Syracuse (Sarausa in Sicilian) is an Italian town of 119 799
inhabitants, capital of the free municipal consortium of the same
name, in Sicily.
Located on the south-eastern coast of the
island, Syracuse has a thousand-year history: counted among the
largest metropolises of the classical age, it excelled in power and
wealth with Athens, which tried in vain to subdue it. It was the
homeland of the mathematician Archimedes, who took charge of its
defense during the siege of the Romans in 212 BC. Syracuse was for
centuries the capital city of Sicily, until the conquest by the
Arabs, which took place in 878.
Transformed into a fortress
in Spanish times, its historic center, Ortigia, took on its
present-day Baroque appearance with the reconstruction undertaken
following the violent earthquake of 1693. During the Second World
War, in the year 1943, it was signed in the south-west of Syracuse,
in the district of Santa Teresa Longarini, the armistice which
sanctioned the cessation of hostilities between the Kingdom of Italy
and the allied forces of the Anglo-Americans; passed down in history
as the armistice of Cassibile.
Characterized by enormous
historical, architectural and landscape riches, the city of Syracuse
was declared by UNESCO in 2005, together with the Rupestrian
Necropolis of Pantalica, a World Heritage Site.
Syracuse is among the main cities of art in Italy. Filled with
valuable monuments and places of interest, it owes its countless
architectural and cultural testimonies to an equally rich and ancient
history.
UNESCO includes Syracuse among the world heritage sites
using four criteria, including the exceptional universal importance of
the events that occurred here (VI criterion) and the extraordinary
cultural diversity concentrated in a single space (II criterion).
The city as a whole embraces a multi-millennial
architectural-cultural heritage, preserving in its museums
archaeological finds of an even greater antiquity than its Greek
foundation.
The architecture of Syracuse almost always shows white facades,
tending towards beige or yellow-gold, since they were built with the
Iblei stone, which in dialect takes the name of giuggiulena stone: the
nougat stone; given its moldability and its similar shades to those of
the aforementioned food. For this reason Syracuse is often called,
architecturally, the "white city".
Most of the numerous ancient
noble palaces are located on the island of Ortigia, since in medieval
and Renaissance times the city was exclusively enclosed within itself,
while the more recently built Syracuse hosts the administrative and
governmental buildings (for example the hospital complex and the court
of justice). Among the first civil buildings of the post-classical age
are the fourteenth-century seat of the Queen's Chamber and the
fourteenth-century Mergulese-Montalto palace, in Chiaramonte Gothic
style. Other medieval architecture remains in the city, especially from
the Aragonese-Catalan period: examples are the Bellomo palace and the
surviving elements of the Zapata-Gargallo palace, which belonged to the
prestigious families of the same name (one of their descendants was the
founder of the original village of Priolo Gargallo, Thomas). However, it
was after the seventeenth-century earthquake, and therefore with the
consequent reconstruction, that the predominant style of Syracuse made
its appearance: the Sicilian Baroque. The city was the birthplace of one
of the main exponents of this style: the architect Rosario Gagliardi.
The Vermexio Palace, seat of the municipal government, remains one
of the greatest examples of Baroque art applied to an administrative
building. The definitive evolution of the baroque was the rococo;
Syracuse clearly shows the elaborate signs: palaces such as the
Beneventano del Bosco (in whose ancient rooms resided, at different
times, the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta Philippe de Villiers de
L'Isle-Adam, Admiral Horatio Nelson and the Bourbon sovereigns who
arrived in the city, including the Count of Syracuse, Leopoldo of the
Two Sicilies), the Impellizzeri, the Borgia del Casale (property of the
Syracuse branch of the influential Borgia family) were built adopting
the aforementioned ornamental style.
The building that houses the
Syracusan curia is the Archbishop's Palace; inside it, various centuries
of architectural changes are visible: from the Swabian construction to
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The buildings entitled: of the
Superintendence of Cultural Heritage, of the Orologio (so called because
of the large mechanical clock that dominates its top), of the Ancient
market, of the Chamber of Commerce.
The palace of the municipal
theater of Syracuse is also nineteenth-century, built so that "the land
of Epicharmus had a suitable theatre" to host the artistic life of the
population.[98] A decade later the railway station building was
inaugurated and following this there was the inauguration of the
building for the maritime station (today the seat of the Port
Authority).
In the first half of the twentieth century, the
palace of the Des Etrangers hotel, the Grand Hotel (both among the
oldest hotels in Syracuse) and the Palazzo delle Poste (now also
converted into an accommodation facility) were built.
The main
and historic villas of the city are essentially three: Politi, Landolina
and Reimann. Villa Politi rises above the Syracusan Latomie (born as the
Grand Hotel Villa Politi) and was built in the 19th century by the
Austrian noble Maria Theresa Laudien, wife of the Syracusan Raffaello
Politi, who with her work gave it the reputation of "international
living room » (among the many personalities it also hosted the princes
of Piedmont and Winston Churchill).
Villa Landolina, located in
the Neapolis district, is also a 19th century residence. It bears the
name of the Landolina family, whose most illustrious member was the
archaeologist and naturalist Saverio Landolina (it was he who brought to
light the well-known Syracuse Venus and who defended the existence of
the spontaneous colony of the Aretusei papyri, also entering into the
debate on who discovered this rare plant). Next to it, within its
grounds, the Paolo Orsi regional archaeological museum was built. A
large tree-lined park and tombs of the fallen of other nations complete
its complex area.
