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Parco Archeologico della NeapolisFor the classicist, Syracuse's real attraction is this archaeological park, home to the pearly Teatro Greco. Constructed in the 5th century BC and rebuilt…
Must see attractions in Syracuse
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DuomoBuilt on the skeleton of a 5th-century BC Greek temple to Athena (note the Doric columns still visible inside and out), Syracuse's 7th-century cathedral…
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Teatro GrecoThe highlight of the Neapolis archaeological area is the Teatro Greco, a masterpiece of classical architecture that could accommodate up to 16,000 people…
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Piazza del DuomoSyracuse's showpiece square is a masterpiece of baroque town planning. A long, rectangular piazza flanked by flamboyant palazzi, it sits on what was once…
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Museo Archeologico Paolo OrsiLocated about 500m east of the archaeological park, Syracuse's archaeological museum claims one of Sicily's largest and most interesting collections of…
- BBasilica Santuario di Santa Lucia al Sepolcro
This 17th-century basilica occupies the site where Syracuse's patron saint, Lucia, an aristocratic girl who devoted herself to saintliness after being…
- BBasilica & Catacombe di San Giovanni
The city's most extensive catacombs lie beneath the Basilica di San Giovanni, itself a pretty, truncated church that served as the city's cathedral in the…
- MMiqweh
Buried 20m beneath the Alla Giudecca hotel in Ortygia's old Jewish ghetto (known as the Giudecca) is an extraordinary ancient Jewish miqwe (ritual bath),…
- GGalleria Regionale di Palazzo Bellomo
Housed in a 13th-century Catalan-Gothic palace, this art museum's eclectic collection ranges from early Byzantine and Norman stonework to 19th-century…
- CCastello Maniace
Guarding the island's southern tip, Ortygia's 13th-century castle is an evocative place to wander, gaze out over the water and contemplate Syracuse's past…
- CChiesa di Santa Lucia alla Badia
The Chiesa di Santa Lucia alla Badia is dedicated to the city's patron saint, St Lucy, martyred in Syracuse during the reign of the Roman emperor…
- LLatomia del Paradiso
It was out of this deep, precipitous limestone quarry that stone for the ancient city was extracted. Riddled with catacombs and filled with citrus and…
- MMuseo dei Pupi
The small Museo dei Pupi chronicles the history of Sicilian puppetry, with a particular focus on the role local puppeteers Alfredo and Saro Vaccaro played…
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This 2nd-century Roman amphitheatre was originally used for gladiatorial combats and horse races.
- SSantuario della Madonna delle Lacrime
Supposedly modelled on the shape of a tear drop, the 102m-high spire of this church dominates modern Syracuse's skyline. The church itself houses a statue…
- PPalazzo Municipale
The Palazzo Municipale or Palazzo Senatoriale was built in 1629 by the Spanish architect Juan Vermexio, who was nicknamed 'Il Lucertolone' or 'the lizard'…
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At the heart of Ortygia is handsome Piazza Archimede, home to Giulio Moschetti's Fontana di Artemide. Constructed between 1906 and 1907, the fountain's…
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Loitering beneath Palazzo Municipale are the scant remains of a 6th-century-BC Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis, as well as the modest traces…
- OOrecchio di Dionisio
A renowned curiosity at the heart of the Latomia del Paradiso (Garden of Paradise) is the ear-shaped artificial grotto known as the Ear of Dionysius…
- MMuseo del Papiro
Ortygia's Museo del Papiro offers a fine collection of papyrus documents and products, including artefacts from antiquity. There's also an English…