Page 149 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Sicily

SOUTHERN SICIL Y  147

P Palazzo Margulensi-
Montalto
Close to Piazza Archimede,
with the 19th­century
Fountain of Artemis, Palazzo
Margulensi­Montalto is one of
the most interesting medieval
buildings in Syracuse. Built in
1397, this palazzo still features
some original elements: the
Gothic windows of the façade
supported by spiral columns,
the staircase and the arcade.
+ Castello Maniace
Tel 0931­464 420 Open 9:30am–1pm
Tue–Sun. &
This castle is on the southern
tip of Ortygia, where tradition
says the temple of Hera and
the villa of the Roman
governor once stood. It was
built by Frederick II in the
1200s and over the centuries
had various functions: royal
residence, fortress and even
storehouse. The name derives
from the Byzantine general
Maniakes, who took the city
The Baroque façade of the Duomo, designed by Andrea Palma (1728–53) from the Arabs.
clearly visible. The second P Fonte Aretusa T Ipogeo
chapel houses Siracusa’s On Largo Aretusa, facing the Piazza del Duomo.
most precious icon, a silver Porto Grande, this fountain is Open 9am–1pm Tue–Sat. &
statue of Santa Lucia with a fed by a freshwater spring that The rockbed of Ortigia is
dagger in her throat. Weighing bubbles up under the sea. riddled with tunnels, caves
1200 kg (over 2600 lb), the According to the myth made and cisterns, gouged out by
statue is on show to the famous by Pindar and Virgil, the ancient Greeks as they
public only infrequently, Arethusa was a nymph trans­ created channels and wells
for reasons of security. formed into this spring by the to take advantage of the
goddess Artemis. subterranean freshwater
E Galleria Regionale di spring. A limited section is
Palazzo Bellomo R San Filippo Apostolo open to the public, but by
Via Capodieci, 14. Tel 0931­695 11 or In the heart of the Giudecca – the peering down at the sea
653 43. Open 9am–7pm Tue–Sat, Jewish quarter of Syracuse – is San walls along the Lungomare
9am–1pm Sun. & Filippo Apostolo, which was built Levante it is possible to spot
This museum, housed in the over the old synagogue. In the other entrances to this under­
Parisio and Bellomo palazzi, has crypt you can still see the basin of ground labyrinth. During
both interesting architecture holy water in which the Jewish World War II the Ipogeo was
(much of the original women purified themselves. used as a bomb shelter.
Hohenstaufen construction
still stands) and artworks on
display. The first rooms contain
medieval and Renaissance
sculpture. The courtyard,
decorated with coats of arms,
leads to the first floor, with
the jewel of the collection,
Antonello da Messina’s
Annunciation (1474, see p27). In
the next room is a display of
Christmas cribs. The exhibition
ends with Arab and Sicilian
ceramics and jewels. Fortress wall along the shoreline at Castello Maniace

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