Villa Reimann, on the other hand, known first
and foremost for its particular and extensive garden (covering 35,000 m²
of urban land), which is called the "Garden of the Hesperides", stands a
few steps from the necropolis of Archimedes' tomb and takes its name
from the noble Danish nurse Christiane Reimann, who moved to Syracuse
and purchased the property in 1933. At the behest of the same noble
woman, the villa has now become the property of the municipality. Also
worthy of attention is Villa Bonanno (also known as a castle due to its
imposing appearance), now in a state of abandonment, which is located in
Tremilia, on the outskirts of Syracuse: initially the owner of the villa
was the Scotsman Gould Francis Leckie, who in 1800 he obtained the
concession of the ancient ecclesiastical land, but having subsequently
had to abandon Sicily (Leckie came into conflict with the Bourbon
sovereigns during the British occupation of Syracuse), the building
passed to the Syracusan barons Bonanno.
At the beginning, the Eurialo castle was built (located in today's
hamlet of Belvedere), wanted by the tyrant Dionysius the Great as a
defensive pivot and junction point of his vast walls, raised against the
assaults of the Carthaginians and other peoples with warlike intentions
(Syracuse in that period had just repelled the offensive of Athens,
therefore felt the need to increase its defenses to face other wars).
Archimedes also took part in the construction of the castle, enriching
it with dangers for the enemies of the pentapolis. The Eurialo is the
military work which, when thousands of years later was seen by Kaiser
Wilhelm II of Germany, was taken as an example for the war of tunnels
and trenches fought by the Germans.
In the first half of the
thirteenth century, the Maniace Castle was built, in Gothic style,
designed by Frederick II of Swabia on a previous fort, in turn built by
the Byzantine general Giorgio Maniace; Federico named his building after
him. This castle, considered one of the most representative of
Frederick's architecture, played an important role in the military life
of the medieval city: used as a prison and used to counter pirate
incursions, but when the sovereigns of the Kingdom arrived it was also
capable of becoming an elegant court seat.
As the centuries
progressed, Syracuse became increasingly fortified. In the sixteenth
century, under the rule of the Spanish, most of the Greco-Roman
monuments were destroyed (some already compromised by multiple
earthquakes) to reuse the stone, thus building powerful bastions and
walls, which definitively changed the appearance of the city.
The
fortifications and the military regime reached such a level that
seventeenth and eighteenth century Syracuse has been defined by modern
historians as "a barracks inhabited by civilians", but also the
"stronghold of Europe", designed to be impregnable. In this regard, a
well-known British traveler of the 19th century, Henry Clark Barlow,
gave a clear description, who noted how many and which war structures it
was necessary to cross before entering the city; that he closed his
doors at sunset, leaving out those who couldn't get through them in
time:
«The fortifications on the land side are very powerful, you
pass over drawbridges through walkways flanked by formidable batteries
and controlled by guns, directed towards the entrance door; and when you
think that the fortifications are finished you discover that you need to
cross other ditches, other walkways, other batteries; and when you hope
to have reached the gates, there is still half a mile of trenches in
prospect and bridges and ditches and batteries; and when you are through
the gates, the city is still far away, with a bridge and walls to
cross."
(Henry Clark Barlow, 1843.)
It was necessary to wait
until the end of the 19th century for the complete dismantling of the
mighty military architecture: of these, the Vigilena fort (formerly
called the Gradiglia fort) and the San Giovannello fort (formerly the
Ferraria fort) remained standing, clearly visible. The palace that
housed the prison in the time of the Bourbons must also be seen from a
military perspective: its construction was prompted by the
ever-increasing rebellions of the Syracusans against the Neapolitan
monarchy. The Bourbons therefore, as there was no more space in the
prison that stood behind Piazza del Duomo, had this new structure built
in 1853. The palace is currently awaiting restoration.
In 1735
the barracks of the military engineers were built, later named after the
Syracusan patriot Gaetano Abela. The Abela barracks is located within
the area of the Maniace castle: until 2001 it was the headquarters of
the Infantry regiment and the Engineer Corps, before becoming the
university residence for the architecture faculty.
As the city
expanded, the surface area of military architecture also expanded: in
the decade preceding the Second World War, the seaplane base was built
in Syracuse (today the headquarters of the 34th Radar Group of the Air
Force), followed by the construction of the Lamba battery Doria, which
occupies 48,000 m² in the southern part of the Maddalena Peninsula.
Numerous bunkers were built, scattered almost everywhere, and the
underground building for the fuel depot of the Regia Aeronautica of
Syracuse was built.
The presence of the Capo Santa Panagia
battery is also linked to the Second World War, incorporated into the
vast area of the base of the Syracuse Navy and protected by it as an
archaeological war asset. Furthermore, the hypogeum of Piazza Duomo has
become of historical-war interest, since this long tunnel (which emerges
from the site of the cathedral to the Foro Italiaco, near the Marina)
was one of the main refuges of the population during the bombings of the
last conflict.
Another predominant military architectural element
of Syracuse are the towers: the municipal area which includes many
(legacy of a wartime past focused on sighting and defense of the
territory); there are 10 main ones: Ognina tower, Cuba tower, Milocca
tower, Tonda tower, Landolina tower, Teatro Greco tower, Pizzuta tower,
Targia tower, Bosco Minniti tower, Modica tower. Among the towers, the
symbolic construction of the hamlet of Belvedere deserves special
mention: called u Semafuru (the Traffic Light), it is a 19th century
military construction composed of a crenellated turret on top of which
stood a light antenna until 1955 which via Morse alphabet communicated
with the ships below: in transit and approaching the port of Augusta and
the port of Syracuse.
The municipality of Syracuse hosts the monument to the Italian Fallen
in Africa in the Piazza dei Cappuccini (next to the convent of the same
name and the Latomia of the same name), dating back to the fascist
period but assembled only decades after the collapse of the regime. The
monument aims to commemorate the soldiers who died on the African
continent during the colonial war. Inside there is a chapel dedicated to
the legionnaire, while outside a plaque was recently placed which also
commemorates the victims of the sinking of the transatlantic Conte
Rosso, which occurred not far from the place where the monument is
located.
