Syracusa is the city of the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes and more. We visited it during the second day of our Sicilian trip this fall. There we touched the remains of ancient times, Sicilian baroque and maritime romance. Before them, however, we had to find a place to park twice because it was full of people – it was Sunday and it was a day with free entrance to the Archaeological Park in the city.

Things to do in Syracusa: visit the Greek Theater

In the following lines, I will tell you about the most interesting things to do in Syracusa – from the impressive Greek Theater and the mystical “Ear of Dionysus” to the Arethusa Spring and the majestic Maniace Castle.

Contents

Brief information about Syracusa Things to do in Syracusa How to get to Syracusa Where we parked in Syracusa Where to stay in Syracusa Final thoughts

Brief information about Syracusa

Syracusa is one of the largest cities on the island of Sicily, the successor of an ancient Greek colony, part of Magna Graecia. Cicero described it as “the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of all”. It is located on the east coast of the island.

Archaeological finds show that the area has been inhabited since the Neolithic. In antiquity, Syracusa was a powerful Greek polis and one of the most important metropolises in the Mediterranean, until in 212 BC it fell under Roman rule. During Roman times, significant buildings such as the amphitheater and a large network of catacombs were erected here. According to a legend, it was in Syracusa that one of the first Christian communities appeared. In the Middle Ages, the city came under Byzantine control and even briefly became the capital of the Empire under Emperor Constans II. Later, in 878, Syracusa was captured by the Arabs, which finally put an end to its domination in Sicily.

Syracusa in a few interesting facts

• Older than Rome – Syracusa was founded in 734 BC by Corinthian settlers and is older than Rome itself.
• The city of Archimedes – the legendary mathematician and inventor Archimedes lived and died here; the city has a square, a museum and various memorials dedicated to him.
• Once the most powerful city in the Mediterranean – in the 5th century BC Syracusa was larger and more influential than even Athens.
• In 1693, Syracusa was devastated by the great earthquake in Eastern Sicily and lost nearly a quarter of its population. The subsequent large-scale reconstructions changed the architecture and the appearance of the city acquired a Baroque style.
• The most important European habitat of wild papyrus, which is generally rare in Europe, is located in the wetlands of the Chiane River, near Syracusa.
• A city on the UNESCO list – Syracusa and the nearby necropolis of Pantalica are included in the UNESCO list for their unique combination of ancient Greek, Roman, Arab, Norman and Baroque heritage.
• A city that has inspired poets and artists – from Ovid and Cicero to modern travelers.

Things to do in Syracusa

Among the top things to do in Siracusa is walking around the main landmarks. The most interesting sights of Syracusa are divided into two main groups: the Historic Center and the Neapolis Archaeological Park. We decided to visit the Archaeological Park first, since it still has opening hours, and then explore the historic center, so I’d advise you to do too.

Neapolis Archaeological Park

The Neapolis Archaeological Park is included in the UNESCO World Heritage list and contains the most important remains from the ancient Greek and Roman periods of the city. The park is large with many sites to visit. Some of the most impressive are the Greek Theater, the Roman Amphitheater, the ancient stone quarries, the Ear of Dionysus, the Altar of Hiero, and the Cave of the Nymphs.

I liked that the Archaeological Park has two circular routes that are easy to follow and go around the sites. One circle is around the Greek Theater, and the other is around the Roman Theater. Entrance tickets are priced at 14 euros per person and are for access to both circuits. Interestingly, smoking is prohibited in these circuits.

If you are in Syracusa during a busy tourist season, it is a good idea to buy tickets online in advance to avoid waiting in line. Have a look for the tickets and guided tour here.

I should also mention the day with free admission, which applies to most tourist sites on the island of Sicily – this is every first Sunday of the month.

Neapolis Archaeological Park in Siracusa: the ancient stone quarry of Latomia del Paradiso

Where is it located?

The Neapolis Archaeological Park is located in the southern part of the city of Syracusa. It is located on the left shortly after entering the city from the Catania-Siracusa highway.

Where to park?

