The Cone suggests a giant teardrop falling to earth — Basilica Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime.

Basilica Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime — Siracusa (photos from Wikipedia).

Flower from a silk floss tree — Basilica Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime — Siracusa.

Terracotta female statuette (c. 500 BCE) from the Sanctuary of Demeter in Agrigento.

Pottery unguentarium (perfume/scented oil/medicinal ointment bottle) from the 6th century BCE.

Lentoid shaped flask of Cypriot influence from the 7th century BCE.

Sarcophagus from the Gela Necropolis (5th century BCE).

Decorative column inside the Sarcophagus from the Gela Necropolis (5th century BCE).

Decorative trim inside a sarcophagus from the Gela Necropolis (5th century BCE).

Archaeological jigsaw puzzle: reconstruction of a 6th century BCE temple pediment frieze.

Glass paste miniature vases from the Francavilla votive deposit (5th century BCE).

Bronze volute krater used to mix wine & water; with decorated neck of revellers; ca. 570-540 BCE.

Middle Corinthian pottery from tomb 41 (400-370 BCE) with frieze of sphinxes and animals.

Terracotta figure of a horseman, probably the acroterion for a temple (6th century BCE).

Siracusa: Archaeological Artifacts (Part II)

October 14 in Italy ☀️ 72 °F

Bus 105 follows a loop route that is very useful to tourists. The problem is that it travels in one direction.

What did that mean for us? Well, to go from the Neopolis archeological site to the Paolo Orsi archeological museum, we’d have to do the entire loop all the way around to get there … and pay twice to do so. No worries. Having overheard the bus driver telling someone yesterday that it was an easy 10-minute walk between the two, we let our feet take us to the museum. That there was shade along the way actually made it a pleasant walk … if uninteresting otherwise.

Along the way, we made a quick stop to check out the Basilica Santuario Madonna delle Lacrime, which happens to be across the street from the museum. It’s the place with the cone-shaped roof … visible from practically every part of Siracusa.

Madonna delle Lacrime translates as Our Lady of Tears. The story goes that in 1953, a mass-produced effigy the Virgin Mary began shedding human-like tears. Apparently scientific studies that followed led the Catholic Church to declare it a miraculous phenomenon. The sanctuary was built in honor of the event and subsequently elevated to a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1994.

I knew none of this until I started researching the possibility of checking out the late Roman and paleochristian archaeological artifacts that are housed in the crypt. As it turns out, services were ongoing when we popped inside, so we retreated to the museum instead to finish up the last sector that I left unexplored yesterday.Read more