Visit to the Archaeological Park

There was some light rain early morning on Wednesday March 9, but then the weather cleared and the sun came out.  It was still cool, with a high of about 14C.  We set off to visit the famed Neapolis Archaeological Park in the main part of Siracusa.  We walked across the bridge from Ortigia to the mainland and caught the shuttle bus out to the Park.

We passed a memorial to a journalist, who was a victim of the Mafia.

A Mario Francese, Giornalista Vittima della Mafia (1925-1979)

 The Parco Archeologico della Nepalis (Neapolis Archaeological Park) is an amazing archeological site, with a number of important ruins spread over a significant area to the north of the city centre.

Our first stop was the Anfiteatro Romano (Roman amphitheatre) which was constructed starting in 21 B.C.  It was carved mainly into the bedrock and elliptical with an entrance at each end.  There was an area for the gladiators and animals to enter the arena.  On the podium, the wealthy carved their names into the marble slabs of the seating.  At the centre, a rectangular pit (originally covered) was connected to the southern entrance by an underground corridor.

Approaching the amphitheatre 

View of elliptical arena

Another view 

The engineering feats in creating these structures was phenomenal

In 399 A.D. the gladiator schools were closed and the gladiator games stopped in 404 A.D.  The amphitheatre was used for other entertainment for a while and then abandoned. The Spanish apparently little interested in archaeology, largely destroyed the site in the 16th century transporting the stone to build the walls around Ortigia.

Another very old tree

The next stop was the Altar of Hieron II, also carved into the bedrock.  The surviving part was used for the sacrifice of 450 bulls during an annual festival dedicated to Zeus.

We followed the path to the piece de resistance, the amazing Greek Theatre.  The original creation of the Greek Theatre dates to the 5th Century B.C.; its present structure is the result of a project carried out in the 3rd Century B.C. by Hieron II.  The seating has 67 rows of steps divided into nine wedges.  From the 5th century B.C. onwards, the great Greek playwrights, including Aeschylus, staged their works in the Theatre.

The Greek Theatre is one of the most important examples of ancient theatre architecture in the world and for centuries it was the centre of Syracuse life.  Since 2014, there has been an annual season of classical theatre performed at the Greek Theatre.

The Greek Theatre

Alonso at the Theatre

Another view-- it was immense.

Above the Theatre was an upper terrace with a fountain.

Alonso in front of fountain

Spectacular view from the top of the Greek Theatre looking out at the sea

We walked down from the Greek Theatre and into the Latomia del Paradiso (quarry of paradise), limestone quarries where the stone for the ancient city was extracted.  7000 survivors of the war between Syracuse and Athens in 413 B.C. were imprisoned in these quarries.  They are now filled with citrus and magnolia trees.

Lemon trees

Huge rock in middle of the quarry

Lush vegetation and the light on an entrance 

Another path

We next stopped at the Orecchio di Dionisio (Ear of Dionysius), a grotto 23m by 3m deep, named by Caravaggio after the tyrant, who is said to have used the almost perfect acoustics of the quarry to eavesdrop on his prisoners.  It is a man-made curving cavern that follows, in part, the course of a former aqueduct cut into the rock.

The Ear of Dionysius

A family trying out the echo

We walked by the Grotta dei Cordari (ropemakers cave), another interesting cave cut into the stone.

Cat blended in with the rock

We spent most of the afternoon exploring the Archaeological Park.  Because it is off-season, we had the place almost to ourselves.  One gets a feeling for the power and glory that was Siracusa.

We took the shuttle bus back to Ortigia.

Shuttle bus near ticket office to the Park

We went for a coffee at one of our favourite cafes and then headed back to the apartment.  Alonso cooked a lovely salmon steak dinner with potatoes and fresh tomatoes.