Page 548 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Italy

546  SOUTHERN IT AL Y

Shorefront in Siracusa, one of the most beautiful cities of the ancient Greek world
i Pantalica Artifacts from the necropolis are mathematician Archimedes, its
displayed in Siracusa’s Museo most famous inhabitant.
Siracusa. @ from Siracusa to Sortino,
then 5 km (3 mile) walk to entrance Archeologico Regionale. The highlight of Ortigia is the
(partial access), or bus from Siracusa to extraordinary Duomo, begun in
Ferla then 10 km (6 mile) walk to 1728 by architect Andrea Palma.
entrance. Necropolis: n Pro Loco, Its Baroque façade masks the
Ferla. Tel 331 152 44 24. Temple of Athena (5th century
BC), which has been absorbed
Remote in the desolate Monti into the Duomo. Facing the
Iblei and overlooking the River Ponte Nuovo are the ruins of
Anapo is the prehistoric Sicily’s earliest Doric temple, the
necropolis of Pantalica – a Temple of Apollo, which had
pleasant place to walk and monolithic columns.
picnic. The dead of a large, Across from the Duomo is
unexcavated village (occupied the Palazzo Beneventano del
from the 13th to 8th centuries Bosco (1778–88), a bold example
BC) were buried here in cave- of Siracusan Baroque, as is Santa
like tombs cut into the rock. More Lucia alla Badia (1695–1703). In
than 5,000 of these tombs were the Municipio a small museum
arranged in tiers with a single Interior of Duomo in Siracusa records the history of Ionic
flat stone sealing each opening. temples, and the coin collection
The inhabitants of Pantalica o Siracusa of the Galleria Numismatica
are thought to have come from * 125,000. V @ g n Via records Siracusa’s past wealth.
coastal Thapsos, which was Maestranza (0931 46 42 55). ( Wed. The delightful Fonte Aretusa
abandoned after raids by is frequently referred to by
warlike tribes from mainland Siracusa (Syracuse) was the Classical writers as the point
Italy. The site was re-inhabited most important and powerful where Aretusa emerged from
in the Byzantine period, when Greek city from the 5th to the the ground, having been
some tombs were made into 3rd centuries BC and, according changed into a spring by
cave dwellings and chapels. to the Roman consul Cicero, the Artemis to help her escape her
most beautiful. The peninsula would-be lover, Alpheus.
Ortigia is the hub of the old At Ortigia’s furthest point is
city. On the mainland, Achra- the Castello Maniace, built by
dina, Tyche and Neapolis have Frederick II around 1239. Here,
been occupied almost without too, is the Galleria Reg ionale di
a break since the expansion of Palazzo Bellomo, with sculpture
the city in 480 BC. These were and paintings including the Burial
the years of Gelon, tyrant of of St Lucy (1608) by Caravaggio.
Gela, when Siracusa was The painting comes from the
enriched with new temples, church of Santa Lucia in the
theatres and dockyards. The city Achradina quarter. This area was
was a powerful force until 211 BC, flattened during World War II,
Rock-cut tombs in the prehistoric when it fell to the Romans in but the church survived. It is
necropolis of Pantalica a battle that also killed the mostly 17th century with a
For hotels and restaurants in this region see pp576–7 and pp600–605

546-547_EW_Italy.indd 546 4/5/17 9:31 AM
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Catalogue template “UK” LAYER
(Source v2)
Date 14th November 2012
Size 125mm x 217mm