View source for Syracuse, Sicily

{{Short description|City in Sicily, Italy}}
{{About|the city in Sicily|other places sharing the same name|Syracuse (disambiguation){{!}}Syracuse}}
{{redirect|Siracusa, Italy|other places in Italy|Siracusa (disambiguation){{!}}Siracusa}}
{{Use Oxford spelling|date=December 2018}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox Italian comune
| name                = Syracuse
| official_name       = Comune di Siracusa
| native_name         = {{native name|it|Siracusa}}<br />{{native name|scn|Saragusa}}
| image_skyline       = {{multiple image
| perrow =1/2/2/2
| border = infobox
| total_width = 300
| image1 = SIRACUSA VISTA DALLAEREO CON LETNA SULLO SFONDO.FOTO Di Angelo.jpg
| image2 = Neapolis Archaelogical Park, with the The Basilica of the Madonna delle Lacrime in the Background, Syracuse, Sicily.jpg
| image3 = Theatre at Syracuse, Sicily.jpg
| image4 = Palazzo dell'orologio, Ortygia, Syracuse, Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy - panoramio.jpg
| image5 = Monument to Archimedes in the Syracuse. Sicily, Italy.jpg
| image6 = Cattedrale, Syracuse, Province of Syracuse, Ortygia, Sicily, Italy - panoramio.jpg
| image7 = Ortygia bridges, Syracuse, Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy - panoramio.jpg
| image8 = Fountain of Diana (39548913321).jpg
}}
| image_caption       = '''From top left''': [[Ortygia]] island, where Syracuse was founded in [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greek]] times, The Basilica of the Madonna delle Lacrime as viewed from [https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parco_archeologico_della_Neapolis Neapolis Archaeological Park] in the mainland, [[Greek Theatre of Syracuse|Greek Theatre]], Palazzo Dell'Orologio, Monument to [[Archimedes]] in Piazza Archimedes, [[Cathedral of Syracuse]], Ortygia Bridges, [https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontana_di_Diana Fountain of Diana]
| image_flag          = Flag of Syracuse.svg
| image_shield        = Siracusa-Stemma.svg
| shield_alt          =
| image_map           =
| map_alt             =
| map_caption         = Panorama of 
| image_map1           =
| map_alt1             =
| map_caption1         =
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt     =
| coordinates         = {{coord|37|04|09|N|15|17|15|E|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes =
| region              = [[Sicily]]
| province            = [[Province of Syracuse|Syracuse]] (SR)
| frazioni            = Arenella, Belvedere, Carrozziere, Cassibile, Fanusa, Fontane Bianche, Isola, Ognina, Plemmirio, Punta Milocca, Terrauzza 
| mayor_party         =
| mayor               = [[Francesco Italia]]
| area_footnotes      =
| area_total_km2      = 207.78
| population_footnotes =<ref name="population">{{cite web|title=Resident population|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=POS&l=en|publisher=[[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]]}}</ref>
| population_total    = 115636
| population_as_of    = 2025
| population_demonym  = {{nowrap|Syracusan,<ref>{{citation |contribution=Syracusan, ''adj''. and ''n.'' |contribution-url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/196621 |title=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |date=1919 }}</ref> Syracusian<ref>{{citation |contribution=† Syracusian, ''adj''. and ''n.'' |contribution-url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/196621?redirectedFrom=Syracusian#eid19384838 |title=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |date=1919 }}</ref> <small>(en)</small>}}<br />{{nowrap|Siracusano <small>(it)</small>}}
| elevation_footnotes =<ref>'City' population (i.e. that of the ''[[comune]]'' or municipality) from [https://www.citypopulation.de/en/italy/sicilia/siracusa/089017__siracusa/] {{cbignore|bot=medic}}, [[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]].</ref>
| elevation_m         = 17
|istat=| saint               = [[Saint Lucy]]
| day                 = 13 December
| postal_code         = 96100
| area_code           = 0931
| website             = [http://www.comune.siracusa.it/ comune.siracusa.it]
| footnotes           =
}}
'''Syracuse''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|aɪ|r|ə|k|juː|s|,_|-|k|juː|z}} {{respell|SY|rə|kewss|,_|-kewz}}; {{langx|it|Siracusa}} {{IPA|it|siraˈkuːza||It-Siracusa.ogg}}; {{langx|scn|Saragusa|}} {{IPA|scn|saɾaˈuːsa|}}){{efn|{{langx|la|[[wikt:Syracusae|Syrācūsae]]}}, {{IPA|la|sʏraːˈkuːsae̯|IPA}}; {{langx|grc-x-attic|[[wikt:Συράκουσαι|Συράκουσαι]]|Syrákousai}}, {{IPA|grc-x-attic|syrǎːkuːsai̯|IPA}}; {{langx|grc-x-doric|[[wikt:Συράκοσαι|Συράκοσαι]]|Syrā́kosai}}, {{IPA|grc-x-doric|syraːkósai̯|IPA}};<ref name=SyrakousaiLSJ>{{LSJ|*sura/kousai|Συράκουσαι|ref}}</ref> {{langx|grc-x-medieval|Συρακοῦσαι|Syrakoûsai}}, {{IPA|grc-x-medieval|syraˈkuse|IPA}}; {{langx|el|label=[[Modern Greek language|Modern Greek]]|Συρακούσες|Syrakoúses}}, {{IPA|el|siraˈkuses|IPA}}.}} is a city and [[Comune|municipality]], capital of the [[Province of Syracuse|free municipal consortium of the same name]], located in the autonomous region [[Sicily]] in [[Italy]]. As of 2025, with a population of 115,636, it is the [[List of municipalities of Sicily|fourth most populous city in Sicily]], following [[Palermo]], [[Catania]], and [[Messina]].<ref name="population" />

Situated on the [[Eastern Sicily|southeastern coast]] of the island, Syracuse boasts a [[History of Syracuse|millennia-long history]]: counted among the largest [[metropolises]] of the [[Classical antiquity|classical age]],<ref>Cf. Tweedie, 1904, p. 293; Crow, 1965, p. 29; Privitera, 1984, p. 19; Vittorini, 2002, p. 22.</ref> it rivaled [[Classical Athens|Athens]] in power and splendor, which unsuccessfully attempted to [[Sicilian Expedition|subjugate it]]. It was the birthplace of the mathematician [[Archimedes]], who led its defense during the [[Siege of Syracuse (212 BC)|Roman siege in 212 BC]]. Syracuse became the capital of the [[Byzantine Empire]] under [[Constans II]]. For centuries, it served as the capital of Sicily,<ref>Amedeo Tullio, ''Itinerari archeologici in Sicilia'', 2002, p. 189; Pasquale Passarelli, Adele Falasca, ''Sicilia'', 2005, p. 392; Michael Scott, ''Space and Society in the Greek and Roman Worlds'', 2012, p. 131.</ref> until the [[Muslim conquest of Sicily|Muslim invasion]] of [[Siege of Syracuse (878)|878]], which led to its decline in favor of [[Palermo]]. With the [[Norman conquest of Sicily|Christian reconquest]], it became a [[County of Syracuse|Norman county]] within the [[Kingdom of Sicily]].

During the Spanish era, it transformed into a [[fortress]], with its historic center, [[Ortygia]], adopting its current [[Sicilian Baroque|Baroque appearance]] following reconstruction after the devastating [[1693 Sicily earthquake|1693 earthquake]]. During [[World War II]], in 1943, the armistice that ended hostilities between the [[Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)|Kingdom of Italy]] and the [[Allies of World War II|Anglo-American allies]] was signed southwest of Syracuse, in the ''contrada'' of Santa Teresa Longarini, historically known as the [[Armistice of Cassibile]].<ref>Cf. Mario Torsiello, ''Settembre 1943'', 1963; Giorgio Vitali, ''Una Città nella bufera'', 1980; Santi Corvaja, ''Hitler & Mussolini: The Secret Meetings'', 2013.</ref>

Renowned for its vast historical, architectural, and scenic wealth, Syracuse was designated by [[UNESCO]] in 2005, together with the [[Necropolis of Pantalica]], as a [[World Heritage Site]].

== Etymology ==
[[File:Siracusa, tetradracma, 485-470 ac ca.JPG|thumb|upright=0.8|Coin with the inscription ΣΥRAKOΣION ("of the Syracusans"), 5th century BC]]
The origins of Syracuse’s name are highly uncertain. The toponym first appears on the city’s ancient coinage in the 6th century BC. Among the most notable hypotheses are derivations:
* From the [[Siculian language]], via the [[hydronym]] of the [[marsh]] Syrako or Syraka,<ref>It was [[Stephanus of Byzantium]] who first asserted this derivation. Byzantium s.v. Syrakousai. Cf. ''Sicilia e Anatolia dalla preistoria all’età ellenistica: atti della 5ª riunione scientifica della Scuola di perfezionamento in archeologia classica dell’Università di Catania (Siracusa, 26-29 November 1987)'', ed. Rizza, p. 131.</ref> meaning "abundance of water";<ref>Carubia, ''Autori classici greci in Sicilia'', 1996, p. 29; Correnti, ''Ecologia e storia in Sicilia'', 1984, p. 25.</ref>
* From the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] word Sur-aku: "saltwater";<ref>Pellegrini, ''Toponomastica italiana: 10000 nomi di città, paesi, frazioni, regioni, contrade, fiumi, monti spiegati nella loro origine e storia'', 1990, p. 55.</ref>
* From a [[Semitic language]], Sor-Cosia or Suloq, with various possible meanings: "East," "salty," or "sirocco."<ref>Bochart, ''Geographia Sacra:'', 1646, pp. 594-95; Holm, Cavallari, ''Die Stadt Syrakus im Alterthum'', 1887, pp. 65-67.</ref>

== History ==
{{See also|History of Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse (ancient city)}}
=== Ancient Syracuse ===
Excavations in the area have established that the region where Syracuse arose was inhabited continuously from the [[Neolithic]] period:<ref>Cf. [[Paolo Orsi]], ''Stazione Neolitica di Stentinello (Siracusa). Bollettino di Paletnologia Italiana'' 16, 177-200, 1890; Giuseppe Voza, ''Siracusa 1999: lo scavo archeologico di Piazza Duomo''; Giovanni Di Stefano, ''Archeologia iblea'', 1987, p. 82.</ref> the so-called "[[Stentinello culture]]," named after the coastal site north of Syracuse, is particularly significant, with artifacts dating back to 6000 BC.

{{Quote|Multifaceted city, of five names, of ancient glory, of power, of unparalleled beauty, of wise kings and blind tyrants, of long peaces and ruinous wars, of barbaric assaults and plunders: in Syracuse is written, as in every city of ancient glory, the history of human civilization and its decline.|[[Vincenzo Consolo]], ''L’olivo e l’olivastro'', 1994.}}

The city of Syrakousai was founded by the [[Ancient Corinth|Corinthians]] in 733 BC (according to the Thucydidean dating). The leader of the new colonists was the [[Oikistes|oekist]] [[Archias of Corinth|Archias]], and their landing place was the island of Ortygia, from which they expelled the [[Sicels]], the previous inhabitants of the area.

The new Corinthian colony grew rapidly and subjugated nearby territories. Throughout its centuries-long Greek history, Syracuse had a long line of [[List of tyrants of Syracuse|tyrants]] and brief periods of popular rule, mostly under [[oligarchy]]. Among the numerous men who governed the ''[[polis]]'', six stood out in the ancient world for their ingenuity, fame, and power: [[Gelon]], [[Hiero I of Syracuse|Hiero I]], [[Dionysius I of Syracuse|Dionysius I]], [[Agathocles of Syracuse|Agathocles]], and [[Hiero II of Syracuse|Hiero II]], alongside the moderate oligarchic rule of the Corinthian general [[Timoleon]], which lasted about a decade. These leaders dominated much of Sicily, extending Syracusan presence within the [[Magna Graecia]], and influenced the broader Mediterranean, colonizing and establishing strategic commercial outposts (such as the {{Interlanguage link|Syracusan settlements in the upper Adriatic|lt=work of the Dionysii in the Adriatic|it|Fondazioni siracusane nell'alto Adriatico}}) or subjugating cities they encountered to thwart enemies (e.g., Agathocles with his {{Interlanguage link|Syracusan expedition to Africa|lt=expedition to Africa|it|Spedizione siracusana in Africa}}).<ref>On Agathocles’ African expedition and the subsequent alliance with Ophellas, see [[Gaetano De Sanctis]], ''Scritti minori'', 1970, pp. 205-249.</ref>

Syracuse was the main rival of the [[Phoenicia|Phoenician]] capital, [[Carthage]], which, occupying the western part of the island (called the Punic [[eparchy]]), gave rise to the [[Greco-Punic Wars]]. These two influential metropolises, through a series of peace treaties and renewed battles, fiercely shaped the entire [[history of Greek Sicily]].

In addition to internal conflicts with other [[Siceliotes|Siceliot]] ''poleis'' and [[Barbarian|Barbarians]] (e.g., the war against Akragas and the conflict against the Syntèleia of [[Ducetius]], king of the Sicels), Syrakousai faced an ambitious external offensive from [[Athens]]: the Attic capital launched a massive [[Sicilian Expedition|expedition to Sicily]] during the [[Peloponnesian War]], aiming to conquer the renowned coastal city, whose expansionist policies threatened Athenian interests in the West. During this conflict, the Syracusan general [[Hermocrates]] distinguished himself, later leading Syracusan soldiers to [[Asia Minor]] alongside [[Sparta]] in the final phase of the same war.

[[File:Death of Archimedes.png|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Archimedes]] drawing his circles as a Roman soldier prepares to strike him (from the famous account of the scientist’s death, work by [[Thomas Degeorge]], 19th century)]]

The Syracusan court was a hub of [[patronage]], hosting some of the most renowned names of the Greek world, including [[Aeschylus]], [[Pindar]], [[Ibycus]], [[Xenophon]], and [[Plato]]; the latter not only stayed in the ''pentapolis'' but, according to tradition, was deeply involved in Syracusan political history, {{Interlanguage link|Plato's travels in Sicily|lt=making several journeys|it|Viaggi di Platone in Sicilia}} and becoming a confidant of [[Dion of Syracuse|Dion]], the main political adversary of the tyrant [[Dionysius II of Syracuse|Dionysius II]].<ref>For further details on the historical period and the interplay between Plato, Dion, and the two Dionysi, see F. Muccioli, ''Dionisio II. Storia e tradizione letteraria'', 1999.</ref> Syracuse was the birthplace of numerous figures who contributed to the arts, philosophy, and science. Among the natives, [[Archimedes]] stands out: a mathematician, inventor, and scientist who led Syracuse during the [[Siege of Syracuse (213–212 BC)|Roman siege in 212 BC]].

After prolonged resistance, Roman legions entered the city, leading to its capitulation under the consul [[Marcus Claudius Marcellus]]. In the heat of the conquest, a Roman soldier killed Archimedes. All of Syracuse’s wealth, accumulated over centuries of hegemony and prosperity, was looted and transported to Rome. This marked a significant turning point in Mediterranean culture. However, despite losing its autonomy, Syracusae remained the main center of the island during the entire [[Roman era]]. The Syracusan province was established, and the city was designated the capital of [[Sicilia (Roman province)|Roman Sicily]]. [[Cicero]], arriving in the 1st century BC, described it as "''the most beautiful and largest Greek city''" (''[[In Verrem]]'', II, 4, 117), and the emperor [[Augustus]], in the same period, sent a colony of Roman citizens to aid its repopulation.

With the advent of [[Christianity]], extensive catacombs emerged in the city. The apostolic message arrived early, as the Syracusan port was central to the maritime routes of the [[Roman Empire]], traveled by early [[missionaries]].<ref>Francesco Lanzoni, ''Le diocesi d’Italia'', 1927, pp. 613-614.</ref> Tradition holds that the protobishop of Syracuse was [[Marcian of Syracuse|Marcian from Antioch]], sent by the [[apostle]] [[Saint Peter|Peter]].

The [[Acts of the Apostles]] record that in 61, the apostle [[Paul the Apostle|Paul of Tarsus]] stayed in the city for three days.<ref name="ReferenceA" /> During the reign of [[Diocletian]], on 13 December 304, the martyrdom of [[Saint Lucy|Lucy of Syracuse]] occurred.<ref>Concetto Barreca, ''Santa Lucia di Siracusa: Pagine storiche. Il codice greco Papadopulo ed un’insigne epigrafe delle catacombe di Siracusa con note ed appendice'', 1902; Maria Stelladoro, ''Lucia la martire'', 2010.</ref>

=== Medieval era ===
With the [[Barbarian invasions into the Roman Empire of the 3rd century|Barbarian invasions]], the [[Western Roman Empire]] declined, and in the 5th century, Syracuse became part of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] (later known as the Byzantine Empire). By the political design of [[Constans II]], Syracuse became the capital of the Eastern Empire, replacing [[Constantinople]], from 663 to 668, until the emperor’s assassination in a location in the city called "the Daphne Baths".<ref>[[Theophanes the Confessor]], ''Chronographia'', I 535.</ref>From the 7th century, Syracuse was targeted by [[Arabs]], with attacks intensifying in the 9th century: after repelling a [[Siege of Syracuse (827–828)|first siege]] in 827, the city fell violently during the [[Siege of Syracuse (877–878)|second siege]], concluded on 21 May 878.

The Islamic period in Syracuse is shrouded in silence from ancient sources, particularly the early years following the brutal conquest. A ''[[damnatio memoriae]]'' contributed to the absence of Arab architectural evidence in the city.<ref>Cf. [[Francesco Gabrieli|F. Gabrieli]], U. Scerrato, P. Balog, ''Gli Arabi in Italia: cultura, contatti e tradizioni'', Milano, Garzanti, 1979; [[Giovanni Gentile|G. Gentile]], C. Tumminelli, ''[[Enciclopedia Treccani|Enciclopedia italiana di scienze, lettere ed arti]]'', vol. 36, 1936, p. 691.</ref> Despite the near-total destruction, Syracuse was soon reintegrated into the island’s social circuits (by the Norman period, it was referenced as a focal point for trade{{#tag:ref|[[Muhammad al-Idrisi]], ''Nuzhat al-Mushtaq'': {{Quote|Syracuse is among the most famous cities and noblest lands. Citizens and outsiders from all directions ride toward it; merchants and travelers from all regions head to it. It lies on the sea, which surrounds it on all sides except for a northern gate for entry and exit. It would be superfluous to describe this famous place at length […].}} |group=note}}{{#tag:ref|From the Arab-Norman period, the testimony of [[Hugo Falcandus]], who in the 12th century called Syracuse "''optima et pulcherrima parte Sicilie''"<ref>Text in [[Gina Fasoli|G. Fasoli]], ''Scritti di Storia Medievale'', 1974, pp. 405-406; Latin text, p. 176, available at {{Cite web|url=http://www.alim.dfll.univr.it/alim%5Cletteratura.nsf/%28testiID%29/20E2BE80C6A0AA7AC1256FEA005B357B!opendocument|title=Epistola ad Petrum Panormitanum Ecclesie Thesaurarium|website=www.alim.dfll.univr.it|access-date=19 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175236/http://www.alim.dfll.univr.it/alim%5Cletteratura.nsf/%28testiID%29/20E2BE80C6A0AA7AC1256FEA005B357B!opendocument|archive-date=18 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=note}}).

In 1040, the Byzantine emperor [[Michael IV the Paphlagonian|Michael IV]] sent General [[George Maniakes]] to Syracuse to reconquer the Aretusean land. His main companions were [[Italic peoples|Italic]] and Norman warriors, led by [[Harald Hardrada]], [[William Iron Arm]], [[Drogo of Hauteville]], [[Arduin the Lombard]], and Stephen the Caulker, the emperor’s brother-in-law, who commanded the fleet. The city was conquered by them. However, after numerous victories, serious internal discord arose within Maniakes’ army, forcing him to abandon Sicily. The Normans turned against the Byzantines, and the new balance led to a swift Muslim resumption of control over Syracuse.<ref>Cf. G. Tamassia, ''[http://books.google.it/books?id=XgdYi3ZSzfkC&printsec=frontcover&hl=it&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false Storia del regno dei Goti e dei Longobardi in Italia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424212950/https://books.google.it/books?id=XgdYi3ZSzfkC&printsec=frontcover&hl=it&source=gbs_ge_summary_r#v=onepage&q&f=false|date=24 April 2021}}'', vol. 1-3, p. 146;</ref><ref>A. Zoncada, ''Prose'', 1853, from p. 77; S. Tramontana, ''I normanni in Italia: Aspetti politici e militari'', 1970; Gordon S. Brown, ''The Norman Conquest of Southern Italy and Sicily'', 2003.</ref>

[[File:Castello Maniace Front.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|In the foreground, the totem recalling the Hohenstaufen origin of the [[Maniace Castle]] (built by [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]] in 1240 and named in memory of the Byzantine general [[George Maniakes]])]]

The city was definitively wrested from the Arabs in 1085, following a naval battle in the Great Harbor, where the last Arab emir of Syracuse, [[Benavert]],<ref>[[Michele Amari]] calls him "the last Muslim hero of Sicily"; cf. S. Di Matteo, ''Storia della Sicilia: dalla preistoria ai nostri giorni'', 2006, p. 138.</ref> clashed with the Norman [[Robert Guiscard]].

The new political order established by the Normans did not restore Syracuse’s ancient role as Sicily’s capital (as initiated by the Arabs, they maintained the capital in [[Palermo]]).

With the arrival of the Nordic people, the Syracusans formed a [[county]]; the first established on the island, [[County of Syracuse|governed by its own count]] in the figure of [[Jordan of Hauteville]], nephew of [[Roger I of Sicily]], who became the [[County of Sicily|Great Count of Sicily]].

In the 12th century, Syracuse was contested by the [[maritime republics]] of [[Genoa]] and [[Pisa]], both aiming to establish themselves there and include it among their [[fiefs]]. In 1204, Syracuse even had a Genoese count as its feudal lord: the [[pirate]] [[Alamanno da Costa]], who took the title of Count of Syracuse "by the Grace of God, the King of Sicily, and the Republic of Genoa"<ref>Cheyette, Fredric L. (1970). ''The Sovereign and the Pirates'', p. 1332.</ref> (Genoa claimed rights over Syracuse, as the city was allegedly promised to them by the Hohenstaufen dynast [[Frederick Barbarossa]] in exchange for personal favors, a promise later renewed by his son, [[Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor|Henry VI]]<ref>[[Gina Fasoli]], Francesca Bocchi, ''Scritti di storia medievale'', 1974, p. 407.</ref>). However, Barbarossa’s grandson, [[Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor|Frederick II]], King of Sicily and Emperor of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], decided to bring Syracuse under the direct control of the Sicilian government, removing it from feudal disputes and declaring it in 1234 his "''urbs fidelissima''" (most faithful city; an epithet it retained in documents until the modern era).<ref>Giuseppe Agnello: {{Cite web |title=Urbs fidelissima. The government of Syracuse |url=http://archivia.unict.it/bitstream/10761/978/1/GNLGPP51L09I754E-Urbs%20fidelissima.pdfa.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925064710/http://archivia.unict.it/bitstream/10761/978/1/GNLGPP51L09I754E-Urbs%20fidelissima.pdfa.pdf |archive-date=25 September 2015 |access-date=20 May 2020 |website=archivia.unict.it}} A. Loreto, Biblioteca alagoniana, ''I libretti musicali della Biblioteca alagoniana di Siracusa'', 2006, p. XIII.</ref>

During the [[Sicilian Vespers]], Syracuse declared itself a [[Medieval commune|free commune]]; an institution that ceased with the arrival of the [[Crown of Aragon|Aragonese]] to the island’s government.<ref>Cf. Privitera, 1879, p. 41; Gatto,  1992, p. 218.</ref> In 1302, the city became the seat of the queens of the Kingdom of Sicily and was governed for a long time through the Queen's Chamber, which granted the Syracusans significant autonomy, "like a state within a state,"<ref name=Privitera>Privitera, 1879, pp. 82-88; 515.</ref> while their ultimate allegiance remained to the holder of the Sicilian crown.