The city has three historic lighthouses, points of
reference for maritime navigation: the lighthouse of the Maniace castle,
which is green in color (just as its light is green) dominates the
promontory of Frederick's construction; the Massolivieri lighthouse, red
in color and built on top of an ancient rural house, acts as a guide to
signal the presence of the promontory of the Maddanela Peninsula; the
lighthouse of Capo Murro di Porco, which extends its white light on the
cape that gives it its name and is the most famous Syracuse lighthouse,
as well as representing one of the most important light signals in
eastern Sicily: it also appears in the shots of a television film
entitled The Island of Secrets - Korè. The state property has included
the lighthouse in question among the first nine structures of its kind
in Italy rented out to be transformed into characteristic hotels, while
continuing to carry out their function as maritime beacons.
Developing partly on an island and being crossed by rivers and canals on
one side, Syracuse has built various bridges throughout its long
history; the municipality connects Ortigia to the rest of the city via
two bridges, the most monumental of which is called Ponte Umbertino:
after the sovereign Umberto I, who reigned when it was built. While its
southern entrance is characterized by a bridge that allows you to
overcome the beds of the Ciane and Anapo; this last river was previously
surmounted by another bridge made of stone, on which the battle against
the English was fought on 10 July 1943. Furthermore, a further important
bridge connects the coastal road which from the Fontane Bianche area
reaches that of Cassibile , thus passing the mouth of one of the major
Iblean rivers.
The point where the Aretusa spring flows, with the
architectural structure that surrounds it, is one of the most visited
places in Syracuse: over the centuries it has changed its appearance
many times, being surrounded by large fortifications, welcoming the
papyrus into its waters and becoming even the wash house of the
Syracusans in post-classical times. In addition to this, several
sculptural works are concentrated on the island: above all, the
twentieth-century fountain of Diana stands out, which shows the main
elements of the legend of the ocean god Alpheus, of the nymph Arethusa
and of her protector, Artemis (the Diana of the Romans) . Also included
in the architectural heritage of Syracuse is the ancient tuna fishery of
Santa Panagia, with medieval origins (its foundation dates back to
1100), which with ups and downs remained active until the 1950s.
Along the entire route of the Syracuse region you can observe
significant archaeological evidence. In addition to the aforementioned
areas of sacred temples, the city has one of the largest archaeological
environments in the Mediterranean, enclosed in a park that bears the
name of the neighborhood in which it stands: the archaeological park of
Neapolis. It covers 240,000 m² of urban surface and houses within it
some of the most impressive testimonies of Greco-Roman Syracuse:
The
Greek theatre, which was used for the entertainment of the population,
but also for political assemblies (here the last of the mills of Galerme
stands alone).
The Nymphaeum cave, where the Anapo water flows and
where the actors once prepared before going down into the theatre.
The Roman amphitheater; in the Arethuseo one even water shows were
staged, as well as fights between gladiators.
The Ear of Dionysius,
so called for the first time by Caravaggio during his stay in Syracuse.
It is thought to have been a Greek prison.
Also within the
archaeological park there are a series of interesting tomb complexes:
the Via dei Sepolcri (where the cult of Heroes was paid to the
deceased), the Roman sarcophagi located near the amphitheater and the
Grotticelli necropolis, the most important part of which is given by the
tomb of Archimedes, called presumed because the period and place of the
excavation do not actually coincide with what is said about the killing
and burial of the famous mathematician: in fact, according to Cicero, he
was buried south of Syracuse: perhaps near the Ciane river, but the loss
of the original tomb (marked by the figure of a sphere and a cylinder)
and the tradition formed over the centuries have consecrated this site
as the symbolic tomb of the best-known of the ancient Syracusans.
The necropolises are the most present structural element in the
archaeological sites of Arezzo: the geographical area is famous for the
Sicilian peculiarity of excavating one's own tombs giving them the
features of a beehive: Pantalica is the greatest example of this, but
also in Syracuse this age-old custom is found in the limestone walls. It
has twelve groups of necropolises dating from the 8th century. B.C. in
the Byzantine era; to mention some of the largest and oldest (in
addition to the aforementioned Groticelli): to the south-west of the
city is the necropolis of Fusco, in the center that of the Civil
Hospital and of Santa Panagia, while to the north there is the large
perimeter of the necropolis of Targia.
Other significant sites
include the Syracusan Forum (ancient agora of the pentapolis which later
became a forum) and the monuments that make up the Roman Gymnasium.
Among the remains of the most ancient civilizations we note: to the
north the archaeological sites of Stentinello and the peninsula of
Tapsos, while to the south Ognina, which in addition to showing signs of
archaic contacts with the inhabitants of Malta, preserves the
architectural remains of subsequent historical eras.
The first religious architectural evidence can be dated to the
prehistoric era, while the cult of the ancient Greeks meant that
imposing votive areas arose in the city, such as the altar of Hieron
(the largest of its time), and numerous temples, of of which the most
significant and well preserved is the temple of Athena (converted into a
church with the advent of Christianity).
The oldest temple in
Syracuse is represented by the house built for the sun god Apollo:
dating back to the 6th century BC, it is also the oldest Sicilian temple
in Doric style consecrated to this divinity and is located on the island
of Ortigia, which, according to the ancient Syracusans, it had been
donated by the gods to Apollo's twin, Artemis: the Artemision was built
for the lunar goddess (next to the building of the goddess of wisdom
Athena); building that Cicero described as the most prestigious of the
ancient Syracusan temples.
Also in the 6th century BC. arose in
the countryside facing the sea, between the island of Ortigia and the
Maddalena peninsula, the temple for Olympian Zeus, called by the
Syracusans "i ru colonna" (the two columns), these being the only
architectural element remaining clearly visible ; it is one of the
tangible testimonies that recall the link between ancient Syracuse and
the site of the sacred Olympic competitions.
