Siracusa was one of the most important cities in ancient Greece.
It was the home of Archimedes.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 10-Jun-2006
The Anchorage (Anchorage)
Secure and spacious anchorage with excellent holding in mud.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 06-Jun-2006
Town Dock (Town Dock)
Wash and Dry (Laundry)
Christina's laundry
Hi! We (Davide and Mariah) bought this place about 2 years ago (September 2009). He is Sicilian and I am American. We cleaned the place up and put in more efficient machines to save money. We are happy to help out with any questions you might have while you are here in Ortigia. We keep the names of places that other boaters have used and been happy with and are happy to pass on the info. Come see us! And we are now called Wash and Dry. I never met Christina...
Wash and Dry [ Siracusa ] 19-Jun-2011This is a coin laundry, but lovely Christina will do the laundry for you, at the same price that you can do it yourself.
We paid €22 for 4 large pillowcases of laundry.
We docked our dinghy near the bridge to Ortigia island and walked down Corso Umberto.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 19-Jun-2006
Air raid tunnels (Museum)
In the Piazza Duomo we went into a door that we thought led to the Cathedral, but were surprised to find that it led to a fascinating series of tunnels that were used as air raid shelters during the war. There are many amazing photographs of war times in Siracusa.
I think one can exit at the entrance as well, but we ended up leaving the tunnels at a lower level down by the dock.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 15-Jun-2006
ARD Discount Supermarket (Supermarket)
This is a great discount supermarket. Great prices on bulk and genereric brands. It is on North side of Via Elorina opposite the Zona militaire.
You can't dock the dinghy anywhere nearby due to the military zone, so you need to dock by the steps to the North of the anchorage and walk around.
96100 Siracusa (SR)
68, VIA ELORINA
tel: 0931 21612
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 18-Jun-2006
Temple of Apollo (Historic)
The Catacombs of San Giovanni (Historic)
The crypt below this church is where St Paul preached on his way to Rome. The catacombs follow old Greek aqueducts and cisterns and have many Christian sarcophagi.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 11-Jun-2006
Grotta del Cordari (Historic)
Adjacent to Dionysius' ear is another man made cave that was used at one stage as a rope factory.
For some reason the public is not permitted inside this cavern.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 09-Jun-2006
Dionysius' Ear (Historic)
An amazing cavern set in the limestone quarries that according to the grand master, Caravaggio, was used by the tyrant of Syracusa, Dionisius, as a prison so that he could use the small hole at the top of the cavern to eavesdrop on his political prisoners below. The term, "The Ear of Dionisius" is still used as a metaphor for political eavesdropping, today.
If you look at the apex of the roof of the cavern, you can see the evidence of an old aqueduct. It is my personal belief that this cavern began as a man made aquaduct who's floor later eroded into a larger cavern. When the quarry eventually met up with the ancient eroded aquaduct they continued to quarry inside the cavern creating the extremely large cave we see today. There is obvious evidence of quarying large square stones on the walls inside the cavern.
On the outside of the cavern, high up, to the right of the apex (see photo), you can also see evidence of alternate waterways carved into the limestone many years before the quarry met up with the ancient waterways.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 08-Jun-2006
Roman Amphitheater (Historic)
Greek Theater (Historic)
A huge, well preserved greek theater that is used today for stage productions.
It is interesting to explore the caves or tombs at to top of the theater, one of which has a torrent of water running through it.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 07-Jun-2006
Fonte Aretusa (Historic)
A nymph named Aretusa, was changed into an underground river by Artemis to escape the advances of the river-god Alpheus, and emerged here in Sicily as this spring.
Alpheus meanwhile, not to be defeated, changed himself into an underground river, crossed the Ionian Sea and came up in Ortygia having mingled his waters with those of Arethusa.
Howard [ Just Imagine ] 15-Jun-2006
Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi (Museum)
This modern museum houses a fine archeological collection Siracusa and Southeastern Sicily.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 13-Jun-2006
The Tomb of Archimedes (Historic)
This is the supposed tomb of Archimedes, although some scholars say that this tomb dates from a much later period than Archimedes' death here in Siracusa in 212 BC.
Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier during the Siege of Siracusa.
In 75 BC, Cicero relocated the overgrown tomb, with it's sphere and orb inscription, relating to Archimedes mathematical proof that a the volume and surface area of the sphere is 2/3 that of the cylinder that encloses the sphere.
"But from Dionysius’s own city of Syracuse I will summon up from the dust—where his measuring rod once traced its lines—an obscure little man who lived many years later, Archimedes. When I was questor in Sicily I managed to track down his grave. The Syracusians knew nothing about it, and indeed denied that any such thing existed. But there it was, completely surrounded and hidden by bushes of brambles and thorns. I remembered having heard of some simple lines of verse which had been inscribed on his tomb, referring to a sphere and cylinder modelled in stone on top of the grave. And so I took a good look round all the numerous tombs that stand beside the Agrigentine Gate. Finally I noted a little column just visible above the scrub: it was surmounted by a sphere and a cylinder. I immediately said to the Syracusans, some of whose leading citizens were with me at the time, that I believed this was the very object I had been looking for. Men were sent in with sickles to clear the site, and when a path to the monument had been opened we walked right up to it. And the verses were still visible, though approximately the second half of each line had been worn away." ....Cicero, 75 BCEHoward and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 10-Jun-2006
Madonna delle Lacrime (Church)
This very modern rocket ship or tear drop church towers above Siracusa to commemorate a modern miracle when a statue of Mary supposedly cried in 1953.
Howard and Jayne [ Just Imagine ] 12-Jun-2006
Sailing Team, Siracusa (Yacht Charter)
www.sailingteam.biz
Price listHoward [ Just Imagine ] 06-May-2009
Duomo (Church)