![]() Today, the Latomia consists of gardens and a lemon orchard. The earthen “roof” collapsed in the 1693 earthquake, opening it to the outside world. The limestone from this quarry was used to build the ancient city. Their sad lives were far from a paradise. This large quarry was initially underground, and was worked intensively by slaves and prisoners of war. (More on this below.) A major section of this park is called the Latomia del Paradiso (Paradise Quarry), which is certainly a misnomer. The park contains both Greek and Roman ruins, and this allows you to compare the architectural philosophies of the two empires. This great site abuts the modern city of Syracuse. ![]() So with my apologies in advance, here is my take on the highlights of our stay in Siracusa. There’s so much to see and do on these trips, but you can’t include everything (or you’ll risk boring people to tears). One of the great challenges that I face in writing these travel posts is deciding what to leave on the cutting-room floor. Feel free to zoom or slide the map around, as desired, to get a feel for the area: I’m very fond of interactive maps, so below is a Google map of the immediate Syracuse area. ![]() ![]() Siracusa (Syracuse) is in the southeast corner of the island, near where the Ionian Sea meets the Mediterranean: Our all-too-brief visit was split into two parts: one dedicated to the Neapolis Archaeological Park near the center of the modern city, and the other to the nearby island of Ortigia, the original site of the Città Vecchia (“Old City”) from the Greek era.įor purposes of orientation, I’ve included a simple map of our Sicilian tour below. You never know what interesting sights you’ll come across. It’s of course also fun to poke around and get lost once or twice each day. In light of the above, it’s not hard to guess that the main attractions in Siracusa are the impressive archaeological sites. Siracusa was, however, undisputedly the most important city in Magna Graecia, both economically and politically. There was no official capital of such a loosely defined part of southern Italy. In the title of this post, I refer to Siracusa as the “capital” of Magna Graecia. 1 It is the birthplace of the celebrated Greek mathematician Archimedes, as well as the city’s patron saint Santa Lucia. In fact, during Roman times, parts of southern Italy, including Sicily, were collectively known as Magna Graecia (Greater Greece), due to the high concentration of Greek inhabitants there.ĭuring the heyday of the Greek empire, Siracusa rivaled Athens in both size and prestige. Did I say Greek city? Aren’t we in Sicily? Yes, but the first settlements in this part of Italy were Greek. The first references to this ancient Greek city go back to 734 BC, making it nearly 2800 years old. Siracusa has a long and venerable history. The previous three dispatches covered Palermo, Savoca, and Mt. ![]() This is the fourth in a short series of posts that highlight our memorable trip to Sicily. The Roman poet Ovid notably referred to the south of Italy as such in his poem Fasti.Note: Margi and I are on the road, so I’ve once again hijacked my usual nature blog and temporarily turned it into a travel blog. The term Magna Graecia first appears in Polybius' Histories. They also influenced the native peoples, especially the Sicilian Sicels, who became hellenised after they adopted the Greek culture as their own. The settlers who began arriving in the 8th century BC brought with them their Hellenic civilization, which was to leave a lasting imprint on Italy, such as in the culture of ancient Rome. Magna Graecia (/ˌmæɡnə ˈɡriːsiə, ˈɡriːʃə/, US: /ˌmæɡnə ˈɡreɪʃə/ Latin meaning "Great Greece", Greek: Μεγάλη Ἑλλάς, Megálē Hellás, Italian: Magna Grecia) was the name given by the Romans to the coastal areas of Southern Italy in the present-day regions of Campania, Apulia, Basilicata, Calabria and Sicily these regions were extensively populated by Greek settlers. ![]()
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