In the road that
once led to the sub-colony of Eloro - and for this reason called via
Elorina - stands the monumental complex known as the Roman gymnasium of
Syracuse, inside which the remains of a temple of uncertain dedication
(perhaps Egyptian deities) that Cicero described in his chronicles.
The polis was also famous for being the main seat of diffusion of
the Sicilian cult for the chthonic deities Demeter and Kore, to whom a
vast votive area found near Piazza della Vittoria was dedicated. Other
votive areas scattered throughout the city were also dedicated to Mother
Earth and her daughter. Numerous other remains of temples consecrated to
the Olympians and minor deities, with relevance to the geographical
location, are found distributed throughout the urban and extra-urban
area.
The places of worship of the Christian religion constitute the
majority of Syracuse's artistic-religious heritage. There are many
structures with historical references, some even represented by natural
ravines, such as the caves used for the liturgical rite. The former
Greek temple which became the cathedral of the Nativity of the Holy
Mary, better known simply as the Cathedral of Syracuse (which gives its
name to the main square of the same name), must be counted among the
most archaic and notable architectural structures that arose with early
Christianity and slowly shaped over time.
Tradition states that
the second oldest Catholic building in Syracuse after the Cathedral is
the church of San Giovannello (consecrated to Saint John the Baptist),
built in the Giudecca district. The church of San Giovanni alle
catacombs is also a thousand years old, and during Islamic domination it
seems to have replaced the cathedral, taking on its role. The building
has no ceiling, which was destroyed due to the natural disasters that
affected it, and represents the entrance door to one of the largest
catacombs in Syracuse (in their entirety they are, together with those
of Rome, the largest in world), that of San Giovanni. Also under the
church in question is the crypt which is presumed to house the relics of
the protobishop Marciano.
Dating back to the Norman era are the
church of San Nicolò ai Cordari (which in turn overlooks an early
Christian building), the church of San Martino and the church of Santa
Lucia al Sepolcro, whose adjacent rotunda, as suggested by the name of
the church, it was built in the seventeenth century with the intention
of making it the tomb of the city's patron saint (whose mortal remains,
however, remained in Venice, after they were taken from Syracuse by the
Byzantines). The church of Santa Lucia alla Badia is the other important
structure also dedicated to the patron saint.
Of particular
interest are also the churches that belonged to the Knights of Malta:
their first church was that of San Sebastianello (San Sebastiano is the
co-patron saint of the Syracusans), while they later moved to the church
of Saints Biagio and Leonardo; of the first building, built in the
Byzantine era, the crypt located next to the prehistoric temple can
still be visited, while of the second, which dates back to 1500, only
the external façade can be observed, which overlooks the Piazza dei
Cavalieri di Malta.
Among the buildings of the 20th century, the
Pantheon of Syracuse stands out, inside which are the remains of the
fallen of the First World War, and the sanctuary of the Madonna delle
Lacrime, built to remember the miraculous Marian event of 1953: the
sanctuary, with the shape conical, it is the tallest church in the city,
visible from a considerable distance.
Inside the perimeter of
Villa Landolina (museum) there is also a small non-Catholic cemetery,
where the remains of the well-known German poet August von Platen and
those of some British and American fallen soldiers of the Napoleonic
period are found.
Structures of other religions are also located in the city. The most notable monument is the miqweh, dating back to the Byzantine era, often described as the largest and oldest Jewish ritual bath in Europe.
Syracuse rises on the south-eastern side of Sicily.
Its geography is very varied, inside it meet hills and natural
cavities, while two rivers lap the southwest side of the city. It
mostly borders on the sea, which surrounds it in its almost
totality. The coast is mainly rocky and indented, showing several
promontories, bays, small islands and peninsulas.
The city
develops partly on the island of Ortigia and partly on the mainland
(also bearing in mind that the entire area is located within the
island of Sicily). The particular geographical location has made it
famous for its sunsets (thanks to the zenith points from which they
are observed, they have been described over the millennia as among
the most beautiful in the world).
The conformation of the
southern coast determines the vast natural inlet within which the
Porto Grande develops: about 1200 meters away from the tip of
Ortigia rises Capo Murro di Porco, a promontory of the Maddalena
peninsula: locally referred to as Isola ( in reference to the
toponym of a district of its eastern coast, whose origin is linked
to an ancient and no longer existing condition of insularity). To
the north of the city there is another promontory: Capo Santa
Panagia, where once the third port of Syracuse was located: the
Trogilo.
The city overlooks the central Mediterranean Sea,
surrounded by the Ionian Sea basin. Syracuse gives its name to the
south-eastern Sicilian escarpment, called "Scarparta di Malta e
Siracusa" (also known as the "Ibleo-Maltese Escarpment"), which
extends east of the Aretusean territory, in the depths of the Ionian
Sea, up to island of Malta.
Seismic classification: zone 2
(medium-high seismicity), PCM Ordinance n. 3274 of 20/03/2003
The Syracuse area is geologically part of the Iblei
mountains. Its orography is formed by moderate summits, the largest
of which is given by the Epipolis plateau, which is part of the last
eastern offshoots of Hyblaean. On the slopes of Epipoli, located
between the municipalities of Acradina and Neapolis, rises the
Temenite hill. The urban landscape is also marked by the presence of
a crag - a relief in this case rich in cavities - called Balza di
Akradina, whose jagged walls are formed by white limestone, known as
white stone of Syracuse.
In the Balza di Akradina the latomia
of the Capuchins develops: the largest of the Syracusan quarries
(extensive millenary stone quarries, whose activity is documented
since the Greek era.). Latomie are a main feature of the city, it
has many.