The first queen of the Syracusans was [[Eleanor of Anjou]], the last being the [[infanta]] of [[Navarre]] [[Germaine of Foix]], granddaughter of [[King of France]] [[Louis XII]] and consort of [[Ferdinand II of Aragon]].<ref>Cf. for further details Diego Orlando, ''Il feudalismo in Sicilia storia e dritto pubblico'', 1847, p. 62; Gatto, 1992, p. 220.</ref>

=== Modern era ===
[[File:ColegioDeSanGregorio20110906182112P1130018.jpg|thumb|Bust of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]] in the 1520s ([[National Sculpture Museum]], [[Spain]], [[Valladolid]])]]
Thanks to the deep emotional bond between Germaine of Foix and the first ruler of the [[Spanish Empire]], [[Charles V of Habsburg]], Syracuse had a particularly close relationship with this monarch, reflected in the extensive documentation of his deeds across various aspects of Syracusan history. The era of Charles V was marked by war against the [[Ottoman Empire]]. As a borderland between the western and eastern Mediterranean, Syracuse became a key stronghold for defending Spanish imperial borders. Charles V fortified it so robustly that it earned the title of [[fortress]].<ref>Liliane Dufour, Henri Raymond, ''Siracusa tra due secoli'', 1998, p. 54; Teresa Carpinteri, ''Siracusa, città fortificata'', 1983, p. 15.</ref>

It was also the work of [[Spanish Army|Spanish soldiers]] under Charles V that transformed Ortygia into an island by cutting the [[isthmus]] built by the Greeks about a thousand years earlier,<ref>Cf. [[Valerio Massimo Manfredi]], ''I Greci d’Occidente'', ch. XXII ''Siracusa'', 2018.</ref> restoring Ortygia to its original geographical form.<ref>Teresa Carpinteri, ''Siracusa, città fortificata'', 1983, p. 31; [[Vincenzo Mirabella]], ''Delle Antiche Siracuse'', vol. 2 (continuation of Giacomo Bonanni’s book, ''Le dichiarazioni della pianta dell’antiche Siracuse... descritte da D. Vincenzo Mirabella''), 1717, p. 89.</ref>

In 1529, the Order of the [[Knights Hospitaller]] moved to Syracuse: sources are divided on whether it was Charles V who directed them to the Syracusan area to keep Turkish fleets and [[Barbary pirates]] at bay,<ref>Tiron, abbot, ''Historia y trajes de las Ordenes Religiosas'', vol. II, 1854, p. 8.</ref> or whether it was the initiative of the [[Grand master (order)|Grand Master]] [[Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam]].<ref>Isidoro Escagües, ''La Huella de España en Sicilia'', 1951, p. 107; ''La Orden de Malta en España (1113-2013)'', vol. I (ed.), 2015, pp. 339-340.</ref> The wandering knights, homeless after losing the [[Rhodes|island of Rhodes]], remained in Syracuse for a year until, in April 1530, they received documents from Charles V, as King of Sicily, granting them the [[Maltese archipelago]] as a fief for their Order; in return, the Habsburg demanded loyalty to the Sicilian monarch. The knights accepted.

Syracuse thus became a witness to the birth of the [[Knights Hospitaller]] (due to the proximity between the two islands, the knights established a close, albeit occasionally contentious, relationship with the Syracusans<ref group="note">Although the knights frequently defended Syracuse’s coasts, there were instances of conflict between the Order of Malta and Syracuse’s politicians, clergy, and military; examples include the crisis of 1531, caused by the price of Syracusan wine, the crisis of 1637, sparked by the bombardment of the Order’s galleys by the city’s military, and the crisis of 1687, caused by the prohibition by Syracusans of the Order’s galleys landing at Augusta.</ref>).

[[File:Stemma di Carlo al Castello Maniace (Siracusa) Stemma di Carlo V nel suo palazzo (Granada).png|thumb|upright=1.0|left|Top: The [[Pillars of Hercules]] with the motto ''[[Plus Ultra]]'' and the terrestrial globe; the personal symbols of [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V]]—adopted following the [[discovery of the Americas]]—still adorn the entrance to Syracuse’s Maniace Castle (the plaque was commissioned by him in 1542).<br />Bottom: The same symbols at the [[Palace of Charles V]]]]

The 16th century was a century of major [[natural disasters]] for Syracuse: the most destructive event was the 1542 earthquake, which nearly obliterated the city.<ref>Barbano M.S., ''The Val di Noto earthquake of December 10, 1542'' in ''Atlas of Isoseismal Maps of Italian Earthquakes'' (ed. D. Postpischl), CNR-PFG, Quaderni de «La Ricerca Scientifica», n. 114, vol. 2A, 1985, pp. 28-29.</ref> Famines and epidemics decimated the population (just decades before the earthquake, there was even anticipation of an apocalypse). Even Charles V, during the height of religious fervor (with the [[Spanish Inquisition]] active in Sicily), became convinced that unknown sinners, having provoked the "wrath of Heaven"<ref>[[Antonio Mongitore]], ''Della Sicilia ricercata'', vol. 2, 1743, pp. 392-393.</ref> (as the Syracusans claimed), had brought the calamity upon the city.<ref>Cit. in ''Archivio di Stato di Palermo, Segretari del regno, Ramo del protonotaro, Lettere'', vol. 30 (1546-1550), ''Copy of the letter from the viceroy of Sicily Ferrando Gonzaga to King of Spain Charles V'', Palermo, 10 May 1546 (Gonzaga’s end-of-term report). See also ''Catania, terremoti e lave: dal mondo antico alla fine del novecento'' (ed.), 2001, p. 77.</ref>

Wars and calamities continued at a relentless pace throughout the following century. Syracuse could no longer keep up with the demographic growth of other major Sicilian centers (while the population increased across most of the island, Syracuse’s population steadily declined).<ref group="note">The 1542 earthquake was decisive in delivering a final blow to an already struggling social fabric.</ref>

In the Spanish era, Syracuse was primarily known as Zaragoza de Sicilia (or Çaragoça de Sicilia): from the outset of their presence on the island, the Spanish referred to it as the Aragonese capital [[Zaragoza]], and in official documents, it was always distinguished as the Zaragoza of Sicily.<ref>Liliane Dufour, Henri Raymond, ''Siracusa tra due secoli: le metamorfosi dello spazio, 1600-1695'', 1998.</ref>

Among the major military events of the period, particularly significant for Syracuse were: the attempted invasion by Sultan [[Suleiman the Magnificent]] (as a response to the Muslim defeat at the [[Battle of Lepanto]]), the defeat of the Knights of Malta at Plemmirio, and the war of the Sun King, Louis XIV of France (within the 17th century [[Franco-Dutch War]]), which particularly affected the Spanish domains in the Syracusan area; during this last conflict, the Dutch admiral [[Michiel de Ruyter]] died and was buried in Syracuse (his body was later reclaimed by the Dutch in [[Amsterdam]]).<ref>Caterina Napoleone, [[Franco Maria Ricci]], ''Enciclopedia della Sicilia'', 2006, p. 338.</ref>

In 1693, another [[1693 Sicily earthquake|destructive earthquake]], accompanied by a [[tsunami]], struck, affecting most of eastern Sicily. Syracuse suffered less damage than in the 1542 event but was still severely weakened. In 1700, with the premature death of [[Charles II of Spain]], a fierce contest arose to determine the new ruler of the Spanish Empire. The [[War of the Spanish Succession]] fully involved Syracuse, as Sicily became a contested territory following the Treaty of Utrecht, through which the [[Duchy of Savoy]] was united with the [[Kingdom of Sicily]], and Spain lost control of the latter.

Spain, under [[Philip V of Spain|Philip V]], had no intention of relinquishing the island and defied European expectations by waging war to free Sicily from the [[Piedmont|Piedmontese]] and restore Iberian influence. In this context, Syracuse became a Savoyard fortress where Annibale Maffei, viceroy of [[Victor Amadeus II]], took refuge while the Spanish army had already conquered most of the island. For the first time, the [[Great Britain|British]] army intervened in the Aretusean land, as [[George I of Great Britain]] aimed to prevent Spain from reclaiming its former domains.

The [[Battle of Cape Passaro|battle of 11 August 1718 between the Spanish and the English]], which saw the latter’s victory in Syracusan waters, marked a significant turning point: it ended relations with the Iberian Peninsula and initiated a sustained British presence in the territory.

After separation from Piedmont and a brief, turbulent Austrian period, lasting about fifteen years, Syracuse became part of the domains of the [[Bourbons of Naples]]. In 1798, [[Napoleon Bonaparte]] ended a long period of peace by claiming [[France]]’s control over the island of Malta and expelling the knights, some of whom sought aid from the [[Tsar]] of [[Russia]], [[Paul I of Russia|Paul I]]. This sparked a dispute over the Maltese archipelago, extending to the Syracusans, as Bonaparte was not averse to conquering Sicily. The Aretusean city first welcomed the British fleet of [[Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson|Horatio Nelson]] (famous for his statement about the water of the Fountain of Arethusa, which he credited for his [[Battle of the Nile|victory over Bonaparte in Egypt]]<ref>Carla Crespi, ''Nelson: l’uomo che fece tremare Napoleone'', 1967, p. 87; Ernle Dusgate Selby Bradford, ''Horatio Nelson: l’uomo e l’eroe'', 1981, p. 198.</ref>) and later that of [[Cuthbert Collingwood, 1st Baron Collingwood|Cuthbert Collingwood]], Nelson’s successor as commander of the [[Mediterranean Fleet]], who requested full naval control of Syracuse for British soldiers. British land and sea forces garrisoned the city throughout the [[Napoleonic Wars]], leaving it exposed only after 1813 (the Napoleonic period forged a strong bond with England, such that it destabilized Syracuse’s political stability).

Notably, during the same period, Syracuse hosted the United States fleet, which remained in its port from 1803 to 1807 during the [[First Barbary War]].<ref>Serafino Privitera, ''Storia di Siracusa antica e moderna'', vol. 2 and 3, 1879, p. 287.</ref> The Americans, however, left the city due to strained relations with British soldiers (the memory of the [[American Revolutionary War]] was still vivid, and Britain, preparing to militarily occupy Syracuse to prevent French conquest, did not want additional armed forces present).<ref group="note">The United States would again request in 1848 to make Syracuse their main Mediterranean base, but the provisional Sicilian government denied authorization.</ref>

The [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]], established in 1816, faced a profound crisis from the 1820s, as Sicily never accepted the union of its crown with Naples, resulting in a loss of autonomy. Syracuse joined the rebellion in the 1840s: the turning point, which eroded trust in the Bourbon government in one fell swoop, was the health crisis of 1837, when a cholera epidemic devastated the city. Revolts erupted, leading to irreconcilable conflicts between the Syracusans and Bourbon authority: [[Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies|Ferdinand II]] resorted to military force to regain control, with the armed forces enacting harsh reprisals against the population. The king then stripped the city of its status as a provincial capital, creating the Province of Noto. Thus, the Syracusans, joining the revolutionary movements of 1848 (known as the [[Springtime of the Peoples]]), welcomed British soldiers, as Great Britain, soon joined by France, positioned itself as a mediating power in the ongoing dispute between Sicilians and the Bourbons of Naples, who were forced to temporarily accept the existence of a new Kingdom of Sicily.

Divided between British and French garrisons, Syracuse saw its brief [[Sicilian nationalism|independence]] end quickly, returning under Ferdinand’s rule, partly due to rivalry among the European powers involved in the conflict.<ref>Serafino Privitera, ''Storia di Siracusa antica e moderna'', vol. 2 and 3, 1879, pp. 421-422.</ref> The definitive turning point came with the subsequent movements for the birth of the [[Kingdom of Italy]]: Syracuse, freeing itself autonomously from [[House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Bourbon]] rule, surrendered to the Garibaldians on 28 July 1860.<ref>Cf. ''Archivio di Stato di Siracusa'', Pacco cit., doc. 15. See also G. Parlato, ''Siracusa dal 1830 al 1880'', ed. 1919, pp. 134-135; B. Martinez La Restia, p. 171.</ref> The power of the Bourbon monarchs was annulled, and from 1865, the city stably resumed its role as the capital of the southeastern Sicilian province (at the time, the [[Province of Syracuse]] included the future [[Province of Ragusa]]).

=== Contemporary era ===
During the [[Italian colonialism|Italian colonial war]] and the [[Fascist era]], Syracuse assumed its traditional strategic role, with its geographic position suited for the route between Italy and Africa.<ref>Committee for the Documentation of Italy’s Work in Africa, ''L’Italia in Africa'', 1860, p. 10; Carlo Giglio, ''Inventario delle fonti manoscritte relative alla storia dell’Africa del Nord esistenti in Italia: L’archivio centrale dello Stato dalle origini al 1922'', 1983, pp. 264, 274, 284.</ref> King [[Victor Emmanuel III]] resided in the city multiple times (his last stay was in 1942), as did the [[Duce]] [[Benito Mussolini]] on several occasions.

From 1941 to 1943, during [[World War II]], Syracuse endured numerous bombings. In the spring of 1941, off the city’s coast, British soldiers torpedoed the liner [[SS Conte Rosso|Conte Rosso]]; the attack caused a severe loss of life for Italy (with over 1,200 deaths, it was the highest human toll on an Italian ship during the early phase of the conflict).<ref>Bordonali, ''Uomini del «Conte Rosso»'', 2004.</ref>

The city was occupied by the [[Allies of World War II|Allies]] between the night of 9 July and 10 July 1943, through [[Operation Ladbroke]] (part of [[Operation Husky|the Allied invasion of Sicily]]). Initially, it served as the main headquarters of the [[Allied Military Government of Occupied Territories|AMGOT]], the Allied military government that took control of Sicily.<ref>Isobel Williams, ''Allies and Italians under Occupation: Sicily and Southern Italy 1943-45'', 2013; Benito Li Vigni, ''Sicilia 1943: Sbarco Americano, Mafia e Italia segreta'', 2014, p. 30.</ref> Near the ''[[frazione]]'' of [[Cassibile (village)|Cassibile]], specifically in the ''contrada'' of Santa Teresa Longarini (a few kilometers from Syracuse’s southern entrance), the [[Armistice of Cassibile|armistice between Italy and the Allies]] was secretly signed on 3 September 1943 (made public through the [[Badoglio Proclamation|Badoglio Proclamation of 8 September 1943]], to which it remains linked). Subsequently, the [[Syracuse War Cemetery]] was built in the city’s central outskirts for fallen British soldiers (adjacent to Syracuse’s monumental cemetery).<ref>James Daly, ''Portsmouth’s World War Two Heroes'', 2012.</ref> After the war, the city experienced a period of reconstruction and renewed hope.

1953 was a significant year for Syracuse, as the {{Interlanguage link|Our Lady of Tears (Italy)|lt=weeping of a Marian effigy|it|Madonna delle Lacrime}} (depicting the [[Immaculate Heart of Mary]]) occurred, an event later declared miraculous by the Church.{{#tag:ref|[[Pope Pius XII]], at the Sicilian Marian convention, referring to the inexplicable event in Syracuse, said: "Will humanity understand the mysterious language of those tears?"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/it/speeches/1954/documents/hf_p-xii_spe_19541017_congr-mariano-sicilia.html|title=Radio message to the Regional Marian Congress of Sicily - Sunday, 17 October 1954|access-date=18 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160902133958/http://w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/it/speeches/1954/documents/hf_p-xii_spe_19541017_congr-mariano-sicilia.html|archive-date=2 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>|group=note}}

[[File:Sir Winston Churchill visit the British War Cemetery in Syracuse, 1955.jpg|thumb|left|Sir [[Winston Churchill]] visiting the [[Syracuse War Cemetery]] during his stay in the city in 1954]]

In 1954, [[Winston Churchill]] arrived in the city, officially on vacation (he had previously passed through in 1917, traveling from Vienna to Malta). The British Prime Minister would recall his stay in Syracuse as "the most delightful vacation of his life as a traveler."<ref>Cit. in {{Cite web|url=http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2008/07/29/churchill-il-viaggio-nell-isola-del-liberatore.html|title=Churchill, the journey to the island of the liberator on vacation|website=ricerca.repubblica.it|date=29 July 2008 |access-date=18 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152546/http://ricerca.repubblica.it/repubblica/archivio/repubblica/2008/07/29/churchill-il-viaggio-nell-isola-del-liberatore.html|archive-date=18 June 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

Between the late 1950s and the late 1970s, the [[Augusta-Priolo|Syracuse petrochemical complex]] emerged and developed in the northern periphery of the city, one of Europe’s largest petrochemical complexes.<ref>Rugafiori, Fasce, ''Dal petrolio all’energia: ERG 1938-2008: storia e cultura d’impresa'', 2008, p. 73.</ref> This had social repercussions: for Syracuse’s territories, the industry affected the Santa Panagia Bay, the ''contrada'' of Targia, and the village of [[Priolo Gargallo]], which, becoming an industrial center, sought and gained independence from Syracuse in 1979.<ref>Adorno, Neri Serneri, ''Industria, ambiente e territorio: per una storia ambientale delle aree industriali in Italia'', 2009, pp. 302, 304; ''Annali del Mezzogiorno'', vol. 18, 1978, pp. 104, 113.</ref> Petrochemical industries reached the northern entrance of the city. Beyond limited economic prosperity, the complex caused environmental degradation and pollution in the surrounding area.<ref>Rugafiori, Fasce, ''Dal petrolio all’energia: ERG 1938-2008: storia e cultura d’impresa'', 2008, pp. 114, 116.</ref>

In 1990, a violent earthquake, known as the [[1990 Carlentini earthquake|Carlentini Earthquake]], occurred on 13 December, caused significant damage to the city and sparked controversy due to the institutional silence that followed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.telejato.it/home/cronaca/il-terremoto-dei-silenzi-13-dicembre-1990/|title=The Earthquake of Silence, 13 December 1990|website=www.telejato.it|date=14 December 2014 |access-date=18 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208172659/http://www.telejato.it/home/cronaca/il-terremoto-dei-silenzi-13-dicembre-1990/|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=live}} See also Emilio Gerelli, [https://books.google.it/books?id=wHAvP43pwKIC&printsec=frontcover&hl=it#v=onepage&q&f=false Catastrofismo e terremoti] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113020732/https://books.google.it/books?id=wHAvP43pwKIC&printsec=frontcover&hl=it#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=13 January 2016 }}, 2012, p. 90.</ref>

On 5 and 6 November 1994, [[Pope John Paul II]] visited the city to inaugurate the [[Madonna delle Lacrime, Siracusa|Sanctuary of Our Lady of Tears]] and delivered a speech to the citizens, urging them to respond to the socio-economic [[marginalization]] that risked excluding them from the life of the nation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/speeches/1994/november/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19941105_cittadinanza-siracusa.html|title=Discorso di Giovanni Paolo II alla cittadinanza di Siracusa|access-date=18 May 2018|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208175524/https://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/it/speeches/1994/november/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19941105_cittadinanza-siracusa.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2005, Syracuse was included by [[UNESCO]] in the list of [[World Heritage Site|World Heritage Sites]], together with the nearby [[Necropolis of Pantalica]]. Another significant event for the city occurred in 2009, when the [[Maniace Castle]] hosted the G8 Environment Forum, which resulted in the [[Carta di Siracusa on Biodiversity]].<ref>Cf. ''Biodiversità - Risorse per lo sviluppo'' [Biodiversity - Resources for Development], 2009, p. 86; Alberto Pierobon, ''Nuovo manuale di diritto e gestione dell’ambiente'' [New Manual of Environmental Law and Management], 2012, p. 961.</ref>

== Geography ==

Syracuse is located on the southeastern side of Sicily. Its geography is highly varied, featuring [[hills]] and [[Cave|natural caves]], while two [[rivers]] flow along its southwestern edge. The city is predominantly bordered by the [[sea]], which surrounds it almost entirely. The [[coast]] is mostly rocky and jagged, with various [[promontory|promontories]], [[bays]], small [[islands]], and [[peninsulas]].[[File:Syracuse, Ortigia foamy sea.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|The island of [[Ortygia]] viewed from its eastern side; in the background, the Maddalena Peninsula is visible.]]

The city is partly located on the [[Ortygia|island of Ortygia]] and partly on the mainland (the entire area lies within the [[island of Sicily]]).<ref>''Siracusa e provincia: i siti archeologici e naturali, il mar Ionio, i monti Iblei'', 1999, p. 117.</ref> Its unique geographical position has made it famous for its [[Sunset|sunsets]] (thanks to the [[Zenith angle|zenith angles]] from which they are observed, they have been described for millennia as among the most beautiful in the world).<ref>Cf. sources from [[Cicero]] to [[Hans Christian Andersen]], [[Giosuè Carducci]], [[Edmondo De Amicis]], [[Alberto Moravia]], etc. Cf., e.g., Edmondo De Amicis, ''Ricordo d’un viaggio in Sicilia'', 1908, p. 109.</ref>

The configuration of the southern coast creates a vast natural [[inlet]] within which the Great Harbor is located: approximately 1,200 meters from the tip of Ortygia lies Cape Murro di Porco, a promontory of the Maddalena Peninsula, locally referred to simply as Isola<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://plemmirio.eu/area-marina/territorio/oarcheologia-e-paesaggio/|title=Consorzio Plemmirio. The Protected Area: Archaeology and Human Landscape|website=plemmirio.eu|access-date=14 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407124348/https://plemmirio.eu/area-marina/territorio/oarcheologia-e-paesaggio/|archive-date=7 April 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> (in reference to the toponym of a district on its eastern coast, whose origin is tied to a former, no longer existing condition of insularity).<ref>Società paleontologica italiana, ''Bollettino di paletnologia italiana'', vol. 16-17, 1890, p. 115.</ref> To the north of the city lies another promontory: Cape Santa Panagia,<ref>Ferdinando Milone, ''Sicilia: la natura e l’uomo'', 1960, p. 82.</ref> where the third port of Syracuse, the Trogilo, is believed to have been located.<ref>Arcuri di Marco, ''I Porti della Sicilia'', 1961, p. 170.</ref>

The city faces the central [[Mediterranean Sea]],<ref>Aa.Vv., ''La Sicilia e il Mediterraneo in un riscontro interdisciplinare'', p. 122; Mario Attilio Levi, ''La città antica: morfologia e biografia della aggregazione urbana nell’antichità'', 1989, pp. 311-319.</ref> surrounded by the [[Hydrographic basin|basin]] of the [[Ionian Sea]]. Syracuse lends its name to the southeastern Sicilian [[escarpment]], known as the "[[Malta]] and Syracuse Escarpment" (also called the "Hyblaean-Maltese Escarpment"),<ref name="scarpatasiciliana">Éditions de l’Université de Provence, ''Géologie Méditerranéenne'', vol. 21, 1994, p. 70.</ref> which is primarily responsible for the area’s high seismicity. This escarpment extends east of the Syracuse territory, into the depths of the Ionian Sea, as far as the island of Malta.{{#tag:ref|It is not a single block but a system of tectonic faults: the Hyblaean-Maltese limestones to the east are cut off, giving rise to the escarpment. Southeastern Sicily (the so-called Hyblaean Plateau) lies where the [[African Plate]] and the [[Eurasian Plate]] have been converging for 10 million years.<ref>Cit. ''Missione a Malta: ricerche e studi sulla preistoria dell’arcipelago maltese'' (ed. Fradkin Anati, Emmanuel Anati), 1988, p. 60; Società geologica italiana, ''Bollettino della Società geologica italiana'', vol. 126, 2007, p. 463.</ref>|group=note}}

* [[Seismic classification in Italy|Seismic classification]]: Zone 1 (high seismicity), PCM Ordinance No. 3274 of 20 March 2003,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/cms/attach/editor/rischio-sismico/perProvincia.pdf|title=Seismic classification of Italian municipalities|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131113224111/http://www.protezionecivile.gov.it/cms/attach/editor/rischio-sismico/perProvincia.pdf|archive-date=13 November 2013}}</ref> subsequently amended by D.G.R. No. 81 of 24 February 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/sicilia/78-siracusa/rischio-sismico/|title=Seismic risk of Syracuse|access-date=25 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220325084712/https://www.tuttitalia.it/sicilia/78-siracusa/rischio-sismico/|archive-date=25 March 2022}}</ref>

=== Topography ===
Geologically, the Syracuse area is part of the [[Hyblaean Mountains]]. Its [[topography]] consists of moderate peaks, the most prominent being the [[plateau]] of Epipoli, part of the easternmost Hyblaean foothills. At the base of Epipoli, located between the districts of Acradina and Neapolis, rises the Temenite Hill. The urban landscape is further marked by a rocky outcrop—rich in caves—known as the Crag of Akradina, with jagged walls of white [[limestone]], referred to as the Syracuse white stone.

