SIRACUSA - Sicily

SIRACUSA - In 405, the tyrant Dionysius I ordered a radical urban reorganisation of Syracuse, with the design of the new district of Neapolis as a monumental part of the city. The archaeological park, established between 1952 and 1955, thus comprises most of the Graeco-Roman antiquities conserved by Syracuse.

The south section of the park is occupied by the Roman amphitheatre, dating probably from the 1st century AD and smaller only than the Coliseum and the Arena of Verona, and the huge sacrificial altar of lerone II. Pass Viale Paradiso to come to the magnificent Greek theatre and the Latomia del Paradiso, the huge quarry used to extract limestone to construct the city.

Inside its perimeter is the famous cave known as the Orecchio di Dionisio (Dionysius' Ear), thus called by Caravaggio after he visited it in 1608. To the east of the archaeological site, what is now Santa Lucia corresponds in part to the ancient district of Tyche, created as a residential zone to cope with the rapid population increase seen in Syracuse in the 5th century BC. In its centre is the square and the church of Santa Lucia fuori le mura, standing on the spot where the patron saint was martyred in 303.

Of Byzantine origin, it was reconstructed by the Normans and then rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake. Nearby are the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Lacrime, a monumental conical construction completed in 1994, and the equally modern building that has been the new home of the "Paolo Orsi" Regional Archaeology Museum since 1988; one of the richest in Italy, it conserves the Venere Anadiomene, a Roman copy of a Greek original, called Landolina by the archaeologist who discovered it in 1804. Also in the vicinity of the museum are the remains of the church of San Giovanni Evangelista with its catacombs, second in size only to those of Rome. To the south, linked to the mainland by the Ponte Nuovo, the island of Ortigia is home to the old centre.

Just 1 km2 in size, Ortigia is a mine of unexpected details and views, in an architectural scenario dominated by baroque style. It features a fine Duomo, on the site of a temple dedicated to Diana, Palazzo Arcivescovile, the churches of Santa Lucia alia Badia and Santa Maria della Concezione, Palazzo Mergulese-Montalto and noble mansions along Via della Maestranza.

The 13th-century Palazzo Bellomo contains the regional gallery, with paintings and sculptures dating from the Middle Ages to modern times; the gems in the collection are a Virgin Annunciated by Antonello da Messina and the Burial ofSt Lucy by Caravaggio.

The magical Aretusa fountain commemorates the unbroken bond with its Greek origins. Extending out into the sea are the fortifications of the grandiose Maniace castle, constructed for Frederick II of Swabia and named after a Byzantine captain who defeated the Arabs. Despite repeated remakes, the interior stil reveals refined Gothic structures.