufus, a Roman knight, died when he was accidentally pierced by a gladiator's sword. This anecdote is a testimony to the early interest aroused by gladiator games even in a province lik...