Within the Crag of Akradina lies the Cappuccini Quarry, the largest of Syracuse’s ''latomie'' (extensive millennia-old [[quarries]], documented since the [[Greek era]]{{#tag:ref|[[Cicero]] provided an extensive description, calling them "a grandiose, magnificent work of kings and tyrants."<ref>[[In Verrem|Verrine]], II 5: Italian translation in Georges Vallet, Laura Vallet Mascoli, ''Siracusa antica: immagini e immagine'', 1993, p. 32.</ref>|group=note}}). The ''latomie'' are a defining feature of the city, with numerous examples present.

To the north of Syracuse, the Hyblaean foothills continue, forming rocky landscapes and caves, particularly evident in the Scala Greca district. There, the Santa Panagia Quarry, carved over millennia by a torrent of [[meteoric water]], represents the only Hyblaean quarry in contact with the sea. The physical area of Syracuse is characterized by mature [[karst]] formations.

In the ''contrada'' of Grotta Perciata, at the edge of the municipal territory, lies one of Sicily’s most significant karst caves, for which a protected reserve was established: the Grotta Monello Natural Reserve, situated among [[Valley|fluvial valleys]] and steep, often inaccessible slopes.<ref name=grottamonello>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siciliaparchi.com/_riserveNaturali.asp?order=prov&voce=Siracusa&enteId=&risId=58|title=Natural reserves of the province of Syracuse. Grotta Monello|website=www.siciliaparchi.com|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117033711/http://www.siciliaparchi.com/_riserveNaturali.asp?order=prov&voce=Siracusa&enteId=&risId=58|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> Inside Grotta Monello, notable [[Stalactite|stalactites]] and [[Stalagmite|stalagmites]] of various shapes are found.<ref name=grottamonello/>

=== Hydrography ===
The main rivers flowing through the city’s area are the [[Anapo]] and the [[Ciane]]:{{#tag:ref|The Anapo originates outside the Syracuse territory, while the Ciane rises from the Pisima springs (the main one, called Fonte Ciane, and the smaller Pisimotta, located at Cozzo del Pantano, a few kilometers from the sea.<ref>Politi, ''Siracusa pei viaggiatori'', 1835, p. 19.</ref>)|group=note}} the [[riverbed]] of the Ciane merges with that of the Anapo at its end, with the two freshwater streams sharing a single [[River mouth|mouth]] in the Ionian Sea, near the [[alluvial plain]] of the Pantanelli, where the natural reserve of Syracuse’s salt pans is located (the [[Salt pan (geology)|salt pans]] have been out of use for several years).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.agraria.org/parchi/sicilia/fiumeciane.htm|title=Ciane River and Syracuse Salt Pans Natural Reserve - Sicily. Atlas of Parks and Protected Areas in Italy|website=www.agraria.org|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117032051/http://www.agraria.org/parchi/sicilia/fiumeciane.htm|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Ponte sul Ciane.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Bridge over the [[Ciane]] (near the Pantanelli)]]

In the [[Marsh|marshy]] area west of the city, at Pantanelli—where the Lisimelie marshes once stood (according to ancient tradition, these marshes were so significant that the city’s toponym is said to derive from them{{#tag:ref|Due to its marshy and [[lagoon]]-like character, this area was called "the Pantanelli." It is there, in [[prehistory]], that the Syraka marsh is believed to have given the city its name.<ref>''Archivio storico per la Sicilia orientale'', vol. 81-83, 1986, p. 186.</ref>|group=note}})—following [[land reclamation]] works in the 20th century, several [[Canal|canals]] were dug: the Mammaiabica (which runs alongside the Ciane), Scandurra, Pismotta, and Regina.<ref>Società di studi geografici, ''Rivista geografica italiana'', vol. 82, 1975, p. 42.</ref>

Another significant river, culturally millennia-old, flows through the municipal area: the [[Cassibile (river)|Cassibile]], from which the populous [[Cassibile (village)|''frazione'' of Syracuse]] takes its name. The mouth of this river is located in the other ''[[frazione]]'' of [[Fontane Bianche]].<ref>Famoso, ''Mosaico Sicilia: atlante e racconti di paesaggi'', 2005, p. 203.</ref>

[[File:Pascal Poggi Sicile Juillet 2019 - Syracuse, Ortigia, Fonte Aretusa.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|left|The [[Fountain of Arethusa]] with [[Cyperus papyrus|papyrus]] at its center; a rare but typical plant of Syracuse]]

In the historic center of the city, represented by the island of Ortygia, flows the [[brackish water]] of the [[Fountain of Arethusa]], originating from the Hyblaean [[Aquifer|aquifers]].<ref>Luigi Baldacci, ''Descrizione geologica dell’isola di Sicilia'', 1886, p. 388.</ref> On the Temenite Hill, within the [[Grotta del Ninfeo]], is the outlet of the [[Galermi Aqueduct]], notable for being Sicily’s oldest aqueduct (built by the [[tyrant]] [[Gelon]] in 480 BC, it still carries the waters of the Anapo into the city).<ref>[[Gioacchino Di Marzo]], ''Biblioteca storica e letteraria di Sicilia'', 1869, p. 317; [[Touring Club Italiano]], ''Sicilia'', 1937, p. 21; Bertolami, ''Le necropoli rupestri di Pantalica'', 2014.</ref>

=== Flora and fauna ===
The [[Mediterranean maquis]] characterizes Syracuse’s [[flora]] and [[fauna]]: [[Arecaceae|palms]], [[Opuntia ficus-indica|prickly pears]], [[olive groves]], and [[citrus]] orchards dominate the landscape. Due to the presence of the sea, one of the Mediterranean’s most significant concentrations of [[Chamaerops humilis|dwarf palms]] has developed, covering nearly a square kilometer.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://plemmirio.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Caratterizzazione-naturalistica-P.ta-Arenella-Greco-Nicastro.pdf|title=Naturalistic characterization P.ta Arenella|website=plemmirio.eu|access-date=16 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117014545/http://plemmirio.eu/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Caratterizzazione-naturalistica-P.ta-Arenella-Greco-Nicastro.pdf|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref> In the city, at the archaeological zone, one of Italy’s most impressive centuries-old [[Ficus macrophylla|Moreton Bay fig trees]] can also be observed.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gruppocarige.it/grp/gruppo/html/ita/arte-cultura/la-casana/2014_3/pdf/lacasana-3-2014-territorio3.pdf|title=The territory and its history. Special Sicily. The botanical garden of Palermo, Donatella Marsaglia|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117015748/http://www.gruppocarige.it/grp/gruppo/html/ita/arte-cultura/la-casana/2014_3/pdf/lacasana-3-2014-territorio3.pdf|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Of particular interest is the [[river ecosystem|river flora]]: the most unique plant, due to its rarity in Europe and worldwide, is the [[Cyperus papyrus|papyrus]] (''Cyperus papyrus''), which grows spontaneously in the city (observable along the Ciane).

Regarding fauna, Syracuse plays a primary role in hosting [[migratory birds]] and its territory includes species rare elsewhere in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.provincia.siracusa.it/zoom_comunicati.asp?id=4148|title=Project "Intervention for the valorization of local fish production. Recovery and promotion of the macrostigma trout"|website=www.provincia.siracusa.it|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117030728/http://www.provincia.siracusa.it/zoom_comunicati.asp?id=4148|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=live}}; Nunzio Famoso, ''Mosaico Sicilia: atlante e racconti di paesaggi'', 2005, p. 208.</ref> The complex geographical configuration allows the fauna to be divided into [[species]] that are cave-dwelling (or speleological),<ref>[[Istituto Geografico Militare]], ''La fauna cavernicola di Siracusa'' in ''L’Universo'', vol. 47, ed. 4-6, 1967, p. 716.</ref> fluvial, and predominantly marine: the marine protected area of Plemmirio serves as an important observatory for the presence of [[cetaceans]] ([[Balaenopteridae|rorquals]], [[dolphins]], [[sperm whales]], and other sea mammals).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://plemmirio.eu/?page_id=2197|title=Marine flora and fauna|website=plemmirio.eu|access-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117220319/http://plemmirio.eu/?page_id=2197|archive-date=17 November 2015|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Climate ===
Syracuse’s climate is cool with light rainfall in winter and extremely hot and dry in summer. Notably, the Syracusan climate is dominated by the [[sirocco]] wind.<ref>[[Paolo Orsi]], Vincenzo La Rosa, ''Le Presenze micenee nel territorio siracusano'', 2004, p. 54.</ref> In [[autumn]], [[Flood|floods]] can occur, with peaks exceeding 100/150 mm daily.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://clisun.casaccia.enea.it/Profili/tabelle/697%20%5BSiracusa%5D%20capoluogo.Txt|title=Climate table|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141103071030/http://clisun.casaccia.enea.it/profili/tabelle/697%20[Siracusa]%20capoluogo.Txt|archive-date=3 November 2014}}</ref>

On 11 August 2021, at the station of the Sicilian Agrometeorological Information Service near the border with [[Floridia]], the highest temperature ever recorded in Italy and Europe was registered, reaching +48.8 °C.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://my.meteonetwork.it/station/scl234/|title=Syracuse SIAS weather station, Syracuse - myMeteoNetwork|website=my.meteonetwork.it|access-date=11 August 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210811123456/http://my.meteonetwork.it/station/scl234/|archive-date=11 August 2021}}</ref> As this station is not part of the [[World Meteorological Organization|World Meteorological Organization (WMO)]], the official Italian record remains attributed to [[Foggia]], which recorded +47 °C on 25 June 2007 at the Amendola weather station, part of the Air Force’s meteorological network (affiliated with the WMO). In January 2023, a study on sunshine hours declared Syracuse the sunniest city in Italy, with 346.83 total sunshine hours, just ahead of nearby Catania with 346.78 hours.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siracusanews.it/siracusa-e-la-citta-italiana-piu-soleggiata/?fbclid=IwAR0hd_xNY05NdulLkcAhzFx7M73jhkDzSQInND2PBgnxpF384mKn89o-zAs|title=Syracuse is Italy's sunniest city|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115123456/https://www.siracusanews.it/siracusa-e-la-citta-italiana-piu-soleggiata/?fbclid=IwAR0hd_xNY05NdulLkcAhzFx7M73jhkDzSQInND2PBgnxpF384mKn89o-zAs|archive-date=15 January 2023}}</ref> On 18 January 2024, Syracuse recorded an anomalous heatwave and [[sirocco]], with temperatures reaching 25.3 °C.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siracusanews.it/caldo-record-e-scirocco-a-gennaio-a-siracusa-registrata-temperatura-di-253-gradi/|title=Record heat and sirocco in January: Syracuse records a temperature of 25.3 degrees|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118123456/https://www.siracusanews.it/caldo-record-e-scirocco-a-gennaio-a-siracusa-registrata-temperatura-di-253-gradi/|archive-date=18 January 2024}}</ref>

* Climate classification: Zone B, 799 [[Degree days|DD]]<ref>[http://www.confedilizia.it/clima-SICILIA.htm Page with climate classifications of Sicilian municipalities] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021021105019/http://www.confedilizia.it/clima-SICILIA.htm |date=21 October 2002 }}</ref>

{{Weather box
| location = Syracuse
| Jan high C = 16
| Feb high C = 16
| Mar high C = 18
| Apr high C = 20
| May high C = 24
| Jun high C = 28
| Jul high C = 32
| Aug high C = 32
| Sep high C = 29
| Oct high C = 25
| Nov high C = 20
| Dec high C = 17
| Jan low C = 5
| Feb low C = 5
| Mar low C = 7
| Apr low C = 8
| May low C = 12
| Jun low C = 16
| Jul low C = 19
| Aug low C = 19
| Sep low C = 17
| Oct low C = 14
| Nov low C = 10
| Dec low C = 7
| Jan precipitation mm = 75
| Feb precipitation mm = 53
| Mar precipitation mm = 46
| Apr precipitation mm = 35
| May precipitation mm = 19
| Jun precipitation mm = 6
| Jul precipitation mm = 5
| Aug precipitation mm = 9
| Sep precipitation mm = 45
| Oct precipitation mm = 106
| Nov precipitation mm = 62
| Dec precipitation mm = 86
| Jan humidity = 73
| Feb humidity = 71
| Mar humidity = 70
| Apr humidity = 70
| May humidity = 68
| Jun humidity = 65
| Jul humidity = 64
| Aug humidity = 67
| Sep humidity = 68
| Oct humidity = 72
| Nov humidity = 75
| Dec humidity = 76
| source = <ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ilmeteo.it/portale/medie-climatiche/Siracusa?refresh_cens |title=Clima Siracusa - Medie climatiche » ILMETEO.it |access-date=28 October 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180207025318/https://www.ilmeteo.it/portale/medie-climatiche/Siracusa?refresh_cens |archive-date=7 February 2018 }}</ref>
}}

== Symbols ==
[[File:Stemma città di Siracusa Ortigia Palazzo Vermexio.jpg|thumb|upright=0.6|right|The coat of arms of Syracuse carved on the facade of the [[Palazzo Vermexio|city Senate palace]]]]

In ancient times, the city featured its own symbols on its coins. Its most famous and ancient emblem was the face of [[Arethusa (nymph)|Arethusa]] surrounded by [[dolphin]]s, which made it renowned throughout the Mediterranean. Syracuse was also the first city in Sicily to depict the [[triskelion]] on its coins, significantly contributing to its spread as the island's main symbol.<ref>Cf. Italian Numismatic Magazine, 1891, p. 90; [[Accademia dei Lincei]], ''Proceedings'', 1971, p. 6.</ref>

Syracuse is also one of the first geographical locations to adopt the figure of the [[Eagle (heraldry)|eagle]]: starting from the [[Hellenistic period]], it was depicted on metal, shown grasping a bundle of lightning bolts. This animal — always clutching the lightning, an original sign of Zeus — was revived during the Middle Ages to become the city's sole symbol, engraved on its coat of arms as early as the Swabian period.<ref>See Serafino Privitera, ''Storia di Siracusa Antica e Moderna'' [History of Ancient and Modern Syracuse], 1879, p. 28.</ref>

Subsequently, in the 15th century, a [[fortress]] completely replaced the eagle,<ref name="romano">Cf. Michele Romano, ''L'araldica secolare di Siracusa'' [The Secular Heraldry of Syracuse], 1992.</ref> until, in the 17th century, the city's most enduring symbols were combined to form the current coat of arms of Syracuse: a towered eagle (with a crenelated castle) surmounted by a [[Crown (heraldry)|crown]].<ref name="romano" />

{{Quote|Green, with a natural eagle in flight, lowered and with its left wing closed, crowned with a royal crown, charged on the chest with a golden castle, turreted, grasping Jupiter's lightning bolts with golden claws. Below the shield is a blue strip with the inscription S.P.Q.S.|Description of the coat of arms in the municipal statute.}}

The current coat of arms was granted on 8 December 1942<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://patrimonioacs.cultura.gov.it/patrimonio/efbb9141-7289-4421-8445-2db83f583c36/1652-siracusa|title=Bozzetti di stemma e gonfalone del Comune di Siracusa|access-date=27 September 2024|website=Central State Archive, Collection of drawings of municipal and city coats of arms|archive-date=27 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240927120000/https://patrimonioacs.cultura.gov.it/patrimonio/efbb9141-7289-4421-8445-2db83f583c36/1652-siracusa|url-status=live}}</ref> and is mentioned in the third article of the municipal statute. The motto placed below the [[Shield (heraldry)|shield]] of [[green (heraldry)|green]] color, on a blue strip, bears the inscription ''S.P.Q.S'', in [[Latin language|Latin]], ''"Senatus PopulusQue Syracusanus"'', translated: "The Senate and the People of Syracuse".<ref>See also Art. 3. {{Cite web|url=http://www.comune.siracusa.it/images/doc/STATUTO.nuovo.testo.approv.consiglio1.pdf|title=Lo Statuto Comunale|access-date=19 May 2018|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424212932/http://www.comune.siracusa.it/images/doc/STATUTO.nuovo.testo.approv.consiglio1.pdf|url-status=live}} and {{Cite web|url=http://www.comune.siracusa.it/index.php/it/lo-stemma/12-il-comune/66-lo-stemma-3|title=Lo Stemma: il vecchio e il nuovo|access-date=19 May 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152251/http://www.comune.siracusa.it/index.php/it/lo-stemma/12-il-comune/66-lo-stemma-3|url-status=live}}</ref>

Meanwhile, the aforementioned figure of Arethusa surrounded by dolphins is currently used alongside the [[Biga (chariot)|biga]] (which, like the [[quadriga]], was another well-known symbol of the ancient city), the [[Nike (mythology)|Winged Victory]], and the [[lion]] (a figure that appeared in the context of warfare against Carthage) to represent the coat of arms of the Free Municipal Consortium of Syracuse (formerly the province).<ref>R.D. of 11 April and 21 September 1938, RR.LL.PP. of 14 September 1939. See ''Official Bulletin of the Heraldic Council of the Kingdom'', Rome, State Printing Institute, vol. XI, no. 45, 1942, p. 164.</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rbvex.it/province/sud/sicilia2.html|title=Provincia di Siracusa|access-date=19 May 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175321/http://www.rbvex.it/province/sud/sicilia2.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The civic banner consists of a green drape.

== Monuments and places of interest ==
{{Infobox World Heritage Site
| name = Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica
| image = Blue Hour Piazza Duomo 5 - Syracuse - Unesco World Heritage.jpg
| year = 2005
| criteria = (ii), (iii), (iv), (vi)
| danger = Not in danger
}}

{{Quote|The cultural, architectural and artistic stratification evident in the Syracuse/Pantalica ensemble bears exceptional testimony to the history and cultural diversity of the Syracuse region over three millennia from the ancient Greek period to the Baroque.|[[UNESCO]], ''[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1200/ Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica]''.}}

Syracuse is among Italy's leading art cities. Rich in remarkable monuments and places of interest, it owes its numerous architectural and cultural testimonies to an equally rich and ancient history.

UNESCO includes Syracuse among its World Heritage Sites based on four criteria, including the exceptional universal importance of the events that took place there (Criterion VI) and the extraordinary cultural diversity concentrated in a unique space (Criterion II).

The city encompasses a millennia-spanning architectural-cultural heritage, preserving in its museums archaeological artifacts of an even greater antiquity than its Greek foundation.

=== Civil architecture ===

[[File:The Med - Syracuse.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The collage shows some of the most characteristic views of the island of Syracuse, [[Ortygia]].]]
Syracuse's architecture almost always features white facades, tending toward beige or golden-yellow, as they were built with the Hyblaean stone, locally called ''giuggiulena'' stone, or nougat stone, due to its malleability and tones similar to the aforementioned food.<ref>See Anthony Blunt, ''Barocco siciliano'' [Sicilian Baroque], 1968, p. 31.</ref> For this reason, Syracuse is often architecturally referred to as the "white city".<ref>Cf. [[Ruggero Bonghi]], ''La cultura'' [Culture], 1902, p. 93. See also {{Cite web|url=http://www.ansa.it/canale_inviaggio/notizie/italia/2016/03/09/incantevole-italia-ecco-le-12-citta-bianche_7de2c648-89d7-4468-8cd4-3995b010f92b.html|title=Incantevole Italia, ecco le 12 città "bianche"|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175345/http://www.ansa.it/canale_inviaggio/notizie/italia/2016/03/09/incantevole-italia-ecco-le-12-citta-bianche_7de2c648-89d7-4468-8cd4-3995b010f92b.html|url-status=live}} and {{Cite web|url=https://siviaggia.it/viaggi/la-bellezza-abbagliante-delle-citta-bianche-ecco-dove-sono/142822/|title=La bellezza abbagliante delle città bianche. Ecco dove sono|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152445/https://siviaggia.it/viaggi/la-bellezza-abbagliante-delle-citta-bianche-ecco-dove-sono/142822/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Most of the numerous and ancient noble palaces are located on the island of Ortygia, as during the medieval and [[Renaissance]] periods, the city was confined within it, while more recent Syracuse is home to administrative and governmental buildings (e.g., the hospital complex and the court of justice). Among the earliest post-classical civil constructions are the 14th-century seat of the Queen's Chamber and the 14th-century [[Palazzo Montalto|Mergulese-Montalto Palace]], in Chiaramontano Gothic style. Other [[medieval architecture|medieval buildings]] persist in the city, particularly from the [[Kingdom of Aragon|Aragonese-Catalan period]]: examples include the [[Bellomo Palace Regional Gallery|Bellomo Palace]] and surviving elements of the Zapata-Gargallo Palace, owned by the prestigious families of the same name (a descendant founded the original village of Priolo Gargallo, Tommaso Gargallo). However, it was after the 17th-century earthquake and subsequent reconstruction that the predominant style of Syracuse emerged: [[Sicilian Baroque]]. The city gave birth to one of the main exponents of this style: the architect [[Rosario Gagliardi]].

The [[Palazzo Vermexio]], seat of the municipal government, remains one of the greatest examples of Baroque art applied to an administrative building.<ref name="Sicilia">{{Cite book|title=Sicilia [Sicily]|year=1989|pages=616–620|trans-title=Sicily}}.</ref> The ultimate evolution of Baroque was [[Rococo]]; Syracuse clearly displays its elaborate signs: palaces such as [[Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco|Beneventano del Bosco]] (whose ancient rooms hosted, at different times, the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta Philippe Villiers de L'Isle-Adam,<ref>Alessandro Musco (ed.), ''Francescani e la politica: atti del convegno internazionale di studio, Palermo, 3-7 dicembre'' [Franciscans and Politics: Proceedings of the International Conference, Palermo, 3-7 December], 2002, vol. 2, 2007, p. 95; Jeremy Dummett, ''Syracuse, City of Legends: A Glory of Sicily'', 2010, chap. ''Baroque Syracuse''.</ref> Admiral Horatio Nelson<ref>Linda Cotugno, ''The Beneventano del Bosco Palace: A Special Historic House in the Island of Ortigia'' in ''Review of Historical Geography and Toponomastics'', vol. VII, no. 13-14, 2012, pp. 77-88 (p. 84); Dorling Kindersley, ''Eyewitness Travel Guide: Sicily'', 2011, p. 142; Art Library, ''Archiva'', 1936, p. 290.</ref> and the Bourbon sovereigns who visited the city, including the Count of Syracuse, [[Prince Leopold, Count of Syracuse|Leopold of the Two Sicilies]]), the Impellizzeri,<ref>Cf. {{Cite book|title=Siracusa e provincia: i siti archeologici e naturali, il mar Ionio, i monti Iblei [Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains]|page=60|trans-title=Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains}}.</ref> the Borgia del Casale (owned by the Syracuse branch of the influential [[House of Borgia|Borgia]] family), and the [https://www.siracusapost.com/siracusa-e-siracusani-mostra-fotografica-di-pippo-iacono-per-celebrare-la-memoria-visiva-della-citta/ Bonanno of Linguaglossa], distinguished by its facades with Baroque coats of arms and a loggia accessed via a red marble staircase, were built adopting the aforementioned [[Ornament (art)|ornamental]] style.

The building housing the Syracuse [[Diocesan chancery|chancery]] is the Archbishop's Palace; within it, various centuries of architectural transformations are visible: from Swabian construction to 18th- and 19th-century additions. Dating directly to the 19th century and reflecting [[Art Nouveau]] and [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical]] styles (individually or sometimes both) are the palaces named: of the Superintendency of Cultural Heritage, of the Clock (so-called due to the large mechanical [[clock]] atop it), of the Old Market, and of the Chamber of Commerce.

[[File:The Fountain of Diana in Syracusa, Sicily (2).jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|The front facade of the Palazzo dell’Orologio, at Piazza Archimede. On the left, the statues of the Fountain of Diana]]

Also from the 19th century is the palace of the Municipal Theatre of Syracuse, built so that "the land of [[Epicharmus of Kos|Epicharmus]] would have a theatre suited" to host the artistic life of the population.<ref>So stated by the Academy of Aretusei. See {{Cite book|title=Siracusa e provincia: i siti archeologici e naturali, il mar Ionio, i monti Iblei [Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains]|page=60|trans-title=Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains}}.</ref> A decade later, the palace of the [[Siracusa railway station|railway station]] was inaugurated, followed by the maritime station building (now the seat of the [[Coast Guard]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guardiacostiera.gov.it/siracusa/Pages/storia.aspx|title=Storia della Capitaneria di Porto Siracusa|access-date=24 May 2018|archive-date=14 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014114331/http://www.guardiacostiera.gov.it/siracusa/Pages/storia.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

In the first half of the 20th century, the palaces of the Hotel Des Etrangers, the Grand Hotel (both among the oldest hotels in Syracuse),<ref>Cf. Salvatore Adorno, ''La produzione di uno spazio urbano: Siracusa tra Ottocento e Novecento'' [The Production of an Urban Space: Syracuse Between the 19th and 20th Centuries], 2004; Leone Efisio Picone, ''La provincia di Siracusa: monografia economica'' [The Province of Syracuse: Economic Monograph], 1925, pp. 176, 177.</ref> and the Post Office (now also converted into an accommodation facility) were built.

