Syracuse

Frederick II Holy Roman Emperor, authorised the construction of the Castello Maniace, a small fortress in Syracuse situated in the far point of the Ortygia island promontory, where it was constructed between 1232 and 1240.It bears the name of George Maniakes, the Byzantine general who besieged and took the city in 1038.

Archimedes

Archimedes of Syracuse was an Ancient Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, inventor, and astronomer. Although few details of his life are known, he is regarded as one of the leading scientists in classical antiquity.Archimedes anticipated modern calculus and analysis by applying concepts of infinitesimals and the method ofexhaustion to derive and rigorously prove a range of geometrical theorems, including the area of a circle, the surfacearea and volume of a sphere, and the area under a parabola. Archimedes died during the Siege of Syracuse when hewas killed by a Roman soldier despite orders that he should not be harmed.

Church of St. John to the catacombs

In the area of the Roman Catacombs ,in which, according to tradition, the first bishop of Syracuse, the holy martyr Marziano wasburied, a place of Christian worship arose in late antiquity, traces of which remain in an ancient crypt that still exsist. Abandonedduring the Arab occupation of Sicily and rebuilt in the Norman period around 1092, the building finally collapsed during the earthquake of 1693. Fragments of the remains were then recovered to partially rebuilt the church, on a smaller area and rotatedin orientation. The beautiful portico in front of the facade was built using recovered material,which dates from the 14° century.

Palazzo Bellomo

The Palazzo Bellomo is a Staufer palace from the 15° Century. Its stern façade was extended in the 15° Century with a three-partCatalan window and thin columns. Inside the palace there is the Galleria Regionale. Sculptures, Carriages, Crafts and paintingsare all on display here. Among the most famous are the «Annunciation» by Antonello Da Messina and the «Burial of Saint Lucy»by Michelangelo Caravaggio. Also worth seeing is a large model which represents Syracuse in the 18° Century.

Palazzo Migliaccio

The Palazzo Migliaccio is one of the few monuments of the 15° Century that remained standing after the destructive fury of theearthquake of 1693,which brought down everything that was built in the Middle Ages and during the Reinassance in the entiresouth-eastern Sicily. Unfortunately part of the Palazzo Migliaccio was demolished because it had become unsafe. The interior of the palace was sectioned into two parts: one that faces the Largo Arethusa and one on Via Pompeo Picherali.

Bishop’s Palace

The Bishops’ Palace is the seat of the Syracuse’s archbishop and the seminar. Inside there is also the old library «Alagoniana» .The building is located in Piazza Del Duomo, next to the Cathedral of Syracuse. The structure of the Archbishop’s Palace as weknow it today is the result of systematic restoration from about 1700 to 1800 that turned it in late Baroque style palace tendingto Neoclassicism. After the destruction and reconstruction of the first building, the current structure was wanted by the SpanishBishop Juan de Torres Osorio and the work began in 1618,by the architect Andrea Vermexio.