The Neapolis

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

In 212 BC, more than five hundred years after its foundation, Syracuse, a colony of Corinth, was conquered by the Consul Marcus Claudius Marcellus during the terrible Second Punic War .
The city of Arethusa had been allied with the Romans during the tyranny of Hiero II, but upon his death, the pro-Carthaginian faction led by Hippocrates and Epicydes, rejected any kind of mediation by the Romans.
Therefore, the city was attacked by land and sea by the Roman army, which in 212 BC managed to overwhelm the population of Syracuse with a war in which the Sicilian scientist also died Archimedes . Syracuse resisted the Roman siege for two years: the first attacks were pushed back thanks to the extraordinary war machines designed by Archimedes, including the famous  burning mirrors that, according to history or legend, the scientist used against the Roman ships. An immediate consequence of the Roman conquest was the plunder of all the city’s treasures.
The remains of Syracuse, which testified to the levels of art reached by the Siceliot civilisation, aroused enormous interest and enthusiasm among the Romans. Therefore, the capture of Syracuse was a crucial point in bringing Latin and Greek culture closer together.
The city was brought under the rule of the Roman Republic as the capital city of the Roman province of Sicily, the seat of the praetors and magistrates sent to administer the Mediterranean island.
Numerous buildings belong to the Roman period, particularly those of a practical nature or aimed at the well-being of the population, such as baths, forums, aqueducts, theatres and amphitheatres, as well as necessary structures such as roads and necropolises.

The Church of San Giovanni alle Catacombe

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

The Dionysian Walls: a masterpiece of Greek engineering

Where seas and civilisations meet

Legends and magic echoes in the Latomie of Syracuse

The Senatorial Palace

Traces of Christianity in Syracuse

Giudecca, the hidden Jewish heart of Syracuse

The Cathedral of Syracuse

The Athenaion of the tyrant Gelon

Byzantine Pantalica

The Roman Amphitheatre

The Jews, a wandering people

The Venationes

The architecture of the Piazza

The Euryalus Fortress

Crypt of San Marciano

Pantalica: where nature and history merge

The Altar of Hieron II: Blood and fire place

The Ear of Dionysius and the Grotta dei Cordari

The Greek Theatre of Syracuse

The Museion and the Grotta del Ninfeo

The Church of St. Lucia to the Abbey

Castello Maniace

The catacombs of San Giovanni

Temple of Apollo

The Gladiator performances

The Culture of Pantalica

The Spanish fortification

Neapolis from past to present

Piazza del Duomo, a sacred place of the ancient Greeks

The functions of Castello Maniace

Ortygia. Venus rising from the waters of the port

The cultural significance of tragedy

Syracuse during the tyranny of Dionysius

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

Inside the Cathedral of Ortygia