The city’s main and historic villas are essentially three: Politi, Landolina, and Reimann. The Villa Politi stands above the Syracuse quarries (originally built as the Grand Hotel Villa Politi) and was constructed in the 19th century by the Austrian noblewoman Maria Theresa Laudien, wife of the Syracusan Raffaello Politi, whose efforts earned it the reputation of an "international salon"<ref>Cf. {{Cite book|title=Siracusa e provincia: i siti archeologici e naturali, il mar Ionio, i monti Iblei [Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains]|page=38|trans-title=Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains}}.</ref> (it hosted, among others, the [[Prince of Piedmont|Princes of Piedmont]] and Winston Churchill).

The Villa Landolina, located in the Neapolis district, is also a 19th-century residence. It bears the name of the Landolina family, whose most illustrious member was the archaeologist and naturalist Saverio Landolina (he rediscovered the Syracusan Venus and defended the existence of the spontaneous colony of Arethusan papyrus, also engaging in the debate on who discovered this rare plant).<ref>Cf. {{Cite web|url=http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/museopaoloorsi/museo/saveriolandolina.htm|title=Saverio Landolina|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=7 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207192943/http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/museopaoloorsi/museo/saveriolandolina.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Adjacent to it, within its grounds, the [[Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi|Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum]] was built. A large wooded park and tombs of fallen soldiers from other nations complete its complex area.<ref>Cf. {{Cite web|url=http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/museopaoloorsi/museo/villalandolina.htm|title=Parco storico di Villa Landolina|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=24 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130224062035/http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/museopaoloorsi/museo/villalandolina.htm|url-status=live}} See also {{Cite book|title=Siracusa e provincia: i siti archeologici e naturali, il mar Ionio, i monti Iblei [Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains]|page=35|trans-title=Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains}}.</ref>

Villa Reimann, known primarily for its distinctive and extensive garden (covering 35,000 m² of urban land<ref name="reiman">{{Cite web|url=http://www.comune.siracusa.it/index.php/it/gli-uffici/64-settore-politiche-culturali-e-turismo/villa-reimann/206-villa-reimann|title=Villa Reimann|access-date=25 May 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618153803/http://www.comune.siracusa.it/index.php/it/gli-uffici/64-settore-politiche-culturali-e-turismo/villa-reimann/206-villa-reimann|url-status=live}}</ref>), called the "Garden of the Hesperides,"<ref>Cf. ''The Garden of Villa Reimann at Syracuse'' in ''Paradise on Earth: The Gardens of the XXI Century, Volume 1'' (Italian Association of Landscape Architecture), 1996, pp. 183-184.</ref> is located near the Tomb of Archimedes necropolis and takes its name from the Danish noblewoman [[Christiane Reimann]], who purchased the property in 1933.{{#tag:ref|Reimann, in correspondence with the then Ministry of Cultural Heritage, described it thus: {{Quote|...one of the most evocative in Syracuse, overlooking the foot of the gently sloping hill, interrupted by the greenery of gardens and orchards, the cerulean circle of the port, enclosed by the gentle line of hills and far from the blue Ionian Sea.<ref name="reiman" />}}|group=note}} By her will, the villa is now municipal property. Also noteworthy is Villa Bonanno (also known as a castle due to its imposing appearance), now abandoned, located in Tremilia, a suburb of Syracuse: initially owned by the Scotsman Gould Francis Leckie, who in 1800 obtained the concession of the ancient ecclesiastical land, but having to abandon Sicily (Leckie clashed with the Bourbon sovereigns during the British occupation of Syracuse), the building passed to the Syracusan Bonanno barons.<ref>See images of the Villa: [http://www.antoniorandazzo.it/palazzidipregio/images/castello-bonanno-dopo-incendio-2-settembre-2014--3-.jpg front facade] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175258/http://www.antoniorandazzo.it/palazzidipregio/images/castello-bonanno-dopo-incendio-2-settembre-2014--3-.jpg |date=18 June 2018}}, [https://www.lasiciliainrete.it/wordpress/wp-content/sabai/File/files/l_85d810332cf506c776c255ff6e6db76d.jpg aerial view] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152244/https://www.lasiciliainrete.it/wordpress/wp-content/sabai/File/files/l_85d810332cf506c776c255ff6e6db76d.jpg |date=18 June 2018}}. Cf. history in Giuseppe Margani, ''Celle tricore: edifici a pianta trilobata nella tradizione costruttiva siciliana'' [Tricore Cells: Trilobate Plan Buildings in the Sicilian Construction Tradition], 2005; Hartmut Mayer, ''Aspekte seines Werks'' [Aspects of His Work], 2002, p. 137.</ref>

=== Military architecture ===
The first to be built was the [[Euryalus fortress|Euryalus Castle]] (located in the modern district of Belvedere), commissioned by the tyrant [[Dionysius I of Syracuse]] as a defensive pivot and connection point for his extensive walls, erected against the assaults of the [[Carthaginians]] and other belligerent peoples (Syracuse had just repelled Athens’ offensive, necessitating increased defenses for future wars). [[Archimedes]] also contributed to the castle’s construction, enhancing it with traps for the enemies of the [[pentapolis]].<ref>''Archimede'' [Archimedes], vol. 27-28, 1975, p. 4.</ref> The Euryalus was the military building that, millennia later, was taken as an example by [[Kaiser]] [[Wilhelm II]] for the [[tunnel warfare]] and [[trench warfare]] fought by the Germans.<ref>See ''Historical Archive for Sicily'', vol. 50, 1930, p. 320.</ref>

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Ortigia, castello maniace, interno, sala 01.JPG
| width1            = 200px
| align             = right
| image2            = Castello Maniace - Siracusa.jpg
| width2            = 227px
| footer            = One of the internal halls of the [[Maniace Castle]] and one of its external sections facing the sea
}}

In the first half of the 13th century, the [[Maniace Castle]] arose, in [[Gothic architecture|Gothic style]], designed by Frederick II of Swabia on a previous [[fortress]], itself built by the Byzantine general George Maniakes; Frederick named his construction after him.<ref>Cf. Caterina Napoleone, Franco Maria Ricci, ''Enciclopedia della Sicilia'' [Encyclopedia of Sicily], 2006, p. 911.</ref> This castle, considered one of the most representative Swabian architectures,<ref name="maniace">Cf. Nicola Giuliano Leone, ''L'Arte Siculo-Normanna: La cultura islamica nella Sicilia medievale'' [Siculo-Norman Art: Islamic Culture in Medieval Sicily], 2004, chap. X ''Castello Maniace''; {{Cite book|title=Siracusa e provincia: i siti archeologici e naturali, il mar Ionio, i monti Iblei [Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains]|page=55|trans-title=Syracuse and Province: Archaeological and Natural Sites, the Ionian Sea, the Hyblaean Mountains}}; Renata Prescia, Ferdinando Trapani (eds.), ''Rigenerazione urbana, innovazione sociale e cultura del progetto'' [Urban Regeneration, Social Innovation, and Project Culture], 2016, p. 144.</ref> played a significant role in the city’s medieval military life: used as a prison and to counter [[pirates|pirate raids]], but when the Kingdom’s sovereigns visited, it could also serve as an elegant court residence.<ref name="maniace" />

Over the centuries, Syracuse became increasingly fortified. In the 16th century, under [[Spanish Empire|Spanish rule]], most Greco-Roman monuments were destroyed (some already damaged by numerous earthquakes) to reuse their stone, building massive [[bastion]]s and walls that permanently altered the city’s appearance.<ref name="eliotocco" />

The fortifications and military regime reached such a level that 17th- and 18th-century Syracuse has been described by modern historians as "a [[barracks]] inhabited by civilians,"<ref name="eliotocco">Cite Elio Tocco, ''Il Cinquecento - Lineamenti generali'' [The 16th Century - General Outline], part of ''La memoria, le vicende, l’urbanistica, la storia di Siracusa'' [Memory, Events, Urban Planning, and History of Syracuse].</ref> and also the "fortress of Europe,"<ref>See Annalena Lippi Guidi, ''Il Quartiere di San Paolo nella prima metà dell'Ottocento'' [The San Paolo District in the First Half of the 19th Century] in «I Siracusani», year IV, no. 7, 1999.</ref> designed to be impregnable.<ref>See Liliane Dufour, ''Antiche e nuove difese: castelli, torri e forti del siracusano'' [Ancient and New Defenses: Castles, Towers, and Forts of the Syracuse Area], 2000, p. 18.</ref> A clear description was provided by the noted 19th-century British traveler [[Henry Clark Barlow]], who noted the numerous military structures one had to pass to enter the city, which closed its gates at sunset, leaving out those who failed to enter in time:<ref>See Rina La Mesa, ''Viaggiatori stranieri in Sicilia: antologia'' [Foreign Travelers in Sicily: Anthology], 1961, p. 18.</ref>

{{Quote|The land-side fortifications are very powerful; one passes over drawbridges through walkways flanked by formidable batteries and commanded by firing positions directed toward the entrance gate; and when you think the fortifications are over, you find you must cross more moats, more walkways, more batteries; and when you hope to have reached the gates, there is still half a mile of trenches in prospect, bridges, moats, and batteries; and when you have passed the gates, the city is still distant, with a bridge and walls to cross.|Henry Clark Barlow, 1843.<ref>Citation in Emanuele Kanceff, Roberta Rampone, Interuniversity Center for Research on "Travel in Italy," ''Viaggio nel Sud'' [Travel in the South], vol. 1, 1993, p. 342.</ref>}}

It was not until the late 19th century that the massive military buildings were completely dismantled: of these, the Fort Vigilena (previously called Forte della Gradiglia) and the Fort San Giovannello (formerly Forte della Ferraria) remain prominently visible. Also framed in a military context is the palace that housed the prison during the [[House of Bourbon-Two Sicilies|Bourbon]] period: its construction was prompted by the increasingly frequent rebellions of Syracusans against the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies|Neapolitan monarchy]].<ref name="carcere">Cf. Salvatore Santuccio, {{Cite web|url=http://www.antoniorandazzo.it/palazzidipregio/files/carcere-borbonico--1-.pdf|title=Il carcere borbonico di Siracusa|access-date=26 May 2018|archive-date=11 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811071803/http://www.antoniorandazzo.it/palazzidipregio/files/carcere-borbonico--1-.pdf|url-status=live}}; Ulisse Spinnato Vega, ''101 perché sulla storia della Sicilia che non puoi non sapere'' [101 Reasons on Sicilian History You Cannot Not Know], 2017, chap. 86.</ref> Thus, with no space left in the prison behind Piazza del Duomo, the Bourbons built this new structure in 1853. The palace is currently awaiting restoration.<ref name="carcere" />

In 1735, the [[Military engineering|Military Engineers Corps]] barracks were built, later named after the Syracusan patriot Gaetano Abela. The Abela barracks are located within the Maniace Castle area: until 2001, they housed the Infantry Regiment and the Sapper Engineers, then became the university residence for the architecture faculty.<ref>Cf. {{Cite web|url=http://www.difesa.it/InformazioniDellaDifesa/Pagine/duefortificazionitrasformateincentridicultura.aspx|title=Due fortificazioni trasformate in centri di cultura|access-date=27 May 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618153754/http://www.difesa.it/InformazioniDellaDifesa/Pagine/duefortificazionitrasformateincentridicultura.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

As the city expanded, so did its military architecture: in the decade before World War II, Syracuse saw the construction of the seaplane base (now home to the [[Italian Air Force|34th Radar Group of the Air Force]]), followed by the [[Artillery|battery]] Lamba Doria, occupying 48,000 m² in the southern part of the Maddalena Peninsula. Numerous [[bunkers]] were built, scattered throughout, along with an underground fuel depot for the Syracuse [[Regia Aeronautica|Royal Air Force]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://siracusa.gds.it/2017/10/16/i-depositi-di-carburante-dellultima-guerra-aperti-a-siracusa_742074/|title=I depositi di carburante dell'ultima guerra aperti a Siracusa|date=16 October 2017 |access-date=27 May 2018|archive-date=4 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180604165850/http://siracusa.gds.it/2017/10/16/i-depositi-di-carburante-dellultima-guerra-aperti-a-siracusa_742074/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Also tied to World War II is the Santa Panagia battery, incorporated into the vast area of the Syracuse naval base and protected as a military archaeological asset. Additionally, of historical-military interest is the [[hypogeum]] of Piazza Duomo, as this long tunnel (running from the cathedral site to the Foro Italico, near the Marina) was one of the main shelters for the population during the bombings of the last conflict.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.regione.sicilia.it/beniculturali/dirbenicult/database/page_musei/pagina_musei.asp?ID=96&IdSito=117|title=Percorso ipogeico di Piazza Duomo - Regione Siciliana|access-date=27 May 2018}}</ref>

Another prevalent military architectural feature in Syracuse is its towers: the municipal area has many (a legacy of a bellicose past focused on sighting and territorial defense); the main ten are: Ognina Tower, Cuba Tower, Milocca Tower, Tonda Tower, Landolina Tower, Teatro Greco Tower, Pizzuta Tower, Targia Tower, Bosco Minniti Tower, and Modica Tower. Special mention among the towers goes to the symbolic structure of the Belvedere district: called ''u Semafuru'' (the Semaphore), a 19th-century military construction with a crenelated tower, which until 1955 had a bright antenna on top communicating in [[Morse code]] with ships passing or approaching the [[Port of Augusta]] and Port of Syracuse.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lacivettapress.it/it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=884%3Aera-u-pitollu-la-vera-fortezza-di-belvedere-riduttivo-chiamarlo-semaforo&catid=17%3Acultura&Itemid=143|title=Era "'u pitollu" la vera fortezza di Belvedere? Riduttivo chiamarlo Semafaro|date=March 2018 |access-date=14 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152306/http://www.lacivettapress.it/it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=884%3Aera-u-pitollu-la-vera-fortezza-di-belvedere-riduttivo-chiamarlo-semaforo&catid=17%3Acultura&Itemid=143|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Other ===

In the Cappuccini Square (next to the convent of the same name and the quarry of the same name), the municipality of Syracuse is home to the [[Monument to the Italians Fallen in Africa, Siracusa|Monument to the Italians Fallen in Africa]], dating back to the Fascist period but assembled decades after the regime’s fall. The monument commemorates soldiers who died on the African continent during the colonial war. Inside, there is a chapel dedicated to the legionnaire, while outside, a plaque was recently added to commemorate the victims of the sinking of the liner Conte Rosso, which occurred near the monument’s location.

The city has three historic [[lighthouse]]s: the green Maniace Castle lighthouse (with green light), dominating the castle’s promontory; the red Massolivieri lighthouse, built on an old rural house, signaling the Maddalena Peninsula promontory; and the Capo Murro di Porco lighthouse, casting its white light over the cape that bears its name, the most famous Syracusan lighthouse and one of the most important light signals in eastern Sicily: it also appears in the miniseries ''The Island of Secrets - Korè''. The state property office included this lighthouse among the first nine in Italy leased to be transformed into characteristic hotels while continuing to serve as maritime signals.<ref>Cf. {{Cite web|url=http://www.agenziademanio.it/export/sites/demanio/download/varie/Schede_I-FARI-IN-SICILIA.pdf|title=I fari in Sicilia|access-date=30 May 2018|archive-date=4 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304190814/https://www.agenziademanio.it/export/sites/demanio/download/varie/Schede_I-FARI-IN-SICILIA.pdf|url-status=live}} and {{Cite web|url=https://www.ragusanews.com/2016/06/26/economia/il-faro-murro-di-porco-diventa-albergo/68173|title=Il faro Murro di Porco diventa albergo|date=26 June 2016 |access-date=30 May 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175231/https://www.ragusanews.com/2016/06/26/economia/il-faro-murro-di-porco-diventa-albergo/68173|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Multiple image
| image1            = Ponte sull'Anapo.jpg|thumb
| align             = right
| upright           = 1.0
| footer            = The ancient bridge over the [[Anapo]] river, where the clash between Italians and British occurred during the [[World War II|Second World War]] for the capture of the city on 10 July 1943.
| image2            = Targa 1943 Ponta Grande (Anapo).jpg|thumb
| direction         = vertical
}}

Partly located on an island and crossed by rivers and canals on one side, Syracuse has built several bridges over its long history; the municipality connects Ortygia to the rest of the city via two bridges, the most monumental of which is called the Umbertino Bridge, named after King [[Umberto I of Italy|Umberto I]], who reigned when it was built.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusanews.it/siracusa-il-ponte-umbertino-tra-i-30-ponti-piu-belli-ditalia-secondo-skyscanner/|title=Siracusa, Il ponte Umbertino tra i 30 ponti più belli d'Italia secondo Skyscanner|date=26 January 2015 |access-date=30 May 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175352/http://www.siracusanews.it/siracusa-il-ponte-umbertino-tra-i-30-ponti-piu-belli-ditalia-secondo-skyscanner/|url-status=live}}</ref> The southern entrance is marked by a bridge that spans the beds of the Ciane and Anapo rivers; previously, the latter river was crossed by another stone bridge where the battle against the British took place on 10 July 1943. Another significant bridge connects the coastal road from the Fontane Bianche area to Cassibile, crossing the mouth of one of the main Hyblaean rivers.

[[File:Tonnara Santa Panagia.jpg|thumb|left|The Santa Panagia bay with the homonymous tuna fishery visible on the left side of the image]]

The [[Fountain of Arethusa]] and the surrounding architectural structure are among the most visited sites in Syracuse: over the centuries, it has undergone many changes in appearance. It has been surrounded by large fortifications, hosted papyrus plants in its waters, and served as a washhouse for Syracusan women in post-classical times. Additionally, several sculptural works are concentrated on the island: the most prominent is the 20th-century Fountain of Diana, which depicts the main elements of the legend of the river god Alpheus, the nymph Arethusa, and her protector, Artemis (the Roman Diana). Also part of Syracuse’s architectural heritage is the ancient Santa Panagia tuna fishery, of medieval origins (founded around 1100), which, with varying fortunes, remained active until the 1950s of the 20th century.

=== Archaeological sites ===

Throughout the Syracuse region, significant archaeological evidence can be observed. In addition to the aforementioned sacred temple areas, the city boasts one of the Mediterranean’s most extensive archaeological environments, enclosed in a park named after the district where it is located: the Neapolis Archaeological Park. Covering 240,000 m² of urban area, it contains some of the most impressive testimonies of Greco-Roman Syracuse:[[File:Teatri Greco, Siracusa, Sicily.jpg|thumb|Behind the Greek Theatre; the tombs of the Via dei Sepolcri]]
[[File:Colonne d'epoca romana (Foro Siracusano).jpg|thumb|The surviving columns of the Syracusan Forum]]

* The [[Greek Theatre of Syracuse|Greek Theatre]], used for public entertainment but also for political assemblies (there stands the last of the Galerme mills).
* The [[Grotta del Ninfeo]], where the waters of the Anapo flow and where actors once prepared before performing in the theatre.
* The [[Roman amphitheatre of Syracuse|Roman amphitheatre]]; in Syracuse’s, aquatic spectacles were staged alongside [[gladiator]] fights.
* The [[Ear of Dionysius]], so named by [[Caravaggio]] during his stay in Syracuse. It is believed to have been a Greek prison.

Within the archaeological park, there are also interesting tomb complexes: the Via dei Sepolcri (where the cult of Heroes was paid to the deceased), the Roman [[sarcophagus|sarcophagi]] near the amphitheatre, and the Grotticelli necropolis, whose most significant feature is the presumed tomb of Archimedes, so-called because the period and location of the excavation do not align with accounts of the mathematician’s death and burial: according to Cicero, he was buried south of Syracuse, possibly near the Ciane river, but the loss of the original tomb (marked by a [[On the Sphere and Cylinder|sphere and cylinder]]) and centuries of tradition have consecrated this site as the symbolic tomb of the most famous ancient Syracusan.

Necropolises are the most prevalent structural element in Syracuse’s archaeological sites: the area is famous for the [[Sicels|Sicilian]] peculiarity of carving their tombs in the shape of a [[beehive]]: Pantalica is the prime example, but this ancient practice is also found in Syracuse’s limestone walls.<ref>Cf. Francesca Buscemi, Francesco Tomasello, ''Paesaggi archeologici della Sicilia sud-orientale'' [Archaeological Landscapes of Southeastern Sicily], 2008, p. 2; Giuseppe Pasciuta, ''Itinerari naturalistici e paesaggistici della Sicilia'' [Natural and Landscape Itineraries of Sicily], vol. 1, 2001, p. 98.</ref> There are twelve groups of necropolises from the 8th century BC to the Byzantine era; among the largest and oldest (besides the aforementioned Grotticelli) are the Fusco necropolis to the southwest, the Ospedale Civile and Santa Panagia necropolises in the center, and the large perimeter of the Targia necropolis to the north.

Other significant sites include the Syracusan Forum (the ancient [[agora]] of the pentapolis, later a [[Forum (Roman)|forum]]) and the monuments composing the Roman Gymnasium.

Among the remains of the oldest civilizations are: to the north, the archaeological sites of [[Stentinello culture|Stentinello]] and the [[Thapsos|Thapsos peninsula]], and to the south, Ognina, which, besides showing signs of archaic contacts with Malta’s inhabitants, preserves the architectural remains of subsequent historical periods.

=== Religious architecture of the ancient polis ===

The earliest religious architectural evidence dates back to the [[prehistoric era]],<ref>Biagio Pace, ''Arte e civiltà della Sicilia antica: Cultura e vita religiosa'' [Art and Civilization of Ancient Sicily: Culture and Religious Life], 1945.</ref> while the [[ancient Greek religion|religiosity of the ancient Greeks]] led to the construction of imposing votive areas in the city, such as the [[Altar of Hieron]] (the largest of its time) and numerous temples, the most significant and best-preserved being the [[Temple of Athena (Syracuse)|Temple of Athena]] (converted into a church with the advent of Christianity).[[File:0779 - Siracusa - Duomo - Navata destra - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto - 22-May-2008.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|The columns of the Temple of Athena incorporated into the structure of the [[Syracuse Cathedral]] (about 2,500 years old)]]

The oldest temple in Syracuse is the one built for the [[Temple of Apollo (Syracuse)|sun god Apollo]]: dating to the 6th century BC, it is also the oldest Sicilian temple in [[Doric order|Doric style]] dedicated to this deity and is located on the island of Ortygia, which, according to the ancient Syracusans, was given to Apollo’s twin, [[Artemis]].<ref name="Rosario Greco 1999, pp. 19-20">Rosario Greco, ''Pagani e cristiani a Siracusa tra il III e il IV secolo D.C.'' [Pagans and Christians in Syracuse Between the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD], part 3, 1999, pp. 19-20.</ref> For the [[lunar deity|lunar goddess]], the Artemision was built (next to the temple of the goddess of wisdom, Athena); [[Cicero]] described it as the most prestigious of Syracuse’s ancient temples.<ref>Cicero cited in Rosario Greco, ''Pagani e cristiani a Siracusa tra il III e il IV secolo D.C.'' [Pagans and Christians in Syracuse Between the 3rd and 4th Centuries AD], part 3, 1999, pp. 19-20.</ref>

Also in the 6th century BC, in the countryside facing the sea, between the island of Ortygia and the Maddalena Peninsula, the Temple of Olympian Zeus was built, called by the Syracusans "''the two [[column|columns]]''" (the only architectural element still clearly visible); it is a tangible testament to the link between ancient Syracuse and the {{Interlanguage link|Syracuse in the Panhellenic Games|lt=site of the sacred Olympic games|it|Siracusa e i giochi panellenici}}.

On the road that once led to the sub-colony of [[Helorus]] - hence called Via Elorina - stands the monumental complex known as the Roman Gymnasium of Syracuse, within which the remains of a temple of uncertain dedication (possibly to [[Egyptian deities]]) can be observed, described by Cicero in his chronicles.

