Acropoli B&B

Greek amphitheatre

by Sjalen

As Siracusa grew, Neopolis became the new part of town created by the Greeks, and today you can see a lot of city history here. Part of the Neapolis Archaeological Park (same entrance fee as Dionysos' Ear and the roman theatre), this theatre was built in the 5th century B.C. even though it was restored both in the 3rd century B.C and later by the romans :-)))

If you have been to Taormina first, you might rightly think it less spectacular since it has no volcano in the background. However, this too is built overlooking the sea and is quite large. It is more or less carved from the stone on which it rests. Unfortunately, the Spanish destroyed parts of it to use the stones as building material on Ortygia...Today, the seatings have been fortified and lighting rigged below as it is in fact used to stage all sorts of dramas by famous international directors in spring.

S I R A C U S A!!!!!!!

by ruki

Located near the southeastern corner of Sicily on the Ionian coast, Siracusa (Syracuse) is built on an ancient Greek settlement founded by Corinthians in 734 BC. More than any other modern city in Sicily, Syracuse manifests a visible continuity from its ancient Greek past, both historical and mythological. Its older quarter is an island, Ortegia (or Ortygia, from the Greek for "quail," probably named for that bird's abundance in this area).

Ortegia is known for, among many other things, the freshwater Spring of Arethusa. When Artemis changed Arethusa into a spring of water to escape the river god Alpheus, it was here that the transformed maiden emerged. On a more factual note, Syracuse was the city of Archimedes, Pindar and Aeschylus. It was the most important city in Magna Graecia, and for a time rivaled Athens as the most important city of the Greek world.