If you got there by car, you should look for parking spaces in the streets surrounding the park. There is also a parking lot, but it is only for buses (or at least that was the case during our visit). The streets fall into a blue zone and you pay 1 euro per hour. However, there is no one to collect money for parking. I advise you to use a mobile app for this purpose. During our entire stay in Sicily, we used the EasyPark app. It was valid for almost all the places we visited and where we parked in a blue zone. The app can be used throughout Europe.

When we were there, it was full of people and we had to go around the park twice to find a free parking space.

Let me share brief information about the most interesting landmarks in the Archaeological Park in the order in which we visited them.

Cave of the Nymphs (Grotta del Ninfeo)

It is carved into the rocks above the Greek theater and is a cave with a waterfall. It was once a nymphaeum – a sanctuary of nymphs. As a passionate waterfall lover, I was very impressed by this cave waterfall, although I suspected that it was most likely artificially fed with water, given the severe drought in Sicily and the mostly dry riverbeds during our visit.

Cave of the Nymphs (Grotta del Ninfeo)

There are several more caves near the cave of the nymphs. Some of the rocks have carved niches. I personally made an association with the trapezoidal niches in many of the rock sanctuaries in the Rhodope Mountains here in Bulgaria.

The Greek Theater (Teatro Greco)

The Greek Theater is carved entirely into the rock and is one of the largest and best preserved ancient Greek theaters. Тhe caves I mentioned are just above it. You can also go down to its stage. In ancient times it was used for performances and public gatherings. Today it is also a stage for various performances.

Syracuse: The Greek Theater

The Cave of the Ear of Dionysus (Orecchio di Dionisio)

This is perhaps the most popular cave in Syracuse, named for its ear-like shape and remarkable acoustics that amplify every sound. According to legend, the tyrant Dionysus used the place to hold prisoners and eavesdrop on their conversations. The cave is an artificial creation and is located under the Greek Theater, in the ancient stone quarry of Latomia del Paradiso, part of the Archaeological Park.

Syracusa: “Ear of Dionysus” cave

Altar of Hiero (Ara di Ierone)

The Altar of Hiero, also known as the “Great Altar of Syracuse”, is a monumental Hellenistic altar built by King Hiero II, who ruled Syracuse from 270 to 216 BC. It is considered the largest known altar from antiquity.

Roman Amphitheatre

The Roman Amphitheatre of Syracusa is one of the best-preserved Roman structures in the city. Largely carved into the rock, it is impressive in its size – about 140 by 119 meters. It was discovered in 1839, and according to one hypothesis it was built in the 3rd century AD, which makes it significantly newer than the nearby Greek theater, although it is in worse condition.

The Roman Amphitheatre of Syracusa

The entire walk in the Neapolis Archaeological Park is accompanied by bronze statues of various mythical titans.

Plan at least two hours to walk and explore the Neapolis Archaeological Park in Syracuse.

Historical Center of Syracusa

Visiting the Historical Center (old town) is a must thing to do in Siracusa. It is located on a small island called Ortigia, connected by two bridges, and is full of Baroque architecture, narrow streets and sea views. In addition to the sights, several stone piers are of interest, from which you can directly enter the sea. During our visit in October, there were people sunbathing and bathing in the sea. I was also impressed that in places in the sea not far from the shore there were rows of huge stone blocks with regular shapes. It is not excluded that these are the remains of very old buildings – Syracusa was almost destroyed by the earthquake in 1693 and was then rebuilt.

While traveling from the Archaeological Park to Ortigia, we came across an interesting little roundabout with a monument to the number Pi. Very fitting, after all, Archimedes made the first calculation of the number Pi. He developed a geometric method and proved that Pi (π) is between 223/71 and 22/7 — approximately 3.1418. Later on the map, I saw that the roundabout encloses a square called Largo Nicola Calipari (if you are also curious to see it, search for it on Google by that name).

Parking was also not an easy game in the old town of Syracusa. Initially, we found an outdoor parking lot on the map, which was not at all small, but it was full. Near it we saw a covered one, much larger. We managed to get there. Below I give you links to the locations of the parking lots that we used in Syracusa.

I present the sights in Ortigia to you in the order in which we visited them. This order forms a possible walking route that goes around them. When walking, I advise you to look left and right – you will see interesting streets, restaurants and more hidden ancient ruins.