The polis was also famous for being the main center for the Sicilian cult of the [[chthonic deities]] [[Demeter]] and [[Persephone|Kore]], to whom a large votive area near Piazza della Vittoria was dedicated. Other votive areas dedicated to Mother Earth and her daughter were scattered throughout the city. Numerous other temple remains dedicated to the [[Twelve Olympians|Olympians]] and minor deities, significant to the geographical area, are distributed across the urban and extra-urban territory.

=== Religious architecture ===

==== Christian architecture ====
The places of worship of the Christian religion constitute the majority of Syracuse’s artistic-religious heritage. Many structures have historical significance, some even represented by natural caves, such as liturgical caves.{{#tag:ref|Notable religious caves include the so-called Grotta Santa, from which the district of the same name takes its name, and the oratory of Santa Panagia, located in a natural cave by the sea.<ref>See Consolo Langher, ''Siracusa e la Sicilia greca: tra età arcaica ed alto ellenismo'' [Syracuse and Greek Sicily: From the Archaic to the High Hellenistic Age], 1996; Greco, ''Pagani e cristiani a Siracusa'' [Pagans and Christians in Syracuse], 1999.</ref>|group=note}} The former Greek temple, now the [[Cathedral of Syracuse|Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary]], commonly known as the [[Duomo]], is among the most archaic and notable architectural structures of early Christianity, evolving slowly over time.

Tradition holds that the second oldest Catholic building in Syracuse after the Cathedral is the Church of San Giovannello (dedicated to [[John the Baptist]]), built in the Giudecca district. Also ancient is the Church of San Giovanni alle Catacombe, which, during Islamic domination, reportedly took on the role of the cathedral. The building lacks its roof, destroyed by natural disasters, and serves as the entrance to one of the largest catacombs in Syracuse (together with those in Rome, the most extensive in the world), that of San Giovanni. Beneath this church lies the [[crypt]] presumed to house the [[relic|relics]] of the protobishop [[Marcian of Syracuse|Marcian]].

Dating to the Norman era are the Church of San Nicolò ai Cordari (overlying a [[Early Christianity|Paleochristian]] building), the [[San Martino, Siracusa|Church of San Martino]], and the Church of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro, whose adjacent rotunda, as the name suggests, was built in the 17th century to serve as the [[sepulchre]] of the city’s [[patron saint]] (whose mortal remains, however, remained in [[Venice]], after being taken by the Byzantines). The [[Santa Lucìa alla Badìa, Siracusa|Church of Santa Lucia alla Badia]] is another important structure dedicated to the patron saint.

[[File:Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime (Siracusa) - panoramio.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|The [[Madonna delle Lacrime, Siracusa|Basilica Sanctuary of Our Lady of Tears]]]]

Of particular interest are the churches belonging to the [[Knights of Malta]]: their first church was that of San Sebastianello ([[Saint Sebastian]], the co-patron saint of the Syracusans), later moving to the Church of Saints [[Saint Blaise|Blaise]] and [[Leonard of Noblac|Leonard]]; of the first, built in the Byzantine era, the crypt next to the prehistoric temple is visitable,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cstb.it/index.php?page=san_sebastiano.php&menu=|title=San Sebastiano|access-date=22 May 2018|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424212934/https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Poppins:300|url-status=live}}</ref> while of the second, dating to the 1500s, only the external facade overlooking the Knights of Malta Square is visible.<ref>Cf. ''Monumenti dei Cavalieri di Malta a Siracusa'' [Monuments of the Knights of Malta in Syracuse] in ''Archivio Storico di Malta'' [Historical Archive of Malta], Rome 1937; ''Annali del barocco in Sicilia'' [Annals of the Baroque in Sicily], vol. 2, 1995, p. 125.</ref>

Among the 20th century constructions, the Pantheon of Syracuse stands out, housing the remains of [[World War I]] fallen soldiers, and the [[Madonna delle Lacrime, Siracusa|Sanctuary of Our Lady of Tears]], built to commemorate the miraculous Marian event of 1953: the conical-shaped sanctuary is the city’s highest church, visible from a considerable distance.

Within the perimeter of the Villa Landolina (museum site) is also a small [[Non-Catholic Cemetery, Syracuse|non-Catholic cemetery]], containing the remains of the German poet [[August von Platen-Hallermünde|August von Platen]] and some British and American fallen soldiers from the Napoleonic period.<ref>Giuseppe Voza, [[Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi|Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum]], ''Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi, Siracusa'' [Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum, Syracuse], 1987.</ref>

==== Architecture of other religions ====
The city also is home to structures of other religions. The most notable is the [[mikveh]], dating to the [[Byzantine era]], often described as the largest and oldest Jewish ritual bath in Europe.<ref>Cf. Bucaria, Luzzati, Tarantino, ''Ebrei e Sicilia'' [Jews and Sicily], 2002, p. 208; AISG, ''Materia giudaica'' [Jewish Material], vol. 14, 2009, p. 41.</ref>

== Demographics ==

In its millennia-long history, Syracuse has experienced periods of significant population growth and severe depopulation. In the Greek era, the city saw its greatest expansion: historians differ on the exact number of inhabitants,<ref>Storey G. (2006), ''Urbanism in the Preindustrial World: Cross-Cultural Approaches''. University of Alabama Press, p. 27. ISBN 978-0-8173-5246-2</ref> but it is widely regarded as one of the first densely populated metropolises of antiquity.<ref>Cf. [[Biagio Pace]], ''Arte e civiltà della Sicilia antica: I fattori etnici e sociali'' [Art and Civilization of Ancient Sicily: Ethnic and Social Factors], 1935, pp. 464-6; ''European city architecture: project structure image: documents from the Festival dell'architettura 6 - 2011'', p. 92; [[Indro Montanelli]], ''Storia dei Greci'' [History of the Greeks], 2010, p. IV, the end of an era.</ref><ref>R.I.C. Publications, ''Literacy and History: The Greeks'', 2007, p. 53: {{Quote|[...] Syracuse (modern Syracuse), which was the largest city in Europe for five hundred years.||[...] Siracusa (modern Syracuse), which was the largest city in Europe for five hundred years.}} See also Glenn Thomas Trewartha, ''The More Developed Realm: A Geography of Its Population'', 2013, p. 25. (en).</ref> The noted London classicist [[Michael Grant (classicist)|Michael Grant]] wrote about it:{{Quote|Although the biggest city in the world was Pataliputra ([[Patna]]) on the [[Ganges]], Syracuse was the largest in Europe.|author=Michael Grant, ''The Civilizations of Europe'', 1965, p. 23.}}

Dominations, wars, and famines permanently altered Syracuse’s demographic profile, reducing it in the second half of the modern era to a population of just {{formatnum:15000}} inhabitants, with its inhabited center concentrated solely on the fortified island of Ortygia.<ref>Lucia Trigilia, ''Siracusa: architettura e città nel periodo vicereale, 1500-1700'' [Syracuse: Architecture and the City in the Viceregal Period, 1500-1700], 1981, p. 8.</ref>

A significant population growth occurred due to the [[Italian economic miracle|economic boom]] from the post-World War II period onward, peaking at 125,941 inhabitants in 1991. Currently, the municipality is experiencing a sharp demographic decline, starting just over a decade ago when the population dropped from 124,083 in 2008 to 118,385 in 2011, interrupted by a slight increase in 2012-2014 but resuming from 2015 and culminating in the latest [[Italian National Institute of Statistics|ISTAT]] census of 30 June 2022, which recorded a total of 115,984 inhabitants. In 2021 alone, there were 7,000 fewer residents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/sicilia/78-siracusa/statistiche/popolazione-andamento-demografico/|title=Popolazione Siracusa (2001-2020)|access-date=28 July 2025|archive-date=28 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250728120000/https://www.tuttitalia.it/sicilia/78-siracusa/statistiche/popolazione-andamento-demografico/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siracusaoggi.it/allarme-demografico-fuga-da-siracusa-meno-residenti-e-nascite-spariti-7mila-residenti/|title=Allarme demografico: fuga da Siracusa, meno residenti e nascite. Spariti 7mila residenti.|date=10 December 2021 |access-date=28 July 2025|archive-date=28 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250728120000/https://www.siracusaoggi.it/allarme-demografico-fuga-da-siracusa-meno-residenti-e-nascite-spariti-7mila-residenti/|url-status=live}}</ref> This marks the lowest population since the post-war period.

The current population is 115,636 as of 2025,<ref name="population" /> confirming the demographic decline that resumed with greater intensity from 2015. Emigration, low birth rates, and increased mortality are the main factors contributing to Syracuse’s progressive depopulation.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siracusaoggi.it/allarme-demografico-fuga-da-siracusa-meno-residenti-e-nascite-spariti-7mila-residenti/?print=print|title=Allarme demografico: fuga da Siracusa, meno residenti e nascite. Spariti 7mila residenti|access-date=28 July 2025|archive-date=28 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250728120000/https://www.siracusaoggi.it/allarme-demografico-fuga-da-siracusa-meno-residenti-e-nascite-spariti-7mila-residenti/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siracusaoggi.it/la-provincia-di-siracusa-ha-perso-in-un-anno-2-328-abitanti-606-nel-capoluogo/|title=La provincia di Siracusa ha "perso" in un anno 2.328 abitanti, -606 nel capoluogo|date=28 March 2022 |access-date=28 July 2025|archive-date=28 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250728120000/https://www.siracusaoggi.it/la-provincia-di-siracusa-ha-perso-in-un-anno-2-328-abitanti-606-nel-capoluogo/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siracusanews.it/siracusa-una-citta-sempre-piu-vecchia-calo-demografico-ed-eta-media-sempre-piu-alta/|title=Siracusa, una città sempre più "vecchia": calo demografico ed età media sempre più alta|date=18 February 2020 |access-date=28 July 2025|archive-date=28 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250728120000/https://www.siracusanews.it/siracusa-una-citta-sempre-piu-vecchia-calo-demografico-ed-eta-media-sempre-piu-alta/|url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Historical populations
|align = right
|1861|19286|1871|19906|1881|21598|1901|29600|1911|39330|1921|46557|1931| 46048
|1936|49478|1951|67568|1961 |82466|1971|100737|1981|117615|1991|125941|2001|123657|2011|118385|2021|117055|source = [[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Popolazione residente dei comuni. Censimenti dal 1861 al 1991|trans-title=Resident population of the municipalities. Censuses from 1861 to 1991|url=https://ebiblio.istat.it/digibib/Censimenti%20popolazione/Censimentipopolazioneresidentedal1861/RML0050288Pop_res_cens_1861_1991.pdf|lang=it|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref><ref name="timeseries">{{cite web |title=Dashboard Permanent census of population and housing|url=https://esploradati.censimentopopolazione.istat.it/databrowser/#/en/censtest/dashboards|publisher=[[National Institute of Statistics (Italy)|ISTAT]]}}</ref>
|cols=1}}

=== Foreign population ===
As of 31 December 2023, the foreign population was {{formatnum:6191}} inhabitants, equal to 5.3% of the population.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=P03&l=it|title=Bilancio demografico popolazione straniera|access-date=28 July 2025|archive-date=28 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250728120000/https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=P03&l=it|url-status=live}}</ref> The most significant groups are:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=P03&l=it|title=Popolazione residente per cittadinanza o paese di nascita|access-date=28 July 2025|archive-date=28 July 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250728120000/https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=P03&l=it|url-status=live}}</ref>

* [[Sri Lanka]]: {{formatnum:1372}}
* [[Morocco]]: 707
* [[Romania]]: 466
* [[Nigeria]]: 333
* [[Bangladesh]]: 316
* [[Poland]]: 291
* [[Argentina]]: 248
* [[China]]: 212
* [[Tunisia]]: 202
* [[The Gambia]]: 118

=== Languages and dialects ===
[[File:Placchetta di terracotta con decorazione centrale (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|Honorary terracotta plaque with the Syracusan alphabet, found in the city’s port. [[Hellenistic period]]]]
In antiquity, due to its active cultural and commercial movement, the Syracusan dialect was one of the [[Ancient Greek dialects|"linguae francae" of the Greco-Mediterranean world]]. The language of the ancient Syracusans, found in the works of writers even far from Sicily, has been defined as the Greek-Syracusan dialect.{{#tag:ref|The ancient Syracusans primarily assimilated the [[Doric Greek|Doric dialect]], as confirmed by [[Theocritus]] in his writings, but their speech is distinguished from purely Doric and [[Ionic dialect|Ionic]] dialects (Ionic elements are also found in written evidence from ancient Syracuse.<ref>Società Siracusana di Storia Patria, ''Archivio storico siracusano'' [Syracusan Historical Archive], 1993, p. 41.</ref><ref>''Annali della Scuola normale superiore di Pisa: Lettere, storia e filosofia'' [Annals of the Normal School of Pisa: Literature, History, and Philosophy], 1958, p. 202.</ref><ref name="lingua" />)|group=note}}<ref name="lingua">Cf. Carlo Consani, Luisa Mucciante, ''Norma e variazione nel diasistema greco: atti del quarto Incontro internazionale di linguistica greca, Chieti-Pescara, 30 settembre-2 ottobre 1999'' [Standard and Variation in the Greek Diasystem: Proceedings of the Fourth International Meeting of Greek Linguistics, Chieti-Pescara, 30 September – 2 October 1999], 2001, p. 93.</ref><ref>Cf. ''Atti del 2º Incontro internazionale di linguistica greca (Trento, settembre 1995)'' [Proceedings of the 2nd International Meeting of Greek Linguistics (Trento, September 1995)], 1997, pp. 59-62; ''Pubblicazioni della Università degli studi di Firenze: il mimo di Sofrone e di Senarco'' [Publications of the University of Florence: The Mime of Sophron and Xenarchus], 1934, p. 42.</ref>

Later, the local dialect was enriched by new external influences, particularly from the [[Latin language]] (itself influenced by [[ancient Greek language|ancient Greek]]<ref name="dialetto">Cf. Arturo Messina, {{Cite web|url=http://www.antoniorandazzo.it/parole%20siracusane/files/grammatica-siciliana-ARTURO-MESSINA-2007.pdf|title=Grammatica della lingua siciliana|access-date=18 June 2018|archive-date=23 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160423015837/http://www.antoniorandazzo.it/parole%20siracusane/files/grammatica-siciliana-ARTURO-MESSINA-2007.pdf|url-status=dead}} Edited by the Syracuse Department of Education Policies.</ref>).

Around the 13th century, with the so-called [[Sicilian School]], the islanders unified their language, passing their content and phonetic patterns to the [[Tuscany|Tuscans]], thus laying the first foundation for the birth of the [[Italian language]].<ref>Cf. {{Treccani|scuola-siciliana/|siciliana, Scuola}}</ref> The leading figure of this linguistic school was a resident of the Siracusan area: [[Giacomo da Lentini]].<ref>See Carmelo Cappuccio, ''Poeti e prosatori italiani'' [Italian Poets and Prose Writers], vol. 1, 1961, p. 73; Giuseppe Bellafiore, ''La civiltà artistica della Sicilia dalla preistoria ad oggi'' [The Artistic Civilization of Sicily from Prehistory to Today], 1963, p. 183. See also [[AA.VV.]], ''Saffo'' in ''Il libro della sera'' [The Evening Book], 2014.</ref> The centuries-long presence of the [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] in the city was particularly influential on the local dialect: many Syracusan words derive from the [[Spanish language]].<ref>Cf. Salvatore Zesaro, ''Parri spagnolu? Sull'origine spagnola di voci dialettali siciliane'' [Do You Speak Spanish? On the Spanish Origin of Sicilian Dialect Words], Syracuse 2005 {{ISBN|9788874280346}}.</ref>

According to modern studies on the [[Sicilian language]], the Syracusan dialect, despite its specific peculiarities (e.g., the letter [[D]] typically becomes an [[R]] in Syracusan speech),<ref>See Sebastiano Macaluso Storaci, ''Nuovo vocabolario siciliano-italiano e italiano-siciliano contenente le voci, le frasi e i proverbi d'uso più comune proposto alle famiglie, alle scuole ed alle officine'' [New Sicilian-Italian and Italian-Sicilian Vocabulary Containing the Most Common Words, Phrases, and Proverbs for Families, Schools, and Workshops], Syracuse 1875.</ref> falls into the following two categories:
* Eastern Sicilian dialect
* Southeastern metaphonetic Sicilian dialect

=== Religion ===
Although ancient Syracuse was one of the most significant centers for the [[ancient Greek religion|cult of the Greek gods]] — it proclaimed itself to the ancient world as the sacred land of the [[lunar deity|lunar goddess]] Artemis,<ref name="Rosario Greco 1999, pp. 19-20" /> and considered its inhabitants the chosen ones of the [[chthonic deities|chthonic]] Demeter,<ref>{{Cite book|author=Pietrina Anello|title=Sicilia terra amata dalle dee|year=2010|pages=9–24|id=Pietrina Anello|url=http://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/aristonothos/article/view/455/641|format=pdf|access-date=3 June 2020|archive-date=3 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200603165638/https://riviste.unimi.it/index.php/aristonothos/article/view/455/641|url-status=live|trans-title=Sicily, Land Beloved by the Goddesses}}</ref> also hosting for centuries some of the most powerful priests of [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]], such as the [[Iamus|Iamids]]<ref group="note">For more on the link between Olympia and Syracuse, see {{Interlanguage link|Syracuse in the Panhellenic Games|it|Siracusa e i giochi panellenici}}.</ref> —, the change in religious belief came early: thanks to its primary maritime port for the communication routes of the Roman Empire, it was an initial destination for Christian [[evangelization|evangelizers]].<ref>{{Cite book|title= Le diocesi d'Italia dalle origini al principio del secolo VII (an.604)|url=https://www.archive.org/stream/MN5017ucmf_0#page/n657/mode/2up|author=Francesco Lanzoni|year=1927|page=614|publisher=Faenza, F. Lega |trans-title=The Dioceses of Italy from Their Origins to the Early 7th Century (604)}}; Salvatore Pricoco, ''Sicilia e Italia suburbicaria tra IV e VIII secolo'' [Sicily and Suburbicarian Italy Between the 4th and 8th Centuries], 1991, pp. 237, 257.</ref>

[[File:Syrakus 2015-04-02s.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|Upper part of the Syracusan Cathedral: on the left, the statue of the protobishop from Antioch, [[Marcian of Syracuse|Marcian]], next to the statues of [[Mary of Nazareth]] and [[Lucy of Syracuse]]]]

The [[Tradition (Catholic Church)|tradition]] of Syracuse (with the earliest document on this matter dating back to the Byzantine era<ref>Agostino Amore, ''Marciano vescovo'' in ''Bibliotheca Sanctorum'', vol. 8, p. 693; Francesco Paolo Rizzo, ''Sicilia cristiana dal I al V secolo'', vol. 2, part 2, 2006, p. 80.</ref>) has handed down the arrival of its first [[bishop]], [[Marcian of Syracuse|Marcian]] (or Marcianus), as early as the year 39 (just six years after the [[Crucifixion of Jesus]]), sent by the prince of the apostles, [[Saint Peter|Peter]], while he was still in Antioch, with the purpose of bringing the Christian message to the population of Syracuse and converting them. This is recorded in the ''[[Roman Martyrology]]'':<ref>[[Cesare Baronio]], ''Martirologio Romano'', ed. 1750 (Catholic Church, Urban VIII (pope), Clement X (pope), Benedict XIV (pope)), [[Holy See|Vatican]], p. 122.</ref> for this reason, the Syracusans considered their first church (established within one of the main Greek temples of the city) to be the oldest in the Western world.<ref>Bunson, ''Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Saints'', 2003, p. 519.</ref><ref>[http://books.google.it/books?id=oZhJAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA599#v=onepage&q&f=false Pirro Rocco, ''Notitiae Syracusanae Ecclesiae''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305043948/https://books.google.it/books?id=oZhJAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA599#v=onepage&q&f=false |date=5 March 2016 }} in ''Sicilia Sacra'', II, p. 599.</ref>

Syracuse also appears in the [[New Testament]] as a landing place for the apostle [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] (the author of the [[First Epistle to the Corinthians|letters to the Corinthians]]), who stayed there for three days in the year 61.<ref name="ReferenceA">[[Acts of the Apostles]], 28:12.</ref>

From its earliest days, the establishment of the Syracusan church was contested by Eastern and Western ecclesiastical authorities, as the city had become part of the Byzantine Empire by the time of its development. The [[Patriarchate of Constantinople]] sought to appoint the bishop of Syracuse, but the [[Pope|popes]] of the [[Latin Church]] (to which the Syracusan Christian community was originally linked) expressed the same desire. In this context, the church of Syracuse became [[autocephalous]], meaning its bishop recognized no religious authority above him.<ref>Cf. [[Vitalien Laurent]], ''Le corpus des sceaux de l'Empire byzantin''. Vol. 1 A, Paris 1963, pp. 691–709.</ref> It was Pope [[Pope Nicholas I|Nicholas I]], in September 860, who explicitly requested the Emperor [[Michael III]] to grant Rome, rather than Byzantium, the right to [[Consecration|consecrate]] the religious leader of Syracuse, so as not to betray an ancient custom dating back to the time of the apostles. This appeal, however, was ignored by the emperor.<ref group="note">Pope Nicholas I, Cf. PAGI in Baron. ad ann. 730, n. 11.: 25 September 860: {{Text and translation|We wish to consecrate the Syracusan archbishop in our see so that the tradition established by the apostles is not violated in our times|Volumus ut consecratio Syracusano archiepiscopo nostra a sede impendatur ut traditio ab apostolis instituta nullatenus nostris temporibus violetur}}</ref>

At that time, the [[Archdiocese of Syracuse]] was the most important Christian see in Sicily. Its metropolitan area encompassed the entire island, including Malta, and was responsible for the entire Christian-Byzantine region of [[Southern Italy]].<ref>Carmela Salazar, Antonino Spadaro (eds.), ''Lineamenti di diritto costituzionale della Regione Calabria'', 2013, p. 17.</ref> One of its bishops, [[Gregory Asbestas]], was the instigator of the [[Photian Schism]], a precursor to the [[East–West Schism]], which marked the separation between the Latin Church and the [[Byzantine Rite|Greek Church]]. During the [[Iconoclastic controversy]], the Syracusan archdiocese supported the veneration of sacred images.

The arrival of [[Islam|Islamic]] rule in the city completely altered the hegemonic context of the Syracusan church. The last bishop of the ancient era was Sophronius, who was deported by the Arabs to Palermo along with the rest of the Syracusans and the monk Theodosius, the author of the chronicle of the [[Siege of Syracuse (878)|siege]]. When the Normans eventually ended Islamic rule in Syracuse, the religious context was significantly diminished: the Syracusan archbishop was no longer the metropolitan of Sicily, and the diocesan structure of the island was reorganized.

=== Traditions and folklore ===
The most popular Syracusan festival, renowned both nationally and internationally, is the feast of [[Saint Lucy]], which begins on 13 December with a procession carrying the saint’s statue through the city streets.<ref name="santalucia">{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusaoggi.it/siracusa-festa-di-santa-lucia-non-solo-berretti-verdi-ci-sono-anche-le-portatrici-fazzoletto-verde-al-collo/|title=Syracuse. Feast of Saint Lucy, not only Green Berets: there are also the Bearers, with a green scarf around their necks|date=13 December 2017 |access-date=8 June 2018|archive-date=24 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210424212935/http://www.siracusaoggi.it/siracusa-festa-di-santa-lucia-non-solo-berretti-verdi-ci-sono-anche-le-portatrici-fazzoletto-verde-al-collo/|url-status=live}}</ref> It concludes seven days later with the Octave of Saint Lucy, when the silver statue is returned to the Cathedral. Since 1927, a young woman from [[Sweden]], chosen in her home country and dressed in white to represent Lucy of Syracuse, has participated in the procession alongside the local population.<ref>Alfredo Cattabiani, ''Lunario: dodici mesi di miti, feste, leggende e tradizioni popolari d'Italia'', 1994, p. 368.</ref> This Swedish tradition forms the basis of the twinning between Syracuse and [[Stockholm]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www1.adnkronos.com/Archivio/AdnAgenzia/2009/12/13/Cronaca/SANTA-LUCIA-SIRACUSA-GEMELLATA-CON-STOCCOLMA-NEL-NOME-DELLA-PATRONA_133200.php|title=Saint Lucy: Syracuse twinned with Stockholm in the name of the patron saint|publisher=Adnkronos.com|access-date=8 June 2018|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303164643/http://www1.adnkronos.com/Archivio/AdnAgenzia/2009/12/13/Cronaca/SANTA-LUCIA-SIRACUSA-GEMELLATA-CON-STOCCOLMA-NEL-NOME-DELLA-PATRONA_133200.php|url-status=live}}</ref>The feast of Saint Lucy is repeated on the first Sunday of May, known as the feast of Saint Lucy of the Quails, celebrated in period costumes. This event commemorates a miraculous occurrence in May 1646, when a [[Columbidae|dove]] (the [[Holy Spirit|symbol of the Holy Spirit]]) entered the Syracusan church dedicated to Saint Lucy, heralding the end of a famine that had brought the city to its knees. Following this unusual visit, a ship laden with grain arrived at the Aretusean port.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Elena Montanaro |title=Lucia di Siracusa: tra passato e presente |year=2006 |page=70 |trans-title=Lucy of Syracuse: Between Past and Present}}</ref>

=== Newspapers ===
Syracuse has historically been covered editorially by major publishing groups such as ''[[La Sicilia]]'' and ''[[Giornale di Sicilia]]''. In the past, ''La Sicilia'' offered a supplementary edition dedicated to the Syracuse municipal consortium, focusing on each municipality (South Zone, Hyblaean Zone, North Zone). Since 2020, the supplementary edition has been integrated into the daily edition. In 2021, the last physical office of print newspapers (''La Sicilia'', while ''Giornale di Sicilia'' closed its Syracuse office) shut down, with editorial coverage now managed through remote collaborations. 
Online newspapers provide the most extensive editorial coverage in the area. ''Siracusa News'', established in 2008, is the outlet with the highest number of journalists, followed by outlets such as ''Siracusa Oggi'', ''Siracusa Post'', ''Siracusa Press'', ''Nuovo Sud'', ''Web Marte'', ''Canale 8'', and ''Cammino''.

