Things to See in Syracuse | 2 Monuments & Landmarks

All the monuments in Syracuse

The landmarks and masterpieces worth planning a day around.

The ear-shaped mouth of the Orecchio di Dionisio quarry cave, Syracuse

Orecchio di DionisioEar of DionysiusS-shaped limestone cave, uncanny acoustics, Caravaggio's naming, Latomia del ParadisoThe Ear of Dionysius is a cave in Syracuse's Neapolis park, 23 meters high and about 65 meters deep, cut in an S shape into the limestone of an old quarry. The painter Caravaggio gave it its name in 1608, when he visited Syracuse with the local scholar Vincenzo Mirabella; the legend he repeated is that Dionysius, the tyrant of Syracuse, used it as a prison and listened to his captives through its echo. The shape is real, and the acoustics are still uncanny: a whisper or a clap near the mouth comes back amplified and stretched. The cave lies inside the Latomia del Paradiso, a lush quarry garden full of citrus trees and cave openings.Plan the visit

Teatro Greco di SiracusaGreek Theatre of SyracuseAeschylus premieres, rock-cut cavea for 15,000, INDA classical drama festival, Latomie quarries nearbySyracuse cut its theatre straight into the limestone of the Temenite hill in the fifth century BC, then enlarged it under Hiero II two centuries later to seat some fifteen thousand people. Aeschylus gave the world premiere of his Women of Etna here in 470 BC, honoring the new city of Etna, and came back to restage The Persians, first performed in Athens two years earlier. The rock-cut cavea still does what its builders intended: sit high in the upper rows and a voice from the stage carries without help. Every May and June the INDA Foundation revives that acoustic trick with a season of Greek tragedy performed on the same stone terraces, actors working the same sightlines Syracusans chose twenty-five centuries ago. The nearby Latomie quarries, cut for building stone, later held thousands of Athenian prisoners after the failed siege of 413 BC.

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Tours worth booking in Syracuse

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Siracusa Walking Tour with Audio and Written Guide by a Local
- Viator
- 5h
- 4.6★ · 89 reviews
from €7Book this tour
Ortigia & Greek Theatre Private tour from Syracuse cruise port
- Viator
- 4h
from €317Book this tour

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