On the north side of Syracuse the Hyblean offshoots
continue, forming rocky landscapes and caves; this is particularly
visible in the Scala Greca district. On this side of the city there
is Cava Santa Panagia, dug over the millennia by a torrent of
rainwater: it represents the only quarry of the Iblei in contact
with the sea. The physical area of Syracuse is in fact affected by
a mature karst.
In the Grotta Perciata district, on the edge
of the municipal territory, there is one of the most important karst
caves in Sicily, for which a protected reserve has been established:
the Grotta Monello integral nature reserve, located between river
valleys and steep slopes, often prohibitive. Inside the Grotta
Monello there are remarkable stalactites and stalagmites, of the
most varied forms.
The main rivers that cross
the area of the city are the Anapo and the Ciane: the riverbed of
the Ciane at the end of its flow merges with that of the Anapo, the
two freshwater courses therefore share a the only mouth in the
Ionian Sea, near the alluvial plain of the Pantanelli, where the
natural reserve of the saline of Syracuse is located (saline no
longer in use for several years).
Still in the marshy area
located to the west of the city, at the Pantanelli - the place where
the Lisimelie marshes stood (precisely the marshes, according to an
ancient tradition, would have represented such a significant feature
for Syracuse that the toponym of the city can be traced back to
them) - , following the reclamation works of the twentieth century,
artificial canals were dug: the Mammaiabica (it runs alongside the
path of the Ciane), the Scandurra, the Pismotta and the Regina.
Then there is another important river (also culturally
millenary) that affects the municipal area: the Cassibile, from
which the populous Syracusan hamlet takes its name. The mouth of
this stream is located in the district of Fontane Bianche.
In the historic center of the city, represented by the island of Ortigia, the brackish water of the Aretusa spring flows, which originated from the Iblean aquifers. On the Temenite hill, inside the Ninfeo cave, there is the outlet of the Galermi aqueduct; known for being the oldest aqueduct in Sicily (built by the tyrant Gelone in 480 BC, it still carries the waters of the Anapo to the city).
The Mediterranean scrub characterizes the
Syracusan flora and fauna: palm trees, prickly pears, olive and
citrus groves dominate the landscape. Thanks to the presence of the
sea, one of the most important concentrations of dwarf palm in the
Mediterranean has developed; almost a square kilometer. In the city,
at the archaeological area, you can also see one of the most
impressive secular specimens of pagoda ficus in Italy.
The
fluvial flora is of particular interest: the most singular plant,
given its rarity in Europe and in the world, is the Egyptian papyrus
(cyperus papyrus), whose colonies here grow spontaneously (they can
be observed at the Ciane).
As for the fauna, Syracuse plays a
primary role in the receptivity of migratory avifauna and its
territory includes the presence of rare species in the rest of the
European continent. The complex conformation of the geographical
area allows the subdivision of the fauna into cave species (or
spelee), fluvial and above all marine: the marine protected area of
Plemmirio, in this regard, represents an important observatory for
the stationing of cetaceans (fin whales, dolphins , sperm whales and
other giants of the sea).
The climate of Syracuse is typical of the coastal Mediterranean areas (Mediterranean climate) and therefore rainy and mild in winter, warm but windy and dry in summer. In particular, the Syracusan climate is known to be dominated by the sirocco wind. In autumn, floods can occur, with peaks of over 100 / 150mm per day.
The origins of the name of Syracuse are extremely uncertain. It is on
the coinage of the ancient city that this toponym is attested for the
first time in the 6th century BC. Among the best-known hypotheses is the
derivation:
from the Sicilian language, through the hydronym of
the swamp Syrako or Syraka, and would mean "abundance of water";
from
the Proto-Indo-European word Sur-aku: "salt water";
from the Semitic
language, Sor-Cosia or Suloq, with various possible meanings: «East» or
«salty» or «scirocco».
Archaeological excavations in the area have established that the area
where Syracuse was built was inhabited, without interruption, starting
from the Neolithic: the role of the so-called "Sentinello civilization",
which takes its name from the coastal site north of Syracuse and whose
finds date back to 6000 BC.
«Multiple city, of five names, of
ancient splendor, of power, of unparalleled beauty, of wise kings and
blind tyrants, of long peaces and ruinous wars, of barbaric assaults and
looting: in Syracuse it is written, as in every city of ancient glory,
the history of human civilization and its decline."
(Vincenzo
Consolo, The olive tree and the wild olive tree, 1994.)
The city
of Syrakousai was founded by the Corinthians in the year 733 BC.
(according to Thucydidean dating). The guide of the new colonists was
the archaeologist Archia, while their landing place was the island of
Ortigia, from which they managed to expel the Sicels; the previous
inhabitants of the area.
The Corinthian neo-colony grew rapidly
and subjugated the territories geographically close to it. During the
span of its centuries-old Greek history, Syracuse had a long line of
tyrants and brief moments of popular power, mostly subjected to the
oligarchy. Among the numerous men who held the government of the polis,
six, more than all the others, stood out in the panorama of the ancient
world for ingenuity, fame and power: Gelon, Hieron I, Dionysius I,
Agathocles and Hieron II, to which should be added the moderate
oligarchic government of the Corinthian general Timoleon, which lasted
about ten years. They dominated a large part of Sicily, pushing the
Syracusan presence within Magna Graecia, and extended the influence of
the polis on the broad scenario of the Mediterranean, colonizing and
creating strategic commercial ports (such as the work of the Dionysius
in the Adriatic) or subjugating the cities they encountered on their way
to take them away from the enemy (an example of this was Agathocles with
his expedition to Africa).
Syracuse was the main rival of the
Phoenician capital, Carthage, which, by occupying the western part of
the island (called the Punic eparchy) with its war and commercial
activities, gave rise to the Greco-Punic wars. These two influential
metropolises, in a succession of peace treaties and outbreaks of new
battles, bloodily animated the entire history of Greek Sicily.