== Culture ==
=== Education ===
==== Libraries and bookstores ====
[[File:Biblioteca Alagoniana 1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|The Alagonian Library is the oldest library in Syracuse, located in the archbishop’s palace. Named after its founder Giovanni Battista Alagona]]
The city is home to several [[libraries]], the oldest of which dates back to 1780 (as earlier ones did not survive past looting and natural disasters<ref>Cf. Annunziata Berrino, Alfredo Buccaro, ''Delli Aspetti de Paesi. Vecchi e nuovi Media per l’Immagine del Paesaggio: Tomo I. Costruzione, descrizione, identità storica'', 2018, p. 156.</ref>), named the Archiepiscopal Alagonian library, founded by Bishop Giovanni Battista Alagona. It houses a paper collection of 60,000 books. The largest is the city’s municipal library, established in 1867, which holds approximately 70,000 volumes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.sbrsiracusa.it/|title=Syracusan libraries|access-date=25 February 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160607221154/http://www.sbrsiracusa.it/|archive-date=7 June 2016}}</ref>

Among the Aretusean bookstores, the Casa del libro Rosario Mascali has been recognized, for the first time in Sicily, as "a cultural asset," listed among Italy’s historic bookstores. Notable Sicilian writers such as [[Salvatore Quasimodo|Quasimodo]], [[Leonardo Sciascia|Sciascia]], and [[Elio Vittorini|Vittorini]] have frequented it.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.siracusapost.it/1.68304/cronaca/sicilia-siracusa-provincia-siracusa/104/siracusa-la-prima-libreria-storica-della|title=Syracuse, the first historic bookstore in Sicily protected by law, is "La Casa del libro Rosario Mascali"|date=23 July 2018|access-date=23 July 2018|archive-date=23 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180723212406/http://www.siracusapost.it/1.68304/cronaca/sicilia-siracusa-provincia-siracusa/104/siracusa-la-prima-libreria-storica-della|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Research ====
In 2015, Syracuse was selected by the [[National Research Council (Italy)|National Research Council]] (CNR) project to become Italy’s first [[smart city]] 2.0. Previously, in 2012, it had participated in the [[IBM Smarter Cities Challenge]], selected alongside 32 other cities worldwide.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://smartercitieschallenge.org/city_Siracusa_Italy.html|title=Syracuse, Italy - IBM Smarter Cities Challenge: Smarter City|access-date=11 November 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130508054340/http://smartercitieschallenge.org/city_Siracusa_Italy.html|archive-date=8 May 2013}}; {{Cite news|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2014/07/17/tecnologia/benvenuti-a-siracusa-citt-smart-jarznBRKCjmVfDXAjbZJTP/pagina.html|title=Welcome to Syracuse, smart city 2.0|access-date=6 November 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117030501/http://www.lastampa.it/2014/07/17/tecnologia/benvenuti-a-siracusa-citt-smart-jarznBRKCjmVfDXAjbZJTP/pagina.html|archive-date=17 November 2015}}</ref>

==== Schools, universities, academies ====
The municipality of Syracuse has 150 schools fulfilling [[compulsory education]] (from [[kindergarten]] to [[secondary school]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tuttitalia.it/sicilia/78-siracusa/77-scuole/|title=Schools of Syracuse|access-date=12 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152304/https://www.tuttitalia.it/sicilia/78-siracusa/77-scuole/|url-status=live}}; {{Cite web|url=http://www.comuni-italiani.it/089/scuole/|title=Schools in the Province of Syracuse|access-date=12 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152307/http://www.comuni-italiani.it/089/scuole/|url-status=live}}</ref> Among its most distinctive upper secondary schools, as a maritime city, is the Nautical Institute (one of seven in Sicily and about forty in Italy<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tuttosulmare.wordpress.com/2017/02/24/istituti-tecnici-nautici-italiani/|title=All about the sea - Italian Nautical Technical Institutes|date=24 February 2017 |access-date=9 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152241/https://tuttosulmare.wordpress.com/2017/02/24/istituti-tecnici-nautici-italiani/|url-status=live}}</ref>), founded in 1944 and named after the patriot Alessandro Rizza (formerly Gaetano Arezzo della Targia). It has signed an agreement (managed by the Workers’ Training School of the Maritime Military Arsenal) – the first of its kind in Italy – for school-work alternation with the [[Italian Navy]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.strettoweb.com/2018/06/alternanza-scuola-marina-militare-siracusa-catania/713130/|title=School-work alternation: Navy and schools in the provinces of Syracuse and Catania sign the agreement|date=8 June 2018 |access-date=9 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618180751/http://www.strettoweb.com/2018/06/alternanza-scuola-marina-militare-siracusa-catania/713130/|url-status=live}}</ref> As a city with a strong tourism vocation, Syracuse’s education system dedicates significant attention to training in the tourism services sector: the capital has three such institutes (which, combined with the other three in the municipal consortium, form one of the highest concentrations of tourism schools on the island).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.corsiturismo.it/i-corsi-professionali-per-il-turismo-e-lospitalita/istruzione-secondaria-superiore-nel-turismo/diploma-tecnico-dei-servizi-turistici/scuole-secondarie-di-ii-grado-in-sicilia-per-conseguire-il-diploma-di-tecnico-dei-servizi-turistici/|title=Secondary schools in Sicily for obtaining the Technical Diploma in Tourism Services|access-date=9 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175236/https://www.corsiturismo.it/i-corsi-professionali-per-il-turismo-e-lospitalita/istruzione-secondaria-superiore-nel-turismo/diploma-tecnico-dei-servizi-turistici/scuole-secondarie-di-ii-grado-in-sicilia-per-conseguire-il-diploma-di-tecnico-dei-servizi-turistici/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Although Syracuse is one of the oldest and currently most populous urban centers in Sicily, it does not have its own [[university]] (due to historical reasons originating in the post-ancient era<ref group="note">The first three and only public university seats in Sicily were established during the 1400s and 1500s, at a time when there was contention for the title of capital between [[Palermo]] and [[Messina]] (and to a lesser extent [[Catania]]). Syracuse, which after the [[Siege of Syracuse (878)|Arab conquest]] had lost its status as the capital of all Sicily, impoverished and excluded from economic power struggles, became a military stronghold in those centuries, dedicated to the continuous defense of the Kingdom, far from being able to establish a center of studies.</ref><ref>Cf. the history of the establishment of Sicilian universities in Salvatore Di Lorenz, ''Laureati e baccellieri dell'Università di Catania. Il Fondo «Tutt'Atti» dell'Archivio storico diocesano (1449-1571)'', 2005.</ref>). However, it can boast two significant and unique distinctions related to university history: it was from Syracuse that the decree establishing the oldest state university in Europe, the [[University of Naples Federico II]], was issued, desired by Emperor Frederick II of Swabia in 1224, when his court resided within the walls of Syracuse;<ref>See in-depth in Laura Cassataro (ed.), ''Il Castello di Federico II a Siracusa'', 1997.</ref> furthermore, the oldest [[Laurea|graduate]] in Sicily, the Syracusan Antonio Mantello, who obtained a degree in civil law at the nearby [[University of Catania]] on 19 November 1449, also hails from this city.<ref>Salvatore Di Lorenzo, ''Laureati e baccellieri dell'Università di Catania'', 2005, p. 9.</ref> It was not until 1996 that a branch of the architecture faculty of the University of Catania was inaugurated in Syracuse.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www3.unict.it/farch/|title=Website of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Catania|access-date=12 June 2018|archive-date=2 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140402185210/http://www3.unict.it/farch/|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[online university|online universities]] [[Università degli Studi Pegaso|Pegaso]] and [[Università degli Studi Niccolò Cusano|Niccolò Cusano]] have recently opened their branches in the city.

In the theological field, the San Metodio Higher Institute of Religious Sciences, founded in 1977 and dedicated to the Syracusan who became [[Methodios I of Constantinople|Patriarch of Constantinople]], offers a degree in religious sciences. Additionally, the city is home to the Rosario Gagliardi Academy of Fine Arts (dedicated to the Syracusan Baroque architect), the Anea [[naturopathy]] academy,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.accademia-anea.com/|title=Anea Naturopathy Academy|access-date=25 February 2015|archive-date=13 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150213013928/http://www.accademia-anea.com/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the Academy of English (a Cambridge exam center and a monitored body of the DITALS center of the [[Università per Stranieri di Siena]]).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.academyofitalian.com/chi-siamo-siracusa/|title=Academy of English - Syracuse|access-date=15 June 2018|archive-date=25 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225192411/http://www.academyofitalian.com/chi-siamo-siracusa/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Mediterranean Center for Arts and Sciences (MCAS) of [[Arcadia University]] (whose main private campus is in [[Pennsylvania]]) is a program for American students residing in Syracuse;<ref>{{Cite press release|url=https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arcadia-university-opens-mediterranean-center-for-arts-and-science-for-study-abroad-students-138359319.html|title=Arcadia University Opens Mediterranean Center for Arts and Science for Study Abroad Students|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618204628/https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arcadia-university-opens-mediterranean-center-for-arts-and-science-for-study-abroad-students-138359319.html|url-status=live}}</ref> it contributed to the establishment of the Sicily Center for International Education (SCIE), founded in 2015 in Ortygia, which offers foreign students the opportunity to learn about [[Italian culture]] through summer study programs and collaboration with other national and international institutes operating in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sciecenter.org/|title=SCIE CENTER - core features|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175301/http://sciecenter.org/|url-status=live}}</ref> Also dedicated to foreign students is The Italian Academy (Italian Language and Culture Centre), established in 1984 in the area of the San Giovanni catacombs and the basilica above it.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theitalianacademy.com/italian-language-school/|title=The Italian Academy - Italian Language and Culture Centre|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=28 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228061047/http://www.theitalianacademy.com/italian-language-school/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Syracuse also is home to an academic specialization school in [[Archaeology|Archaeological Heritage]], founded in 1925, which is unique in both Sicily and Southern Italy. Its direction was initially entrusted to the archaeologist [[Paolo Orsi]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.disum.unict.it/sites/default/files/files/Scuola%20di%20Specializzazione%20in%20Beni%20Archeologici.pdf|title=School of Specialization in Archaeological Heritage|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-date=17 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117144447/http://www.disum.unict.it/sites/default/files/files/Scuola%20di%20Specializzazione%20in%20Beni%20Archeologici.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> The city is also the original seat of the [[psychotherapy]] institute of [[Gestalt therapy|Gestalt HCC Italy]] (Gestalt Human Communication Center Italy), founded in 1979, which began its university history in Italy from this territory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gestalt.it/istituto-gestalt-hcc-italy-storia-mission/|title=Gestalt HCC Italy Institute|access-date=13 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618155313/https://www.gestalt.it/istituto-gestalt-hcc-italy-storia-mission/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Foundations and associations ====
The [[Nonprofit organization|NPO]] foundation of the INDA (acronym for National Institute of Ancient Drama), which includes the academy of ancient drama, was established in Syracuse in 1914. It is one of the longest-standing and most renowned theater schools for dramatic art. Thanks to it, after 2,400 years, the city’s Greek theater has resumed hosting tragedies and comedies written for the first time in antiquity, while also promoting various artistic-cultural activities and taking its performances and actors across Italy and abroad (e.g., INDA at the Teatro Grande in Pompeii<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.indafondazione.org/it/al-via-le-prove-degli-spettacoli-al-teatro-grande-di-pompei/|title=Rehearsals begin for performances at the Teatro Grande in Pompeii|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175304/http://www.indafondazione.org/it/al-via-le-prove-degli-spettacoli-al-teatro-grande-di-pompei/|url-status=live}}</ref> and at the cultural festival in [[Athens]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.indafondazione.org/it/atene-aspetta-linda/|title=INDA in Athens|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175241/http://www.indafondazione.org/it/atene-aspetta-linda/|url-status=live}}</ref>).

The city is also a significant global reference point for the study of [[criminology|criminal sciences]] and [[criminal law]], due to the presence of the [[Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights|Siracusa International Institute]] (until 2017 known as ISISC – International Higher Institute of Criminal Sciences), a non-profit foundation established in 1972 that holds special consultative status with the [[United Nations]]. Among the institute’s most significant actions is the conference where experts drafted the first text of the [[United Nations Convention Against Torture]], adopted by all UN member states. The Siracusa International Institute, which aims to protect human rights, combat transnational organized crime, and uphold the rule of law, has always organized international advanced training courses in criminal law, conducted technical assistance programs abroad, and developed various research projects, primarily focused on countering organized crime. Its headquarters, dedicated to its founder and president [[Mahmoud Cherif Bassiouni]], also houses the OPCO (Permanent Observatory on Organized Crime), an organ of the presidency of the Sicilian region and local territorial bodies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.regione.sicilia.it/presidenza/programmazione/Sicur/OPCO.htm|title=Permanent Observatory on Organized Crime|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152258/http://www.regione.sicilia.it/presidenza/programmazione/Sicur/OPCO.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> The Siracusa International Institute also hosts a library collection of 24,000 volumes focused on criminology and human rights from various countries.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusainstitute.org/portal/headquarters/|title=Siracusa Institute|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618131807/http://www.siracusainstitute.org/portal/headquarters/|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:4464 - Museo dal papiro (Siracusa) - Preparazione della carta di papiro - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto, 19 mar 2014.jpg|thumb|[[Papyrus]] produced at the International Papyrus Institute, located within the museum area dedicated to the rare plant]]

Given the city’s special relationship with the [[Cyperus papyrus|papyrus plant]] (Syracuse is the only city in Europe where it grows naturally), the Italian Institute for [[Ancient Egypt|Egyptian Civilization]] (I.I.C.E.) was founded in Syracuse with its main headquarters in the city;<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ilgiornaledellarte.com/articoli/2012/2/111866.html|title=From the Egyptian Museum in Turin to the Papyrus Museum|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175317/http://www.ilgiornaledellarte.com/articoli/2012/2/111866.html|url-status=live}}</ref> this foundation was influenced by the established presence in Syracuse of the International Papyrus Institute, which has been dedicated since 1987 to the study and restoration of ancient Egyptian papyri. It is twinned with the [[Bibliotheca Alexandrina]], managed the "Papyrus Restoration Laboratory" at the [[Egyptian Museum]], participated in excavation campaigns in the land of the pharaohs, and hosts Egyptologists from around the world in Syracuse for conferences and seminars.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iice.it/8-pagine-dei-socii/24-corrado-basile.html|title=I.I.C.E. - Corrado Basile|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175305/http://www.iice.it/8-pagine-dei-socii/24-corrado-basile.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://museodelpapiro.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Convegni-organizzati.pdf|title=Organized conferences: - Papyrus Museum - International Papyrus Institute|access-date=16 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618152308/http://museodelpapiro.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Convegni-organizzati.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1984, to promote Baroque architecture, the International Center for Baroque Studies (CISB) was established in the city, which was one of the main contributors to the inclusion of the Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto in the UNESCO list.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.centrostudibarocco.it/|title=International Center for Baroque Studies - Syracuse|access-date=26 February 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219053839/http://www.centrostudibarocco.it/|archive-date=19 December 2014}}</ref> Syracuse is also the seat of the first Sicilian Hub: The Hub Syracuse (also known as The Hub Sicily),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://siracusa.the-hub.net/|title=The Hub Syracuse, in Ortigia|language=en|access-date=27 February 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116192519/https://siracusa.the-hub.net/|archive-date=16 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref> part of the Euro-South Hub.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.the-hub.net/|title=The international Hub website|language=en|access-date=27 February 2013|archive-date=1 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301082003/http://www.the-hub.net/|url-status=live}}</ref>

The city is also culturally active in the field of sociopolitical pacification through the AIEP (International Association for Peace Education), chaired by the [[Scicli]] native and Syracuse resident by adoption Bruno Fucili (thirteen-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee),<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusanews.it/il-13-volte-candidato-al-nobel-per-la-pace-bruno-ficili-incontra-a-siracusa-i-giovani-del-servizio-civile/|title=Thirteen-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Bruno Ficili meets young civil service volunteers in Syracuse|date=11 June 2010 |access-date=11 May 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618175404/http://www.siracusanews.it/il-13-volte-candidato-al-nobel-per-la-pace-bruno-ficili-incontra-a-siracusa-i-giovani-del-servizio-civile/|url-status=live}}</ref> who has organized the international conference on Peace Education in the Aretusean municipality for over twenty years. Thanks to these initiatives, Syracuse was declared, in 1995, a "city for peace and human rights."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.myrrha.it/siracusa-crocevia-mediterraneo-per-la-cultura-della-giustizia-di-giovanni-pasqua-numero-2/?print=print|title=Syracuse, Mediterranean crossroads for the culture of justice|access-date=18 June 2018|archive-date=18 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618162311/https://www.myrrha.it/siracusa-crocevia-mediterraneo-per-la-cultura-della-giustizia-di-giovanni-pasqua-numero-2/?print=print|url-status=live}}</ref> Among the memorable events of these Aretusean conferences is the visit in 1999 of [[Muhammad Ali]], who signed documents in the city for a peace treaty in [[Burundi]], where a [[Burundian Civil War|civil war]] was raging.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://worldpeacecongress.net/it/2003/filici.htm|title=International Association of Peace Educators|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-date=17 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117063839/http://worldpeacecongress.net/it/2003/filici.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Furthermore, young doctors from across the [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] regularly gather in the city to specialize, utilizing the Euro Mediterranean Rehabilitation Summer School (E.M.R.S.S.), managed by the Syracusan association dedicated to [[physical medicine and rehabilitation]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.emrss.it/|title=Euro Mediterranean Rehabilitation Summer School|access-date=16 November 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161117144428/http://www.emrss.it/|archive-date=17 November 2016}}</ref>

==== Museums ====
[[File:Siracusa, Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi, sezione vasi.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|Showcases with vases, cups, and kraters from ancient Sicily ([[Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi|Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum]])]]

* The [[Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi|Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum]] is one of the most important archaeological museums in Europe.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Touring Editore |title=Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicilia |year=2002 |page=35 |publisher=Touring Editore |isbn=88-365-2389-7 |trans-title=Campania, Puglia, Basilicata, Calabria, Sicily}}</ref>
* The Papyrus Museum is dedicated to preserving and caring for the rare [[Cyperus papyrus|papyrus]] plant, collaborating with significant locations for this plant, such as the city of [[Cairo]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.archaeogate.org/iice/ |title=Italian Institute for Egyptian Civilization |url-status=dead |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201131348/http://www.archaeogate.org/iice/ |archive-date=1 February 2013 }}</ref>
* The Regional Gallery, known as the [[Bellomo Palace Regional Gallery|Bellomo Museum]], displays artifacts from the [[medieval period|medieval]] and [[modern period|modern]] eras of the city.
* The INDA museum organizes temporary exhibitions dedicated to the history of the classical performances at the Greek Theatre of Syracuse.
* The Aretusean Puppet Museum showcases the art of the [[Opera dei Pupi]], declared by [[UNESCO]] a [[Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity|Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity]].
* The Syracuse Cinema Museum is the third largest of its kind in Italy.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.museodelcinemadisiracusa.it/ |title=Syracuse Cinema Museum |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140117054806/http://www.museodelcinemadisiracusa.it/ |archive-date=17 January 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The Archimedes Technopark, covering an exhibition area of {{convert|1700|m2}}, displays replicas of war machines used in the 3rd century BC and authentic technological instruments designed by [[Archimedes]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tecnoparco-archimede.com/home/ |title=Archimedes Technopark |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-date=18 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318193544/http://www.tecnoparco-archimede.com/home/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
* The Sirmuma Sea Museum showcases Syracuse’s maritime history.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.siracusamuseodelmare.it/ |title=Syracuse Sea Museum |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160504073552/http://www.siracusamuseodelmare.it/ |archive-date=4 May 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* The small Syracuse Tropical Aquarium, located within the [[Fountain of Arethusa]], is dedicated to Mediterranean marine life and tropical fauna.
* At the Eurialo Castle site, an [[antiquarium]] has been set up, housing valuable artifacts from the military life of the Dionysian construction and its continuation through subsequent centuries (until the castle was last used).
* The [[Wunderkammer]], which houses the nineteenth-century collection of the naturalist Alessandro Rizza.
* Hyblaean Karst Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.museionline.info/siracusa-musei-e-monumenti/museo-del-carsismo-ibleo|title=Iblean Karst Museum|access-date=20 August 2025|archive-date=20 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820102500/https://www.museionline.info/siracusa-musei-e-monumenti/museo-del-carsismo-ibleo|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Diocesan Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.museionline.info/siracusa-musei-e-monumenti/museo-diocesano-di-siracusa|title=Syracuse Diocesan Museum|access-date=20 August 2025|archive-date=20 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820102500/https://www.museionline.info/siracusa-musei-e-monumenti/museo-diocesano-di-siracusa|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Museum of Illusions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.vrsicilia.it/a-siracusa-inaugurato-il-museo-delle-illusioni/|title=Syracuse, the Museum of Illusions inaugurated|date=8 August 2024 |access-date=20 August 2025|archive-date=20 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820102500/https://www.vrsicilia.it/a-siracusa-inaugurato-il-museo-delle-illusioni/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Syracuse Twentieth Century Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tripadvisor.it/Attraction_Review-g187891-d27999208-Reviews-Museum_Of_Syracuse-Syracuse_Province_of_Syracuse_Sicily.html|title=Syracuse Twentieth Century Museum|access-date=20 August 2025|archive-date=20 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820102500/https://www.tripadvisor.it/Attraction_Review-g187891-d27999208-Reviews-Museum_Of_Syracuse-Syracuse_Province_of_Syracuse_Sicily.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Siramuse Multimedia Museum.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siracusaoggi.it/un-museo-multimediale-delle-storie-di-siracusa-nasce-siramuse/|title=A multimedia museum of Syracuse's stories, Siramuse is born|date=30 March 2025 |access-date=20 August 2025|archive-date=20 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820102500/https://www.siracusaoggi.it/un-museo-multimediale-delle-storie-di-siracusa-nasce-siramuse/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Montevergini Civic Gallery of Contemporary Art.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comune.siracusa.it/vivere-il-comune/luoghi/galleria-civica-darte-contemporanea-montevergini|title=Montevergini Civic Gallery of Contemporary Art|date=6 March 2024 |access-date=20 August 2025|archive-date=20 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820102500/https://www.comune.siracusa.it/vivere-il-comune/luoghi/galleria-civica-darte-contemporanea-montevergini|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Botanical Garden.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comune.siracusa.it/vivere-il-comune/luoghi/parco-mario-francese|title=Mario Francese Park|date=11 December 2024 |access-date=20 August 2025|archive-date=20 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820102500/https://www.comune.siracusa.it/vivere-il-comune/luoghi/parco-mario-francese|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siracusaoggi.it/siracusa-un-giardino-botanico-di-3-mila-metri-intitolato-a-mario-francese/|title=Syracuse. A 3,000-square-meter botanical garden named after Mario Francese|date=25 January 2015 |access-date=20 August 2025|archive-date=20 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820102500/https://www.siracusaoggi.it/siracusa-un-giardino-botanico-di-3-mila-metri-intitolato-a-mario-francese/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Astronomical Observatory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.codas.it/|title=Syracuse Astronomical Observation and Dissemination Center|access-date=20 August 2025|archive-date=20 August 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250820102500/http://www.codas.it/|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Press and media ===
The city is home to local editions of ''[[Giornale di Sicilia]]'', ''[[La Sicilia]]'', and ''[[Gazzetta del Sud]]'', the fortnightly opinion magazine ''La Civetta di Minerva'' (winner of the 2012 Mario Francese National Award), and the radio station Radio FM Italia.

