Ancient Siracusa

Siracusa was founded in the 8th century BCE, and became an important city in the Greek empire that arose in the Mediterranean region before the Romans. They say Siracusa equaled Athens in the 5th century BCE. The city was founded on the island of Ortygia; that is where the UNESCO listed is; and that is where all these pictures were taken.
The 1st picture looks back to ancient Siracusa fro the outer end of the Castello Maniace that was built at the tip of Ortygia where it just out onto the sea to protect the harbor. The Castello was built also as a royal residence, and the 2nd picture is in the main hall.
The 3rd picture is of the Piazze del Duomo. The cathedral (Duomo) is to the left (see another post).
The 4th picture is the facade of a noble palazzo, one of many here. The 5th picture is of a street in the old city. This is what most of ancient Siracusa looks like . A good deal of housing is in courtyards located through gates from the street. The last picture looks into one of these.Read more