In
addition to the strong internal conflicts with the other Sicilian poleis
and with the Barbarians (for example, note the war against Akragas and
the conflict against the Syntèleia of Ducezio, king of the Sicels),
Syrakousai received the ambitious external offensive from Athens: the
Attic capital mounted a powerful expedition directed towards Sicily, in
the war context of the Peloponnesian War, with the intention of
conquering the renowned coastal city which with its expansive policy was
undermining Athenian interests in the West. During the war, the
Syracusan general Hermocrates stood out - he himself later led the
Syracusan soldiers to Asia Minor, alongside Sparta, in the final phase
of the same war.
The court of Syracuse was a patron's seat,
hosting the most well-known names of the Greek world, including:
Aeschylus, Pindar, Ibico, Xenophon, Plato; the latter did not limit
himself to staying in the pentapolis, but was involved (according to
tradition), as was the Academy of Athens, at the height of the political
history of Syrakousai, making several trips and becoming a confidant of
Dio, who in turn was the main political opponent of the tyrant Dionysius
II. It was the homeland of a large number of personalities who
contributed to the world of arts, philosophy and science. Among the
natives, Archimedes stands out above all: mathematician, inventor,
scientist who took charge of Syracuse when it was besieged by the Romans
in 212 BC.
After a long resistance, the Roman legions managed to
enter the city and the capitulation took place thanks to the consul
Marco Claudio Marcello. During the heat of the conquest, a Roman soldier
killed Archimedes. All the riches of Syracuse, accumulated over
centuries of hegemony and prosperity, were plundered and transported to
Rome. It was an important turning point in Mediterranean culture.
However, despite having lost its autonomy, Syracusae remained the main
center of the island for the entire Roman era. The province of Syracuse
was established and the city was designated the capital of Roman Sicily.
Cicero, arriving there in the 1st century BC, described it as «the most
beautiful and largest Greek city» (In Verrem, II, 4, 117) and the
emperor Augustus, in the same period, sent a colony of Roman citizens to
contribute to its repopulation.
With the advent of Christianity,
imposing catacombs were born in the city. The apostolic message soon
arrived here, since the Syracuse port was at the center of the maritime
routes of the Roman Empire; routes that were traveled by the first
missionaries. Tradition states that the protobishop of Syracuse was
Marcian of Antioch, sent by the apostle Peter.
The Acts of the
Apostles testify that in the year 61, the apostle Paul of Tarsus stayed
in the city for three days. During the empire of Diocletian, on 13
December 304, the martyrdom of Lucia from Syracuse (Santa Lucia)
occurred.
With the barbarian invasions the Western Roman Empire declined,
following this the city became part of the Eastern Roman Empire (later
known as the Byzantine Empire) in the 5th century. Due to a political
plan desired by Constans II, Syracuse became the capital of the Eastern
Empire in place of Constantinople, from 663 to 668; until the
assassination of the emperor, which took place in a location in the city
called "the baths of Daphne" by Theophanes.
Starting from the 7th
century, Syracuse was targeted by the Arabs, whose attacks intensified
in the 9th century: after having repelled a first siege in 827, the city
finally fell, in a bloody manner, during the second siege, which ended
on 21 May of 878.
The Islamic period of Syracuse remains
permeated by the silence of ancient sources, especially the first years
that followed the violent conquest. A damnatio memoriae that has
affected the absence of Arab architectural evidence in the city. Despite
the almost total destruction suffered, Syracuse soon had to be
reintroduced into the social circuits of the island (already in the
Norman period it was referred to as a focal point for trade).
In
1040 the emperor of Byzantium Michael IV sent the general Giorgio
Maniace on a mission to Syracuse, with the aim of reconquering the
Aretusea land. The general's greatest companions in arms were the
Italian and Norman warriors, led by Harald Hardråde of Norway, William
Popeye - nickname given to him for having pierced the emir of Syracuse
with his sword -, Drogone of Altavilla, Arduino of Melfi and Stephen the
Calafato; brother-in-law of the emperor, placed at the head of the
fleet. The city was conquered by them. After numerous victories,
however, serious internal discord arose within Maniace's army, which had
to abandon Sicily. The Normans sided against the Byzantines. The new
balances formed quickly led to a resumption of Muslim control over
Syracuse.
The city was definitively taken from the Arabs in 1085,
following a naval battle - which took place in the Great Port - which
saw the deadly clash between the Emir Benavert (the last Arab emir of
Syracuse and the last one left in power in the whole of Sicily) and the
Norman Robert Guiscard.
The new political structure of the island
given by the Normans did not, however, give Syracuse the possibility of
regaining its ancient role as the capital of Sicily (they, in fact, as
inaugurated by the Arabs, maintained the capital seat in Palermo).
With the coming of the Nordic people the Syracusans formed a County;
the first established on the island, governed by its own count in the
figure of Giordano d'Altavilla; nephew of Roger I of Altavilla, who in
turn became Grand Count of Sicily.
In the 12th century Syracuse
witnessed the dispute between the maritime republics of Genoa and Pisa,
both of which had the objective of establishing themselves in it and
counting it among their fiefdoms. In 1204 Syracuse also came to have a
Genoese count as its feudal lord: he was the pirate Alamanno da Costa,
who was awarded the title of Count of Syracuse «for the Grace of God,
for the king of Sicily and for the Republic of Genoa" (Genoa boasted
rights to the possession of Syracuse, since the Sicilian city would have
been promised to it by the Hohenstaufen dynast, the Swabian Federico
Barbarossa, in exchange for personal favors; a promise that would then
also be renewed by the latter's son, Henry VI of Swabia). However,
Barbarossa's nephew, Frederick II of Swabia, king of Sicily and emperor
of the Holy Roman Empire, decided to bring Syracuse back under the
direct power of the Sicilian government, removed it from feudal disputes
and declared it his "urbs fidelissima" in 1234 ( very faithful city; an
epithet that it will retain in the documents concerning it until modern
times).