=== Cinema ===
The city has served as an open-air [[film set]] for numerous films, attracting many prominent figures from the film world, such as [[Harrison Ford]], [[Phoebe Waller-Bridge]], [[Mads Mikkelsen]], [[James Mangold]], [[Peter Dinklage]], [[Ben Mendelsohn]], [[Joe Wright]], [[Vittorio De Sica]], [[Mario Monicelli]], [[Nino Manfredi]], the duo [[Franco and Ciccio]], the [[Taviani brothers]], [[Walter Chiari]], [[Monica Bellucci]], [[Giuseppe Tornatore]], and many others.

Among the most significant titles are: ''[[Casanova '70]]''; ''[[Rosolino Paternò, soldato...|Rosolino Paternò, soldato]]''; ''[[Secondo Ponzio Pilato]]''; ''[[The Most Beautiful Couple in the World]]''; ''[[The Voyage (1974 film)|The Voyage]]''; ''[[Marianne and Juliane]]''; ''[[Kaos (film)|Kaos]]''; ''[[The Star Maker (1995 film)|The Star Maker]]''; ''[[Sicilia!]]''; ''[[Malèna (film)|Malèna]]''; ''[[Nati stanchi]]''; ''Letters from Sicily''; ''[[Salvo Montalbano|Inspector Montalbano]]''; ''The Moon’s Child''; ''[[Caravaggio (miniseries)|Caravaggio]]''; ''[[Cyrano (film)|Cyrano]]''; ''[[Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny]]''.

The history of the city has also been the subject or inspiration for various films, such as the [[silent film]] ''Damon and Pythias'', followed by the [[remake]] ''[[Damon and Pythias (1914 film)|Damon and Pythias]]'' (1914 film), the [[Sword-and-sandal|peplum]] films ''[[Siege of Syracuse (film)|Siege of Syracuse]]'', ''[[Damon and Pythias (1962 film)|Damon and Pythias]]'', ''[[Hercules and the Tyrants of Babylon]]'' (the last film in which [[Reg Park]] played [[Hercules]]), the [[animated film]] ''[[Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas]]'' (the last [[DreamWorks Pictures|DreamWorks]] film with [[traditional animation]]), and the fifth and final chapter of the [[Indiana Jones (franchise)|Indiana Jones series]], ''[[Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny]]'' by [[James Mangold]].

Syracuse hosts two annual film festivals with national and international circuits: the Ares International Film and Media Festival, in its seventh edition, and the Ortigia Film Festival, in its eighth edition, which have seen the participation of artists such as [[Margareth Madè]], [[Nino Frassica]], [[Mario Venuti]], [[Krzysztof Zanussi]], and [[Pietro Marcello]]. These festivals have been joined by the "[[Tonino Accolla]] Award," a contest in honor of the Syracusan voice actor (the Italian voice of [[Eddie Murphy]], [[Jim Carrey]], [[Ben Stiller]], [[Tim Curry]], and many others).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusanews.it/node/65319|title=Syracuse, the 2016 novelties of the Tonino Accolla Award presented in Rome|access-date=27 February 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305170546/http://www.siracusanews.it/node/65319|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref>

=== Theatre ===
[[File:Teatro comunale di siracusa.jpg|thumb|upright=1.0|The municipal theatre of the city]]
Syracuse was one of the first cities in the world to develop the form of [[Theatre|theatrical art]]. While [[Athens]] is typically associated with the birth of [[Drama|dramatic art]], the origin of [[comedy|comic art]] is attributed to the ''polis'' of Syracuse, due to the words of [[Plato]], who in the ''[[Theaetetus (dialogue)|Theaetetus]]'' (Plato, ''Theaet.'', 152e) defines the Syracusan [[Epicharmus of Kos|Epicharmus]] as "''the founder of comedy''" (or also "''the prince of comedy''"), comparing him to [[Homer]] – whom he calls "''the founder of tragedy''" –,<ref>Cf. B. Marzullo, W. Bühler, ''Scripta minora. 2(2000)'', p. 724; L. M. Catteruccia, ''Pitture vascolari italiote di soggetto teatrale comico'', 1951, p. 13.</ref> those of [[Alcimus (rhetorician)|Alcimus]] in ''To Amyntas'', and due to its [[Greek Theatre of Syracuse|Greek theatre]]; one of the largest and most significant [[Theatre of ancient Greece|theatres of antiquity]]. Its stage hosted [[Aeschylus]], [[Phormis]], [[Antiphon (orator)|Antiphon]], and other great names.<ref>{{Cite book |author=[[Carlo Anti]] |title=Guide for the Visitor to the Ancient Theatre of Syracuse |year=1948 |trans-title=Guide for the Visitor to the Ancient Theatre of Syracuse}}</ref> The glory of the Greek theatre is relived through the classical performances organized annually by the INDA.

In the modern era, indoor theatre buildings emerged, such as the Syracuse municipal theatre (19th century)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ibmsnet.it/siracusa/tcomunal.html |title=The Syracuse Municipal Theatre |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228135054/http://www.ibmsnet.it/siracusa/tcomunal.html |archive-date=28 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and the Vasquez Theatre.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://vacanzeasiracusa.altervista.org/_altervista_ht/imgPagine/mfoto581.jpg |title=Russian Ballet Moscow performance at the Vasquez Theatre in Syracuse |access-date=27 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305130651/http://vacanzeasiracusa.altervista.org/_altervista_ht/imgPagine/mfoto581.jpg |archive-date=5 March 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Within the Cappuccini Quarry, the Teatro di Verdura is located, where internationally renowned actors have performed. The city also is home to a puppet theatre, called the Syracuse Small Puppet Theatre, which stages the Sicilian tradition of the [[Opera dei Pupi]].

=== Art ===
The [[history of art]] in Syracuse is extremely diverse. From the Greek era comes one of the most appreciated art forms of the ancient city: its coinage.

{{Quote|The coins of Syracuse deserve to be considered among the most beautiful in the world.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Sonia Laconi |title=Historical Genesis and Monetary Spirit between Language, Image, and Propaganda |year=2002 |page=16 |trans-title=Historical Genesis and Monetary Spirit between Language, Image, and Propaganda}}</ref>}}

These coins are now scattered around the globe, but a portion remains preserved in Syracuse. Modern [[philately]] has celebrated the Aretusean mint by issuing the series called ''Siracusana'', as has the [[Italian lira]], which circulated the state banknote featuring the face of Arethusa.

[[File:Venus Pudica, marble, 100-200 AD, AM Syracuse, 121484 (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|left|The ''Landolina Venus'']]

As an ancient, prestigious cultural center, the ''polis'' attracted brilliant minds, fostering every type of art. When the city was [[Siege of Syracuse (212 BC)|conquered by the Romans]], they were astonished by the cultural and artistic achievements of the Syracusan Greeks; scholars believe that the importation of Syracusan treasures marked the beginning of ''luxuria'' among the Romans.<ref name="iclaudimarcelli">Cit. M. Cadario, ''I Claudi Marcelli: Strategie di propaganda'' in ''monumenti onorari e dediche votive tra III e I secolo a.C.'', in ''Ostraka'', 2005, p. 149.</ref>

The conquest of Syracuse was a pivotal moment in bringing [[Roman art|Latin culture]] closer to [[Greek art|Greek culture]] (initially opposed by the Romans).<ref name="iclaudimarcelli" /> Marcus Claudius Marcellus plundered so many Syracusan artworks that, once brought to Rome and placed in a temple, they are said to have constituted the first museum of the city.<ref>M. Cadario, ''I Claudi Marcelli: Strategie di propaganda in monumenti onorari e dediche votive tra III e I secolo a.C.'', in ''Ostraka'', 2005, p. 149, n. 17.</ref>

{{Text and translation|Believe me, the statues brought from Syracuse are harmful to this city.|Infesta mihi credite signa ab Syracusis illata sunt hunc urbi.|[[Cato the Elder]] in Livy, I, 34, 3.}}

The architectural composition of the city well reflects the history of the peoples who succeeded one another: the Normans, who made it an active center of Norman Romanesque art during the period of the County of Sicily; the Holy Roman Empire and subsequent medieval dynasties, with extensive Gothic-style construction. The modern era is characterized by a Flemish and Renaissance imprint under the Spanish domination, and after the devastating earthquake of 1693, much of the city was rebuilt in the elaborate [[Baroque style]], which is why Syracuse, along with other cities of the [[Val di Noto]], is considered a prime example of [[Sicilian Baroque]], also hosting an international center for Baroque studies.<ref>''Annali del barocco in Sicilia'', vol. 8, 2006.</ref> Neoclassicism was introduced, as in the rest of Sicily, by French artists. The nineteenth century saw the succession of European styles, always with a local flavor, including neo-Gothic, eclecticism, and more. The Liberty style triumphed between the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, particularly in Syracuse. Art Deco and other styles such as Futurism, Rationalism, Brutalism, and others characterized the twentieth century in Syracuse. The city also preserves ancient and precious works of pictorial art by important artists who lived in the city, influencing the local school; among the most notable paintings are the ''[[The Burial of Saint Lucy|Burial of Saint Lucy]]'' by [[Caravaggio]] from 1608 and the ''[[Annunciation (Antonello da Messina)|Annunciation]]'' by [[Antonello da Messina]] from 1474.

=== Cuisine ===
{{See also|Syracusan cuisine|Sicilian cuisine}}

The earliest written records of Syracuse’s cuisine date back to the [[Ancient Greece|Greek era]]. Thanks to its dominant role in the Mediterranean, the city was a pioneer in introducing Sicilian culinary habits abroad. The ancient Syracusan cuisine, due to its fame, attracted both criticism and praise: [[Archestratus]] in his treatise described it as excessively elaborate and heavy.<ref>Cit. University of Bologna. Institute of Classical Philology, ''Museum criticum'', vol. 13-14, 1978, p. 283. For further reading, see ''Gastronomia'' by Archestratus, trans. Italian by {{Cite book |author=Domenico Scinà |location=Venice |year=1842 |title=Gastronomy}}</ref> [[Plato]] negatively judged the lavishness of Syracusan banquets and the practice of eating twice a day, which he considered a cause of debauchery.<ref>[[Plato]], ''Letter VII'', 326b in ''Complete Works'', cit., vol. VII, p. 28.</ref> [[Aristophanes]] compared the Syracusan table to the banquets of the [[Sybaris|Sybarites]]<ref>Aristophanes, ''Banqueters'', fr. 225 K.-A.</ref> (a ''polis'' known for its excessive dolce vita).<ref>{{Cite book |author=Charles Van Doren |title=History of Knowledge |year=2012 |number=no. 3, ch. 15 |publisher=Armando Editore |orig-year=2006 |isbn=978-88-8358-870-9 |trans-title=History of Knowledge}}</ref>

{{Text and translation|Then, my friend, if you think this is the right way, you apparently do not approve of a Syracusan table and Sicilian variety of made dishes.|Συρακοσίαν δέ, ὦ φίλε, τράπεζαν καὶ Σικελικὴν ποικιλίαν ὄψου, ὡς ἔοικας, οὐκ αἰνεῖς|[[Plato]], ''[[The Republic (dialogue)|The Republic]]'', 404d, in [[Francesco Rizzo]], ''Political Dialogues and Letters''.}}

On the other hand, Syracusan cuisine was highly appreciated by the [[ancient Greeks]]: noble families called Sicilian cooks to their tables, and the city of Syracuse gave birth to [[Mithaecus]], who wrote the first cookbook in the Western world (5th century BC),<ref>Lost work. Cit. {{Cite book |author=Mary Taylor Simeti |title=The Leopard's Table: Sicilian Cuisine between Literature and Memory |year=2001 |page=7 |trans-title=The Leopard’s Table: Sicilian Cuisine between Literature and Memory}} {{Cite book |author=Mondadori |title=Italy: Art, Nature, Culture |year=2005 |page=541 |publisher=Mondadori |isbn=88-370-3083-5 |trans-title=Italy: Art, Nature, Culture}}</ref> and to Labdacus, whom Greek cooks considered their master in the culinary arts.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Fausto Cantarelli |title=The Food Times of the Mediterranean: Culture and Economy in the History of Human Nutrition |volume=1 |year=2005 |page=128 |trans-title=The Food Times of the Mediterranean: Culture and Economy in the History of Human Nutrition}}</ref>

The most exported beverage from Syracuse was wine: "the ancient Syracusans prepared grapes – according to the precepts prescribed by [[Hesiod]] – and the way they produced Pollio wine is the same method commonly practiced today to make good [[Muscat (grape)|muscat]] wines."<ref>Cit. Italian Enotechnicians Society, ''L'Italia vinicola ed agraria'', 1935, p. 340.</ref> A Greek-era legend claims that Pollio was an [[Argos, Peloponnese|Argive]] king, the first ruler of Syracuse, who gave his name to this wine,<ref>{{Cite book |author=Francesca Berlinzani |title=Ethnic Coexistence, Clashes, and Cultural Contacts in Sicily and Magna Graecia |year=2012 |page=100 |publisher=Tangram Ediz. Scientifiche |isbn=978-88-6458-055-5 |trans-title=Ethnic Coexistence, Clashes, and Cultural Contacts in Sicily and Magna Graecia}}</ref> often referred to as the oldest wine in Italy.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.agraria.org/vini/siracusa-doc.htm|title=Syracuse DOC - Atlas of Typical Products - DOC and PGI Wines|access-date=22 February 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304044840/http://www.agraria.org/vini/siracusa-doc.htm|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref>

With the [[Roman Empire|Roman domination]], Syracusan wine, honey (specifically the Hyblaean honey), and [[wheat]] were exported to Rome on a large scale.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Tullio Dandolo |title=Studies on the Augustan Century. Four Books |year=1837 |page=212 |trans-title=Studies on the Augustan Century. Four Books}}</ref> Syracusan wine and oil could be found at the tables of [[Augustus]].<ref>{{Cite book |author=Tullio Dandolo |title=Studies on the Augustan Century. Four Books |year=1837 |page=212 |trans-title=Studies on the Augustan Century. Four Books}}</ref> In subsequent centuries, Syracusan cuisine was influenced by the foreign cultures that dominated the rest of Sicily.

Today, Syracusan cuisine is part of the established [[Mediterranean diet]], declared an [[Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]].

[[File:Almonds granita and brioche of Syracuse.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Almond [[granita]] with [[brioche]] artisanally prepared in Syracuse]]
[[File:Le pizzette di Siracusa - Pizzeria Mundo Maya.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.7|Syracusan [[Pizzetta|pizzette]]; a classic of local baking]]

Among its most famous foods are [[olives]], [[fish]], various [[Prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale|PAT]] and [[Indicazione geografica protetta|IGP]] products such as the [[Siracusa lemon]], Sicilian red orange, Syracuse new potato, Monti Iblei olive oil, Syracuse watermelon, and the [[strawberry]] of [[Cassibile (village)|Cassibile]].

Syracusan culinary tradition includes several first and second courses, among the most typical being Syracusan fried pasta and spaghetti with [[tuna]] [[bottarga]], Syracusan fish soup, ''tuna alla ghiotta'', and many other dishes originating from the area. In Syracuse, they prepare [[impanata]] (a closed pizza filled with potatoes derived from the [[Spain|Spanish]] [[empanada]]), the ''pizzolo'', and [[arancini]] with [[ragù]] (which take the classic cylindrical shape). Some of the distinctive Syracusan desserts include ''totò'' (chocolate biscuits covered with icing), [[giuggiulena]], [[cuccìa]], [[quince cheese]], [[almond]] [[granita]] (the Syracusan version is mentioned in [[Elio Vittorini]]’s novel The Red Carnation<ref>{{Cite book |author=Caterina Barilaro |title=Literary Parks in Sicily |year=2004 |page=237 |publisher=Rubbettino Editore |isbn=88-498-0863-1 |trans-title=Literary Parks in Sicily}}</ref>), the local version of Sicilian [[cassata]], prepared with [[sponge cake]], and [[almond paste|almond pastries]].

=== Events ===
Throughout the year, Syracuse hosts numerous events of various kinds (artistic, cultural, sporting), with national and international appeal.

{{Columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* Classical performances at the Greek Theatre of Syracuse<ref>{{Cite book |language=en |author=J. Michael Walton |title=Living Greek Theatre: A Handbook of Classical Performance and Modern Production |url=https://archive.org/details/livinggreektheat0000walt |year=1987 |page=318 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=0-313-24597-5 |trans-title=Living Greek Theatre: A Handbook of Classical Performance and Modern Production}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |language=en |author=Cristian Bonetto |author2=Gregor Clark |author3=Brendan Sainsbury |title=Lonely Planet Southern Italy |entry=Syracuse |year=2016 |publisher=Lonely Planet Global Limited |isbn=978-1-76034-124-4 |trans-title=Lonely Planet Southern Italy}}</ref>
* Euro Mediterranean Festival<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.agenziastampaitalia.it/cultura/cultura-2/20836-le-grandi-stelle-del-balletto-classico-al-teatro-greco-di-siracusa|title=Great stars of classical ballet at the Greek Theatre of Syracuse|access-date=22 March 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202162603/http://agenziastampaitalia.it/cultura/cultura-2/20836-le-grandi-stelle-del-balletto-classico-al-teatro-greco-di-siracusa|archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref>
* Syracuse International Ballet Festival<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.festivalballettosiracusa.com/|title=Syracuse International Ballet Festival|access-date=21 March 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141219203637/http://www.festivalballettosiracusa.com/|archive-date=19 December 2014}}</ref>
* Syracuse International Tango Festival<ref>{{Cite web|language=en|url=http://www.tangomarathons.com/events/6-international-siracusa-tango-festival/|title=International Syracuse Tango Festival|access-date=22 March 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202082240/http://www.tangomarathons.com/events/6-international-siracusa-tango-festival/|archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref>
* Syracuse City Marathon<ref>{{Cite web|language=en|url=http://www.marathonrunnersdiary.com/races/europe-marathons/siracusa-city-marathon.php|title=Syracuse City Marathon|access-date=22 March 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324064850/http://www.marathonrunnersdiary.com/races/europe-marathons/siracusa-city-marathon.php|archive-date=24 March 2016}}</ref>
* Syracuse-Malta International Regatta<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2008/07/10/societa/mare/sport/sabato-parte-la-maltasiracusa-bUl00r3X5sAeitb1i4tKON/pagina.html|title=The Malta-Syracuse starts on Saturday. Over 60 yachts at the start, including cruiser, race, and classic|newspaper=[[La Stampa]]|date=10 July 2008|access-date=22 March 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180420013529/http://www.lastampa.it/2008/07/10/societa/mare/sport/sabato-parte-la-maltasiracusa-bUl00r3X5sAeitb1i4tKON/pagina.html|archive-date=20 April 2018}}</ref>
* Sea Palio<ref>''[[Panorama (magazine)|Panorama]]'', Editions 1137-1140, 1988, p. 139; ''[[Epoca (magazine)|Epoca]]'', 1993, p. 108.</ref>
* European Music Day<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.festadellamusica-europea.it/index.php/it/programma-siracusa |title=European Music Day |access-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20160327231400/http://www.festadellamusica-europea.it/index.php/it/programma-siracusa |archive-date=27 March 2016 }}</ref>
* Ares International Film and Media Festival<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aresfestival.it/index.php|title=Ares International Film and Media Festival|access-date=22 March 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160326233812/http://aresfestival.it/index.php|archive-date=26 March 2016}}</ref>
* Ortigia Film Festival<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.adnkronos.com/intrattenimento/spettacolo/2015/07/11/ortigia-film-festival-rende-omaggio-pasolini-nel-della-morte_MjQKqAmIMoqb3huHlvTLEP.html|title=Ortigia Film Festival|publisher=[[Adnkronos]].com|date=11 July 2015|access-date=22 March 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202002355/http://www.adnkronos.com/intrattenimento/spettacolo/2015/07/11/ortigia-film-festival-rende-omaggio-pasolini-nel-della-morte_MjQKqAmIMoqb3huHlvTLEP.html|archive-date=2 February 2017}}</ref>
* Pi Week<ref group="note">The [[Pi Day]] is celebrated worldwide ({{Cite news|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2016/03/14/cultura/scuola/il-marzo-il-pi-greco-day-anche-su-marte-si-festeggia-il-re-dei-numeri-YUlqZtNrAs6bMHmfDeSi8J/pagina.html|title=14 March is Pi Day, even on Mars the "king of numbers" is celebrated|newspaper=La Stampa|date=14 March 2014|access-date=22 March 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160318151803/http://www.lastampa.it/2016/03/14/cultura/scuola/il-marzo-il-pi-greco-day-anche-su-marte-si-festeggia-il-re-dei-numeri-YUlqZtNrAs6bMHmfDeSi8J/pagina.html|archive-date=18 March 2016}}), and Syracuse, the homeland of the mathematical genius, has dedicated the Archimedean week at the Archimedes Technopark since 2011 ({{Cite news|url=http://www.repubblica.it/scienze/2014/03/12/news/pi_greco_day_anche_l_italia_celebra_archimede_enigmi_e_matematica_tra_mostre_e_concerti-80855730/|title="Pi Day", Italy also celebrates Archimedes: puzzles and mathematics with exhibitions and concerts|newspaper=[[La Repubblica]]|date=12 March 2014|access-date=22 March 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202004941/http://www.repubblica.it/scienze/2014/03/12/news/pi_greco_day_anche_l_italia_celebra_archimede_enigmi_e_matematica_tra_mostre_e_concerti-80855730/|archive-date=2 February 2017}})</ref>
* SudPlain Wine Fest<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/it/notizie/rubriche/sicilia_expo_2015/2015/09/09/successo-per-sudest-wine-fest-a-siracusa_fe283216-0b74-4e2c-ab37-b0be2e1feeef.html|title=Success for Southeast Wine Fest in Syracuse|publisher=[[ANSAmed]].info|date=9 September 2015|access-date=22 March 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160104190427/http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/it/notizie/rubriche/sicilia_expo_2015/2015/09/09/successo-per-sudest-wine-fest-a-siracusa_fe283216-0b74-4e2c-ab37-b0be2e1feeef.html|archive-date=4 January 2016}}</ref>
* Ortigia Sound
* Syracuse Pride
}}

== Human geography ==
[[File:Syracuse and east of Sicily.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|[[NASA]]: Syracuse and its province seen from space]]
The city bears the marks of past Greek anthropization throughout its urban layout and beyond, as ancient Syracuse was one of the largest metropolises in the world. Much of Sicily was under its control, and the exact geo-anthropological boundaries of this capital are not precisely known.

{{Quote|It is estimated that at the peak of its development and splendor, between the 5th and 6th centuries BC, Syracuse reached a population of one million inhabitants, well before other cities that later became significant in the Mediterranean, such as Rome and Alexandria in Egypt.|UNESCO Site Management, p. 32.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unesco.beniculturali.it|title=UNESCO|access-date=28 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170928221824/http://www.unesco.beniculturali.it/|archive-date=28 September 2017}}. PDF.</ref>}}

Syracuse borders to the north with the municipalities of [[Melilli]] and [[Priolo Gargallo]], to the south with the municipality of [[Avola]], to the west with the municipalities of [[Canicattini Bagni]], [[Solarino]], [[Floridia]], [[Noto]], and [[Palazzolo Acreide]], while to the east it is bathed by the [[Ionian Sea]]. The Syracuse municipality has two populous historical ''[[Frazione|frazioni]]'': Belvedere, located to the northwest, and [[Cassibile (village)|Cassibile]], located to the southwest; the former has a population of about 7,000 inhabitants, while the latter has around 6,500 inhabitants. Among Sicilian municipal territories, Syracuse’s is one of the largest, so much so that in 1827 it extended as far as what is now [[Solarino]], then known as San Paolo Solarino, which in that same year obtained separation from Syracuse by Royal Decree, though this became effective only two years later with the creation of the new ''comunello''; the same process was followed by the neighboring Floridia, also in the 19th century; until 1979, Priolo Gargallo was also a hamlet of Syracuse and during that period requested and obtained municipal autonomy,<ref>Cf. ''Tourism and Urban Competitiveness'' (edited by L. Ruggiero, Luigi Scrofani), 2011, p. 214.</ref> significantly reducing Syracuse’s northern territorial extent, leaving only Targia, while the remaining area (including the northern coastline) was divided between the municipalities of Melilli and Priolo Gargallo. In addition to the two main inhabited centers, other settlements have emerged over the years, particularly along the southern coast: Carrozzieri, Isola, Plemmirio, Terrauzza, Fanusa, Milocca, Arenella, Ognina, and [[Fontane Bianche]]. Inland, there are the hamlets of Canalicchio, Tremilia, Tivoli, and Santa Lucia Village, as well as various rural districts and scattered ''[[località]]''.