Temple of Apollo (Tempio di Apollo)

This is the oldest Doric temple in the world. Its history began in the 6th century BC and was very colorful – first it was an early Christian church, then a mosque, then again a church in the Norman period and barracks during the time of Charles V. The ruins of the temple are located more or less at the beginning of the old town towards the two bridges. They are fenced off, but they are clearly visible and can be walked around.

Syracusa, Ortigia Island: Temple of Apollo

Archimede Square and Fountain of Diana ((Piazza Archimede e Fontana di Diana))

If you walk from the Temple of Apollo along the main street Corso Giacomo Matteotti, after just 300 meters you will reach Piazza Archimede and the Fountain of Diana, an elegant and eye-catching sight.

Syracusa, Ortigia Island: Fountain of Diana in Archimedes Square

Cathedral Square (Piazza del Duomo)

The square in front of the Cathedral of Syracusa, very beautiful and relatively large, surrounded by magnificent Baroque buildings. The Cathedral of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary (Cattedrale Metropolitana della Natività di Maria Santissima) itself is huge. It was built on the ruins of a temple from 480 BC, dedicated to Athena.

We couldn’t see its exquisite Baroque facade, which it is famous for, because it was under repair and covered with canvas during our visit to Syracusa. Its northern side, fortunately, wasn’t covered and there we examined the columns of the Doric temple, its predecessor. This northern side steps onto another large square – Piazza Minerva.

St. Lucia Church and part of Cathedral Square

Church of St. Lucia (Chiesa di Santa Lucia alla Badia)

One of the buildings on the cathedral square in Ortigia is the Church of St. Lucia, also very beautiful and with a Baroque facade. I had read that in a room of the church you can see a painting by Caravaggio – “The Burial of St. Lucia”, painted in 1608. We entered the room and saw the painting, but while we were enjoying it, a lady entered with a private tour guide, who was apparently explaining something to her about the painting, and at one point touched it with his hands. This was the moment that led me to the idea that the painting was not original.

I became interested and started looking for information to establish that some time ago the canvas was indeed exhibited in this church, but for security reasons it was moved somewhere else. Where is the painting located and more information can be read here.

Arethusa Spring (Fonte Aretusa)

The spring springs from a freshwater spring and forms a small semicircular lake with fish. It is home to wild papyrus, which is extremely rare in Europe. When we visited, a swan, a heron and ducks were roaming around.

Arethusa Spring – Syracusa, Ortigia Island

According to Greek mythology, the nymph Arethusa, fleeing from her lover, the river god Alpheus, son of Oceanus and Thetis, reached Ortygia, where the goddess Artemis turned her into a spring. Alpheus, in turn, became a river and crossed the sea to merge with it forever.

Maniace Castle (Castello Maniace)

Built by Emperor Frederick II, it is one of the most impressive medieval castles in Sicily. It is huge and is located on the seashore, which makes the view like a postcard.

Maniace Castle – Syracusa, Ortigia Island

In front of the castle stands an impressive statue of Icarus, a hero from ancient Greek mythology, in front of which there is a queue for a photo 🙂 .

How to get to Syracusa

The city of Syracusa is located 66 km south of Catania and 260 km southeast of Palermo. If you are traveling from Catania, you can get to Syracusa by car (about an hour), by bus (also about an hour) or by train (about an hour and 10 minutes). You can also join an organized tour.

✨ Day trip from Catania to Syracusa and Noto with lunch

Where we parked in Syracusa

As I shared above, it was not trivial to find a free parking space in Syracusa, neither near the Archaeological Park of Neapolis, nor in the old town of Ortigia Island.

Around the Archaeological Park, you park in a blue zone on the streets around the park or in separate small areas, like this one. We parked there.

On the island, we initially looked for a place in this parking lot, but we couldn’t find one and parked in this one – Parcheggio Talete.

Final thoughts

In this article, I introduced you to the city of Siracusa on the island of Sicily and to the top things to do there. The most charming part is the island of Ortigia – its ancient heart, where temples, mythical springs and baroque squares alternate with turquoise views of the sea. In addition, the Archaeological Park of Neapolis takes you back centuries to the ancient history of the city. Definitely, Siracusa is a must-visit place in Sicily!

You can combine you visit to Siracuse with visiting Noto.