During the Sicilian Vespers Syracuse proclaimed itself a
Free Municipality; institution that ceased to exist with the advent of
the Aragonese to the government of the island. In 1302 the city became
the seat of the queens of the Kingdom of Sicily and for a long time it
was governed by them through the Queen's Chamber, which granted the
Syracusans great autonomy, "like a State within the State", without
prejudice to the fact that its final obedience was solely to the holder
of the crown of Sicily.
The first queen of the Syracusans was
Eleanor of Anjou, the last was the infant of Navarre Germana de Foix,
niece of the King of France Louis XII and wife of Ferdinand II of
Aragon.
Also thanks to the deep emotional bond that existed between Germana
de Foix and the first sovereign of the Spanish Empire, Charles V of
Habsburg, Syracuse had a rather intrinsic relationship with the latter
ruler, which led to the substantial testimony of the deeds of the
Habsburg in more varied aspects of Syracusan history. The era of Charles
V was marked by the war against the Ottoman Empire. Syracuse, as a
borderland between the western and eastern Mediterranean, became a
fundamental pivot for defending the Spanish imperial borders. Charles V,
therefore, had it fortified in such a powerful manner that it assumed,
from that moment on, the nickname of fortress.
The transformation
of Ortigia into an island also dates back to the work of the Spanish
soldiers of Charles V, since they cut the isthmus that the Greeks had
built about a thousand years before, thus returning Ortigia to its
original geographical shape.
In 1529 the Order of the Hospitaller
Knights of St. John of Jerusalem moved to Syracuse: the sources are
divided on those who maintain that it was Charles V himself who directed
them to the Syracuse area, to keep the Turkish fleets and Barbary
pirates away, and those who instead support had been the initiative of
Grand Master Philippe de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam. The knights errant,
having no fixed abode after the loss of the island of Rhodes, remained
in Syracuse for an entire year, until they received, in April 1530, the
documents granted by Charles V, as king of Sicily , on the enfeoffment
of the archipelago of Malta to their Order; in exchange the Habsburgs
demanded loyalty to the Sicilian monarch from the sacred militia. The
knights accepted.
Syracuse then became witness to the birth of
the Order of the Knights of Malta (given the proximity between the two
islands, the knights established a very close relationship with the
Syracusans, not without conflict).
The 16th century was a century
of great natural disasters for Syracuse: the most destructive event for
it was the earthquake of 1542, during which the city was close to total
destruction. Famines and epidemics decimated the population (only a few
decades before the earthquake an end of the world was even expected).
Even Charles V, in the years of full religious fervor (the Spanish
Inquisition was in force in Sicily), was convinced that he had to punish
unknown sinners who, having provoked the "wrath of Heaven" (so the
Syracusans claimed), had attracted calamity on the city.
Wars and
calamities continued at a rapid pace throughout the following century.
Syracuse, in fact, was no longer able to keep up with the demographic
growth of the other main centers of Sicily (while in most of the island
the population increased, in Syracuse the opposite happened: its
population increasingly decreased).
In the Spanish era Syracuse
was known above all by the name of Zaragoza de Sicilia (or Çaragoça de
Sicilia): from the beginning of their presence on the island, the
Spaniards had called it the Aragonese capital Zaragoza and, to
distinguish it from this, in official documents always appeared as
Zaragoza of Sicily.
Among the main war events of the period,
particularly relevant for Syracuse were: the attempted invasion by
Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (as a consequence of the battle of
Lepanto), the defeat of the knights of Malta at Plemmirio, the war of
the Sun King, Louis of France (in the context of the seventeenth-century
war in Holland), which mainly affected the Spanish dominions of
Syracuse; during this last conflict the Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter
lost his life and was buried in Syracuse (whose body was later claimed
by the Dutch in Amsterdam).
In 1693 another destructive
earthquake occurred in the Syracuse area, resulting in a tsunami, which
this time affected most of eastern Sicily. Syracuse suffered less damage
than the seismic event of 1542, but emerged equally exhausted. In 1700,
with the premature death of Charles II of Spain, the violent dispute
began to decide the new dynast of the Spanish Empire. The War of the
Spanish Succession fully involved Syracuse, as Sicily became a disputed
land following the Treaty of Utrecht, with which the Duchy of Savoy was
united with the Kingdom of Sicily and Spain lost control of the latter.
The Spain of Philip V, however, having no intention of giving up
possession of the island, disregarded the expectations of the other
European powers and undertook a war to free Sicily from the Piedmontese
and bring it back under Iberian influence. It was in this context that
Syracuse became the Savoyard fortress in which Annibale Maffei, viceroy
of Vittorio Amedeo II of Savoy, took refuge, while the Spanish army had
already conquered almost the entire island. The British army then
intervened in the Aretusea land for the first time, since the intent of
George I of England was to prevent Spain from reconquering the ancient
lost dominions.
The clash of 11 August 1718 between the Spanish
and the English marked an important turning point in the history of
Syracuse, which saw the victory of the latter in the waters of Syracuse:
the outcome of that battle in fact sanctioned the end of relations with
the Iberian land and the principle of an assiduous British presence on
the territory.
