The Neapolis

The Museion and the Grotta del Ninfeo

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 ceiling.
Inside, a rectangular basin collects the water that flows from a small waterfall.
Grotta del Ninfeo
The fountain is linked to the Greek worship of nymphs, the deities of nature, hence the name of this place: il ninfeo (the nymphaeum). At the entrance to the ninfeo, there were statues dedicated to the muses. Three of these statues, dating from the 2nd century BC, are kept at the Paolo Orsi Archaeological Museum.
The water that reaches the interior of the cave came from two aqueducts built in Greek times: the Nymphaeum Aqueduct and the Galermi Aqueduct. To the east of the Grotta del Ninfeo there was a complex of water mills from the Spanish era.
They received water from the cave and poured it into the theatre after it was used to grind grain. Currently, only the “millers’ cottage” of this complex remains visible today: a tower connected to the historical period of the Mulini di Galerme, the Galerme Mills.

The Jews, a wandering people

The Gladiator performances

Legends and magic echoes in the Latomie of Syracuse

The Athenaion of the tyrant Gelon

The Church of San Giovanni alle Catacombe

The Dionysian Walls: a masterpiece of Greek engineering

The cultural significance of tragedy

The Senatorial Palace

Castello Maniace

Giudecca, the hidden Jewish heart of Syracuse

The Spanish fortification

The catacombs of San Giovanni

Traces of Christianity in Syracuse

Where seas and civilisations meet

Syracuse during the tyranny of Dionysius

Temple of Apollo

Pantalica: where nature and history merge

The Venationes

King Hyblon’s kingdom: Pantalica, between history and legend

The Church of St. Lucia to the Abbey

Roman Syracuse, a military power thanks to the genius of Archimedes

The Cathedral of Syracuse

The Museion and the Grotta del Ninfeo

Inside the Cathedral of Ortygia

The Culture of Pantalica

Byzantine Pantalica

Neapolis from past to present

Crypt of San Marciano

The functions of Castello Maniace

Piazza del Duomo, a sacred place of the ancient Greeks

The Roman Amphitheatre

The Ear of Dionysius and the Grotta dei Cordari

The Altar of Hieron II: Blood and fire place

Ortygia. Venus rising from the waters of the port

The Greek Theatre of Syracuse

The Euryalus Fortress

The architecture of the Piazza