The Giudecca

The senses tell the places of Giudecca

hearing
Whispers and sounds in a faraway time

As you sit on the stone and are lulled by the gentle dripping of water, it might seem as if you can hear the stifled laughter of women during a purifying bath as they welcome a young girl who has become a woman.
You can imagine listening to the chatter of men during purification during certain festivities and, not too far away, the festive voices that accompany a bride to the ritual bath before her wedding.

taste
Kashrut: the food of the Jewish communities

Kashrut (which in Hebrew literally means “fit”, i.e. for consumption) indicates, in the common sense, the suitability of a food to be consumed according to the dietary rules of the Jewish religion established in the Torah.
Food that meets the requirements of kashrut is said to be kosher. The Torah classifies animals that can be eaten and even explains how they should be slaughtered.
The only four-legged animals that can be eaten are grazers with cloven hooves. In addition, there are a number of important rules for cooking: in particular, meat-based foods must remain separate from those containing dairy products.
In fact, the clear division between meat and milk forms the basis of Jewish cuisine.
The two different types of ingredients must not be mixed during cooking or at the table: the meal must be either meat or milk-based. Pots and dishes used for food of a certain kind must also be kept separate.
According to tradition, the reason milk should not be mixed with meat is that one is created to give life, while the other comes from a dead animal.

smell
Giudecca twenty years ago

When taking Via della Giudecca, the first scent that hits the passer-by would be freshly baked bread and biscuits.
The street was full of bakeries and ovens, run by entire dynasties of bakers.

Syracuse during the tyranny of Dionysius

Crypt of San Marciano

The catacombs of San Giovanni

The Senatorial Palace

The functions of Castello Maniace

Legends and magic echoes in the Latomie of Syracuse

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

The Church of San Giovanni alle Catacombe

Byzantine Pantalica

The Gladiator performances

Ortygia. Venus rising from the waters of the port

The Venationes

Giudecca, the hidden Jewish heart of Syracuse

Castello Maniace

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

The Jews, a wandering people

Neapolis from past to present

The architecture of the Piazza

Temple of Apollo

The Cathedral of Syracuse

The Greek Theatre of Syracuse

Pantalica: where nature and history merge

The Church of St. Lucia to the Abbey

The Altar of Hieron II: Blood and fire place

The Dionysian Walls: a masterpiece of Greek engineering

The Spanish fortification

The Museion and the Grotta del Ninfeo

The cultural significance of tragedy

Where seas and civilisations meet

The Roman Amphitheatre

Inside the Cathedral of Ortygia

Traces of Christianity in Syracuse

The Euryalus Fortress

Piazza del Duomo, a sacred place of the ancient Greeks

The Athenaion of the tyrant Gelon

The Ear of Dionysius and the Grotta dei Cordari

The Culture of Pantalica