After the separation from Piedmont and a brief and
tormented Austrian period, which lasted about fifteen years, Syracuse
became part of the dominions of the Bourbon crown of Naples. In 1798
Napoleon Bonaparte put an end to a long period of peace by claiming the
island of Malta for France and expelling the knights from it, a group of
whom went to ask for help from the Tsar of Russia Paul I Romanov. A
dispute was sparked for the possession of the Maltese archipelago;
dispute which extended to the Syracusans, since Bonaparte was no
stranger to the desire to conquer Sicily. The Aretusea city received in
its port first the British fleet of Horatio Nelson (his famous phrase on
the water of the Arethusa Spring, thanks to which he would have won the
victory over Bonaparte in Egypt) and later that of Cuthbert Collingwood,
Nelson's successor in the role of commander of the Mediterranean Fleet,
which requested full maritime possession of Syracuse for the soldiers of
His British Majesty. The land troops of the United Kingdom, as well as
those at sea, garrisoned the city for the entire duration of the
Napoleonic war, leaving it discovered only after 1813 (the Napoleonic
period formed a strong bond with England, enough to make the political
stability of Syracuse).
It should be noted that in the same
period Syracuse welcomed the fleet of the United States of America,
which remained in its port from 1803 to 1807, during the First Barbary
War. However, the Americans left the city following difficult relations
with the British soldiers (after all, the memories of the American War
of Independence were still vivid and Great Britain was preparing to
militarily occupy Syracuse to prevent the French from conquering it, not
wanting further armed presence in it).
The Kingdom of the Two
Sicilies, born in 1816, went through a profound crisis starting from the
1920s, since Sicily never accepted the union of its crown with the
Neapolitan one, with the consequent deprivation of autonomy. Syracuse
joined the rebellion in the 1940s: for it the watershed, capable of
wiping out confidence in the Bourbon government in one fell swoop, was
given by the health crisis that hit it in 1837, when a cholera epidemic
heavily devastated the city . Revolts occurred and with them
irreconcilable discord arose between the Syracusans and the Bourbon
authority: Ferdinand II resorted to the use of the armed forces to bring
Syracuse back under his control, which did not spare the population from
hateful retaliations. Finally the king took away the title of capital
from the city, giving rise to the province of Noto. The Syracusans,
therefore, adhering to the revolutionary uprisings of 1848 (known as the
Spring of the People), welcomed the English soldiers within their walls,
since Great Britain, joined almost immediately by France, established
itself as a mediating power in the ongoing dispute between the Sicilians
and the Bourbons of Naples, who had to temporarily accept the existence
of a new Kingdom of Sicily.
Syracuse, divided between the
garrison of English soldiers and that of French soldiers, saw the
fleeting moment of independence end very soon and found itself once
again under the banner of Ferdinand; this is also due to the rivalry
between the European countries involved in the conflict. The definitive
turning point occurred with the subsequent uprisings for the birth of
the Kingdom of Italy: Syracuse handed itself over to the Garibaldini on
28 July 1860. The power of the Bourbon sovereigns was canceled and from
1865 the city returned to being the permanent capital of the southern
Sicilian province -eastern (at the time the province of Syracuse also
contained within it the future province of Ragusa).
During the Italian colonial war and during the fascist era Syracuse
assumed its classic strategic role, its geographical position being
predisposed to the route between Italy and Africa. King Vittorio
Emanuele III resided in the city several times (his last stay was in
1942), just as Duce Benito Mussolini came to visit on more than one
occasion.
From 1941 to 1943, with the outbreak of the Second
World War, Syracuse suffered numerous bombings. In the spring of 1941,
off the coast of the city, British soldiers torpedoed the transatlantic
Conte Rosso; an attack that caused a very serious number of victims for
Italy (with over twelve hundred deaths it was the highest toll of human
lives that occurred on board an Italian ship during the first phase of
the conflict).
The city was occupied by the Allies between the
night of 9 July and the day of 10 July 1943, through Operation Ladbroke
(itself part of Operation Husky). At first it was the main headquarters
of the AMGOT, the Allied military government that took control of
Sicily. Near the hamlet of Cassibile, exactly in the Santa Teresa
Longarini district (a few kilometers from the southern entrance to
Syracuse), the armistice between Italy and the Allies was secretly
signed on 3 September 1943 (which will be made known to the world
through the Badoglio Proclamation of 8 September 1943; date to which it
will remain linked). Subsequently, the Syracuse War Cemetery was built
on the central outskirts of the city for the English fallen (adjacent to
the Syracuse monumental cemetery). After the war, the city experienced a
period of reconstruction and new hopes.
1953 was an important
year for Syracuse, since the tearing of a Marian effigy (depicting the
Immaculate Heart of Mary) occurred within it, an event that the church
later declared miraculous.
In 1954, Winston Churchill arrived in
the city, officially on holiday (he had already been there for the first
time in 1917, passing through, when he headed from Vienna to Malta). In
his stories, the English Prime Minister will remember his stay in
Syracuse as "the most delightful holiday of his life as a traveller".
Between the end of the 1950s and the end of the 1970s, the Syracuse
petrochemical center was born and developed on the northern peripheral
side of the city; counted among the largest petrochemical centers in
Europe. This was not without social repercussions: as regards the
territories of Syracuse, the industry affected the bay of Santa Panagia,
the Targia district and the village of Priolo Gargallo, which, becoming
an industrial centre, requested and obtained independence from Syracuse
in 1979. Petrochemical-related industries reached the northern entrance
to the city. In addition to limited economic wealth, the hub led to the
disfigurement and pollution of the surrounding environment.
In
1990 a violent earthquake, called Santa Lucia, because it happened on
December 13th, caused extensive damage to the city and a lot of
controversy due to the institutional silence that followed.
On 5
and 6 November 1994, Pope John Paul II came to the city to inaugurate
the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Lacrime and for the occasion held a
speech to the citizens, urging them to react in the face of
socio-economic marginalization which risked excluding them from the life
of the nation.
In 2005 Syracuse was included in the list of world
heritage sites by UNESCO, together with the nearby rock necropolis of
Pantalica. Another significant event for the city occurred in 2009, when
the G8 forum for the environment was organized at Castello Maniace, from
which the Syracuse charter on biodiversity emerged.