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Sicily / Syracuse
Syracuse
 In the first century before our era, Cicero qualified Syracuse as the most beautiful Greek cities. Today, it is the fourth largest city in Sicily, where live about 124.000 inhabitants (2009).
Its historical heart is surrounded by the sea on the island Ortigia. With the close necropoles, Syracuse is registered to the world heritage of UNESCO.
Many monuments kept the traces of its long story, like the Greek and Roman ancient vestiges, with for example the fountain Aretusa, the temples, the Hellenic theatre and amphitheatre, like its catacombs and its churches paleo christians of Santa Lucia and San Giovanni from the IIth and and the IIIth centuries, like the island Ortigia which knew the baroque Renaissance visible in many palates, churches and its attractive cathedral which was a Greek temple
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Ortigia
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Cathedral
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Seaport
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Ancient Syracuse
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History
Colonized
at the VIIIth century b-JC by Greeks of
Corinth which are
established on the island of Ortigia,
Syracuse falls quickly under the power of tyrants.
It was opposed a long time to Athens and
Carthage. With its
apogee under the tyrant Denys the Old
(V - VI b-JC), it counted approximately 300 000 inhabitants and
dominated Sicily.
Its cultural influence was major, having accomodated Plato, Archimedes,
Ciceron, Eschyle, it generated the comic Greek theater.
The city passed later in 212 b-JC under the domination of Rome where it was largely plundered
of its treasures, starting a long period of decline. It passed then
under the power of the barbarians, the Byzantines, Arabic and the
Norman ones.
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