Syracuse
Discover Syracuse
A concise introduction to Syracuse, its geography, history and culture.
Introduction
Syracuse sits on the south-eastern corner of Sicily and is two places at once: Ortigia, a small island of dense lanes and baroque squares joined to the mainland by bridges, and a larger modern city behind it that most visitors only pass through.
Ortigia holds the cathedral built into the Temple of Athena, the Fonte Aretusa with its papyrus, the fish market, the seafront promenade and the castle at the point. On the mainland, the Neapolis archaeological park holds the Greek theatre, the Roman amphitheatre and the quarries, including the cave called the Ear of Dionysius.
The city and the necropolis of Pantalica inland were jointly inscribed by UNESCO in 2005. The population is around 120,000, but the part a visitor uses is walkable end to end.