Until 2018, the urban territory was divided into nine [[Administrative division|administrative districts]], which were abolished as stipulated by regional law no. 11/2015: [[Ortygia]], Santa Lucia, Acradina, Grotta Santa, Neapolis, Tiche, Epipolae, Belvedere, and [[Cassibile (village)|Cassibile]]. The main rural districts of Syracuse are: Pantanelli, Santa Teresa Longarini, and Targia, while the neighborhoods include: the island of Ortygia, which is the original and oldest part of the city; on the mainland, the remaining historic center between the Umbertine zone and the Borgata, to which the modern city center, consisting of Corso Gelone and the neighborhood of the same name, has been added; between the lower and upper parts of Syracuse, Grotta Santa and Mazzarona; in the upper area, Tisia, Zecchino, Bosco Minniti, Tiche, Santa Panagia, Scala Greca, Villaggio Miano and Pizzuta.

As of 2017, the city had a total population of approximately 122,000 people (slightly down from the early 1990s, when it had 125,941, and slightly up from 2011, when it had 118,442<ref>Compare with Istat data.</ref>). The majority of the urban population is concentrated in the former administrative districts of Tiche (20% of the total population), Akradina (19% of the total), and Grotta Santa (18% of the total). The remaining 43% of the municipal population is distributed fairly evenly across the other six former subdivisions, including Ortigia, where 4% of the population resides.<ref>N.B. the data on the percentages of the administrative districts are updated to 2006, except for those of Tiche and Ortigia, updated to 2016. Cf. graph in {{Cite book|last=Ruggiero, Scrofani|title=Tourism and Urban Competitiveness|page=215}}.</ref>

== Economy ==
In the Syracuse area, there is the leading lemon-producing district in [[Italy]] and the [[European Union]], with the production of [[Siracusa lemon]], which records increasingly significant sales figures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusanews.it/node/78058|title=Syracuse Lemon PGI, record numbers in five years: certified product volumes quadrupled|access-date=25 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115122317/http://www.siracusanews.it/node/78058|archive-date=15 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Other significant productions in the area include Sicilian cheeses, the Syracuse new potato, which accounts for three-quarters of Sicilian production and is exported both within Italy and abroad, the Monti Iblei extra virgin olive oil,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusanews.it/node/4705|title=Nutritionist In One Click: Research Promotes Syracuse Extra Virgin Olive Oil|access-date=24 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324131036/http://www.siracusanews.it/node/4705|archive-date=24 March 2016}}</ref> the Syracuse watermelon, and other agricultural products. In terms of [[Winemaking|wine production]], Syracuse produces [[Denominazione di origine controllata|DOC]] wines, which include Nero d'Avola and Moscato di Siracusa.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.xwine.eu/index.php/it/denominazioni-degustazione/moscato-di-siracusa-doc|title=Moscato di Siracusa: together with Marsala DOC, one of the oldest denominations in the Sicilian territory|access-date=23 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140723055852/http://www.xwine.eu/index.php/it/denominazioni-degustazione/moscato-di-siracusa-doc|archive-date=23 July 2014}}</ref> In Syracuse’s waters, [[aquaculture]] of [[mollusks]] and [[crustaceans]] takes place, as well as fishing for a wide variety of fish, primarily serving local commerce.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://itinerariprovsr.altervista.org/index.php?mod=27_La_Gastronomia/18_Pesci_Crostacei_e_Molluschi|title=Gastronomy in the Province of Syracuse: Fish, Crustaceans, and Mollusks|access-date=7 January 2023|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414001100/http://itinerariprovsr.altervista.org/index.php?mod=27_La_Gastronomia/18_Pesci_Crostacei_e_Molluschi|archive-date=14 April 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>[[File:Cavalcavia Targia- Siracusa Nord.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|The Santa Panagia harbor, located north of Syracuse, is visible in the distance. Crude and refined oil are loaded and unloaded there.]]

A significant portion of the territory is dedicated to the industrial sector of [[petrochemicals]]. The Syracuse area is home to one of the [[Augusta-Priolo|largest petrochemical hubs]] in Europe, which, especially in the past, recorded remarkable figures for the provincial economy, though these have gradually declined.

Despite the hub registering absolutely significant export data for Italy (it is estimated that over 70% of the national total of [[Petroleum products|refined petroleum products]] comes from the Syracuse hub alone, and these also account for 70% of the entire Sicilian export<ref name="regionesiciliana">{{Cite web|url=http://www.regione.sicilia.it/turismo/trasporti/ce/remomed/remomed%20fase%20vi.pdf|title=Sicilian Region - Department of Transport and Communications|access-date=26 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061127001751/http://www.regione.sicilia.it/turismo/trasporti/CE/remomed/REMOMED%20fase%20VI.pdf|archive-date=27 November 2006|url-status=live}}</ref>), the sector is currently considered to be in crisis.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ilmattinodisicilia.it/11211-siracusa-linesorabile-declino-del-petrolchimico-e-della-manifattura/|title=Syracuse, the inexorable decline of petrochemicals and manufacturing|access-date=14 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215023201/http://ilmattinodisicilia.it/11211-siracusa-linesorabile-declino-del-petrolchimico-e-della-manifattura/|archive-date=15 February 2017|url-status=live}}; {{Cite web|url=http://www.libertasicilia.it/index.php/quotidiano/notizia/la-profonda-crisi-della-zona-industriale|title=The profound crisis of the industrial zone|access-date=14 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215033811/http://www.libertasicilia.it/index.php/quotidiano/notizia/la-profonda-crisi-della-zona-industriale|archive-date=15 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The [[alternative energy]] sector, particularly [[solar energy]], is under development, with various experiments in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.casaeclima.com/ar_5608__BREVI-Normativa-solare-termodinamico--anest-A-SIRACUSA-II-FORUM-EUROPEO-SU-POTENZIALIT-SOLARE-TERMODINAMICO.html|title=Syracuse hosts the second European forum on the potential of thermodynamic solar energy|access-date=7 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215032720/http://www.casaeclima.com/ar_5608__BREVI-Normativa-solare-termodinamico--anest-A-SIRACUSA-II-FORUM-EUROPEO-SU-POTENZIALIT-SOLARE-TERMODINAMICO.html|archive-date=15 February 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref> There is also a globally unique lead glass recycling plant.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/impresa-e-territori/2018-06-18/a-siracusa-primato-mondiale-riciclo-vetro-piombo--112301.shtml?uuid=AEhTCD8E|title=Syracuse holds the world record for lead glass recycling|publisher=Il Sole 24 ORE|access-date=18 June 2018|archive-date=22 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622190532/http://www.ilsole24ore.com/art/impresa-e-territori/2018-06-18/a-siracusa-primato-mondiale-riciclo-vetro-piombo--112301.shtml?uuid=AEhTCD8E|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[tertiary sector]] of services provides the most employment for Syracuse residents.<ref name="relaione2012">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sr.camcom.gov.it/images/RelazioneSistEconSr_oltrelaCrisi.pdf|title=The Syracuse economic system - beyond the crisis|access-date=14 February 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215033811/http://www.sr.camcom.gov.it/images/RelazioneSistEconSr_oltrelaCrisi.pdf|archive-date=15 February 2017}}</ref> [[Tourism]] is also growing rapidly.

== Infrastructure and transport ==
=== Roads ===
The municipal territory is served by the following roads:
* Strada statale 114 Orientale Sicula: connects [[Messina]] to Syracuse. Its final section has the characteristics of a main extra-urban road and serves as a link between the [[Autostrada Catania-Siracusa]] (which ends at [[Augusta, Sicily|Augusta]]-[[Villasmundo]]) and the Syracuse-[[Gela]] route.
* A18 Syracuse-Gela motorway, also part of the [[European route E45]].
* [[Strada statale 115 Sud Occidentale Sicula]]: connects [[Trapani]] to Syracuse.
* Strada statale 124 Siracusana: connects the [[Caltagirone|Calatino area]] to Syracuse, passing through the [[Hyblaean Mountains]].

=== Railways ===
[[File:Siracusa,Intercity nach Roma Termini.jpg|thumb|Platform 1 of [[Siracusa railway station]]]]
The municipality is served by the [[Siracusa railway station]], located at km 312+176 of the [[Messina-Syracuse railway]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Circulation Booklet|page=115|publisher=UTPA}}.</ref> and the [[Siracusa–Gela–Canicattì railway]]. To the southwest is the Syracuse Locomotive Depot.

=== Ports ===
[[File:Barca a vela santuario ETNA nel porto grande di siracusa.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The city seen from the harbor]]
The city’s two main ports are located in Ortygia: one to the west and one to the east of the island; respectively, the Small Port or ''Lakkios'' (the Greek Marble Port) and the Great Port, connected by a channel spanned by two bridges. Considered one of the first and oldest ports in the Mediterranean, the Syracuse port boasts a millennia-long commercial history, although today the Syracuse docks are mainly dedicated to [[boating]] (Great Port) and fishing (Small Port): approximately 300 berths in the Great Port and about 700 berths in the Small Port. The commercial function is primarily handled by the Santa Panagia roadstead, which accommodates [[Oil tanker|oil tankers]], [[Chemical tanker|chemical tankers]], and [[Gas carrier|gas carriers]], serving [[Lukoil]] at the petrochemical complex via a long pier. Other minor ports in the municipality include: the Refuge Port (also located within the Santa Panagia bay), the small port of Ognina, and the small port of [[Fontane Bianche]].

=== Airports ===
Syracuse has a seaplane base in the city, established in the early 19th century, which was active during the peak of the [[seaplane]] transport era and later became the headquarters of Syracuse’s military commands. Between September 2007 and spring 2008, it was reactivated through a connection to the Enna Seaplane Base. Six kilometers southwest of the city is the Rinaura Airfield, equipped with aircraft capable of recreational or [[air sports]] activities.

=== Urban mobility ===
Urban and interurban transport in Syracuse is provided by regular bus services operated by the company SAIS Autolinee.

The municipality has the Rossana Maiorca cycle path, which runs through the northern side of the city: this cycle path was officially included in 2019 in the cycling route called Magna Grecia Cycle Route, which stretches from [[Pozzallo]] to [[Lagonegro]] (crossing three Italian regions).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.siracusaoggi.it/ciclovia-della-magna-grecia-prima-intesa-a-roma-in-bici-da-siracusa-a-lagonegro/|title=Magna Grecia Cycle Route, first agreement in Rome: by bike from Syracuse to Lagonegro|date=12 April 2019 |access-date=24 April 2019|archive-date=24 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424135019/https://www.siracusaoggi.it/ciclovia-della-magna-grecia-prima-intesa-a-roma-in-bici-da-siracusa-a-lagonegro/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Administration ==
{{See also|List of mayors of Syracuse, Sicily}}
[[File:Palazzo del Senato, Ortygia, Syracuse, Province of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy - panoramio.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|The [[Palazzo Vermexio|Senate Building of Syracuse]] (built during the Spanish period)]]

Below is a chronological list of the last three mayors of Syracuse:
{{ComuniAmminPrecTitolo}}
{{ComuniAmminPrec|16 June 2008|1 January 2013|Roberto Visentin|[[The People of Freedom]]|Mayor}}
{{ComuniAmminPrec|30 January 2013|24 June 2013|Alessandro Giacchetti||Special Commissioner}}
{{ComuniAmminPrec|24 June 2013|27 June 2018|Giancarlo Garozzo|[[Democratic Party (Italy)|Democratic Party]]|Mayor}}
{{ComuniAmminPrec|27 June 2018|In office|[[Francesco Italia]]|[[Action (Italian political party)|Action]]|Mayor}}
{{ComuniAmminPrecFine}}

=== Consulates ===
The city is home to [[Consulate|consulates]] of the following countries:<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.esteri.it/mae/doc/ldc.pdf|title=MAECI, Diplomatic Ceremonial of the Republic, Foreign Career and Honorary Consulates in Italy. Rome, 21 November 2018|access-date=26 November 2018|archive-date=4 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181204164936/http://www.esteri.it/mae/doc/ldc.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
* Honorary Consulate of [[Malta]]
* Honorary Consulate of [[Turkey]]
Syracuse has also, in recent years, promoted an international cooperation initiative called "Great Agreement"; a protocol addressing initiatives aimed at the development of [[Mediterranean]] countries; the signatories were the board of the Syracuse Civic Consultation and the consuls of Turkey, Malta, [[Greece]], [[Senegal]], and [[Azerbaijan]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusanews.it/node/65724|title=Syracuse, "The Great Agreement": 5 consulates for the signing of the international cooperation protocol|access-date=10 November 2016|archive-date=11 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111061047/http://www.siracusanews.it/node/65724|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2015, the consulate of [[Venezuela]] joined the agreement, thus expanding the scope of cooperation overseas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.newsicilia.it/cronaca/si-allarga-venezuela-grande-intesa-consulta-civica-siracusa/112480|title=The "Great Agreement" of the Syracuse Civic Consultation expands to Venezuela|access-date=10 November 2016|archive-date=11 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111064035/http://www.newsicilia.it/cronaca/si-allarga-venezuela-grande-intesa-consulta-civica-siracusa/112480|url-status=live}}</ref>

=== Twin towns ===
The city of Syracuse is twinned with:
* {{Flag icon|Sweden}} [[Stockholm]], since 1970<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guidasicilia.it/do/news/37919/le-citta-di-siracusa-stoccolma-gemellate-nel-nome-della-patrona-santa-lucia|title=The cities of Syracuse and Stockholm twinned in the name of the patron saint Santa Lucia|access-date=9 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160409045219/http://www.guidasicilia.it/do/news/37919/le-citta-di-siracusa-stoccolma-gemellate-nel-nome-della-patrona-santa-lucia|archive-date=9 April 2016}}</ref>
* {{Flag icon|Romania}} [[Suceava]], since 2007
* {{Flag icon|Greece}} [[Corinth]], since 2007<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sicilia.travelnostop.com/NEWS_dettaglio.php?idArticolo=46896|title=Syracuse and Corinth twinned in the name of Archimedes|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160310072624/http://sicilia.travelnostop.com/news_dettaglio.php?idarticolo=46896|archive-date=10 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{Flag icon|Italy}} [[Erchie]], since 2009<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.iluoghidisantalucia.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=55|title=The twinning between Erchie and Syracuse|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100905004617/http://www.iluoghidisantalucia.it/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=60&Itemid=55|archive-date=5 September 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* {{Flag icon|France}} [[Hauteville-la-Guichard]], since 2014<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusaoggi.it/gemellaggio-siracusa-hauteville/|title=Twinning Syracuse-Hauteville|date=19 September 2013 |access-date=18 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151119103104/http://www.siracusaoggi.it/gemellaggio-siracusa-hauteville/|archive-date=19 November 2015|url-status=live}}.</ref>

[[Local government|Local entities]] have established various types of twinning with the cities of:
* {{Flag icon|Italy}} [[Perugia]], since 2013 (through the Department for Cohesion Policies, as part of the [[smart city]] project)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.siracusanews.it/node/33826|title=Syracuse twinned with Perugia in the name of sustainable mobility|access-date=10 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111061035/http://www.siracusanews.it/node/33826|archive-date=11 November 2016|url-status=dead}}.</ref>
* {{Flag icon|Italy}} [[Alessandria]], since 2016 (through their respective [[Chamber of Commerce]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lastampa.it/2016/08/12/edizioni/alessandria/alessandria-sposer-siracusa-3terjx1h5TR9Z7ZgACaxdJ/pagina.html|title=Alessandria "will marry" Syracuse|date=12 August 2016 |access-date=10 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111061106/http://www.lastampa.it/2016/08/12/edizioni/alessandria/alessandria-sposer-siracusa-3terjx1h5TR9Z7ZgACaxdJ/pagina.html|archive-date=11 November 2016|url-status=live}}.</ref>
* {{Flag icon|Italy}} [[Castellammare di Stabia]], since 2020 (through the fan bases of [[Siracusa Calcio 1924|Siracusa]] and [[SS Juve Stabia|Juve Stabia]], twinned since 1979)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stabiachannel.it/PoliticaLavoro/castellammare-il-consiglio-comunale-sancisce-il-gemellaggio-con-la-citta-di-siracusa-88725.html|title=Castellammare - The Municipal Council sanctions the twinning with the city of Syracuse|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=21 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221093245/https://www.stabiachannel.it/PoliticaLavoro/castellammare-il-consiglio-comunale-sancisce-il-gemellaggio-con-la-citta-di-siracusa-88725.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Sport ==
=== Sports context ===
The city of Syracuse has a significant sporting tradition (which becomes millennia-old when considering that ancient Syracuse was one of the {{Interlanguage link|Syracuse in the Panhellenic Games|lt=major participants in the Panhellenic Games|it|Siracusa e i giochi panellenici}}, often placing on the podium at [[Olympic Games|Olympia]], [[Pythian Games|Delphi]], [[Isthmian Games|Corinth]], [[Nemean Games|Nemea, and Argos]]). Among the most significant sporting events in contemporary Syracuse is the passage of the [[Olympic flame]], headed to the Italian capital during the [[Rome Olympics]], held in 1960: on 18 August of that year, the [[Italian training ship Amerigo Vespucci|training ship Amerigo Vespucci]] arrived in Syracuse, coming from [[Greece]], where it had collected the Olympic flame, stopping in the Arethusean city. There, the torch was handed to the first Italian torchbearer, the Syracuse native [[Concetto Lo Bello]], who began the [[Relay race|relay]] that would travel from Sicily to Rome.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.difesa.it/InformazioniDellaDifesa/Pagine/fiaccolaolimpica.aspx|title=When the Olympic Flame traveled aboard the Amerigo Vespucci|access-date=24 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224030334/http://www.difesa.it/InformazioniDellaDifesa/Pagine/fiaccolaolimpica.aspx|archive-date=24 December 2016}}</ref>Numerous other significant sporting events have taken place in the city: at the Syracuse Circuit, [[Ferrari]] achieved its first automotive victories, participating in the [[Syracuse Grand Prix]] (whose last race was held in 1961); the Eight Nations Tournament in [[water polo]] became so linked to the city that it later took the name Syracusae Trophy;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.federnuoto.it/home/pallanuoto/news-pallanuoto/4501-trofeo-syracusae-vince-l-olanda.html|title=Syracusae Trophy: The Netherlands wins|access-date=9 May 2020|archive-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609093502/https://www.federnuoto.it/home/pallanuoto/news-pallanuoto/4501-trofeo-syracusae-vince-l-olanda.html|url-status=live}}</ref> the same sport of water polo is associated with the stages of the [[FINA Water Polo World League|World League]]; the final of the [[Italian Volleyball Super Cup]] and the Final Eight Italian Handball Cup; in 2016, it hosted the world championship of [[canoe polo]].

=== Teams and titles ===
{{Col-begin}}
Below are the main teams representing the capital in their respective sports:
* [[Association football|Football]]: [[Serie C]] - ''[[Siracusa Calcio 1924]]'';
* [[Association football|Football]]: [[Seconda Categoria]] - ''A.S.D. Atletico Siracusa'';
* [[Futsal]]: Serie C2 - Meraco Siracusa, Holimpia Siracusa;
* [[Water polo]]: [[Serie A1 (water polo)|Serie A1]] - [[CC Ortigia]] (men's);
* [[Water polo]]: Serie A2 - CC Ortigia (women's);
* [[Handball]]: Serie A1 - AS Albatro;
* [[Volleyball]]: Serie B - Paomar Volley Siracusa (men's);
* [[Basketball]]: [[Serie C]] - Polisportiva Aretusa;
* [[Canoe polo]]: Serie A - KST Siracusa;
* [[Rugby union]]: Serie C1 - SSD Syrako;
* [[Table tennis]]: Serie A2 - ASD Vigaro Siracusa
{{Col-break}}
Below are the titles won by the individual teams of the capital in their respective sports:
* [[Association football|Football]]: [[Siracusa Calcio 1924|AS Siracusa 1924]] (1 [[Coppa Italia Serie C]]);
* [[Handball|Men's handball]]: [[CC Ortigia]] (3 [[Scudetto|Scudetti]], 2 Coppe Italia);
* [[Handball|Women's handball]]: AS EOS (1 Scudetto);
* [[Water polo|Men's water polo]]: CC Ortigia (2 [[COMEN Cup|COMEN Cups]]);
* [[Water polo|Women's water polo]]: CC Ortigia (2 [[European Aquatics Women's Euro Cup|LEN Cups]]);
* [[Canoe polo]]: KST Siracusa (3 Scudetti, 4 Coppe Italia);
* [[Canoe polo]]: Canottieri Siracusa (1 Scudetto);
* [[Table tennis]]: Città di Siracusa (1 Scudetto)
{{Col-end}}

=== Sports facilities ===
[[File:Stadio Nicola De Simone.jpg|thumb|[[Stadio Nicola De Simone|Nicola De Simone Stadium]] seen from above]]
The main sports facility in Syracuse is the multipurpose PalaLoBello center: around the main structure of the sports hall, various sports facilities for different disciplines are located. The city also has a [[sports field]] dedicated to [[Sport of athletics|athletics]]. Other sports facilities include: the ''ERG'' sports center; the ''Fortuna'' sports center; the ''Franco Bianchino'' sports field; the ''Pantanelli'' sports center; the multipurpose ''Giorgio Di Bari'' center. The [[Stadio Nicola De Simone|Nicola De Simone Stadium]] is the city’s main [[Association football|football]] facility.

Near [[Cassibile (village)|Cassibile]] is the Mediterranean Hippodrome, where national and international [[horse racing]] events are regularly held. Finally, the aforementioned Syracuse Circuit, once used for [[motorsport]] and [[motorcycle racing]], is no longer active.

=== Famous people ===
* [[Archimedes]], classical Siceliot mathematician, physicist and engineer
* [[Antiochus of Syracuse]], a Siceliot historian
* [[Achaeus of Syracuse]], a Siceliot [[Tragedy|tragedian]]
* [[Dion of Syracuse|Dion]], Siceliot tyrant
* [[Dionysius I of Syracuse|Dionysius I]], Siceliot tyrant
* [[Dionysius II of Syracuse|Dionysius II]], Siceliot tyrant
* [[Theocritus]], Siceliot poet and creator of [[Ancient Greek]] [[pastoral poetry]]
* [[Saint Lucy]], Roman martyr
* [[Pope Stephen III]]
* [[Ibn Hamdis]], Sicilian Arab poet
* [[Vincenzo Mirabella]] (1570–1624), humanist and pioneer of archaeology
* Claudio Schifano (born 1953), contemporary artist of informal painting
* [[Ignazio Belluardo]] (born 1986), racing driver
* [[Salvatore Tavano]] (born 1980), racing driver
* [[Tonino Accolla]] (born 1949), voice actor

== See also ==
{{Portal|Italy|European Union|Cities}}
* [[Cassibile (village)]]
* [[Greek coinage of Italy and Sicily]]
* ''[[Malèna (film)|Malèna]]'' – a 2000 romantic comedy-drama film starring Monica Bellucci and Giuseppe Sulfaro was mostly produced in Syracuse
* [[Peloponnesian League]]
* [[Sicilian Wars]]
* [[Siracusa International Institute for Criminal Justice and Human Rights]]
* [[Siracusa railway station]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group=note}}
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|20em}}

== Bibliography ==
{{Col-begin}}
* {{Cite book|last=[[Touring Club Italiano]]|title=Sicily|trans-title=Sicilia|year=1989|publisher=|ref=Sicilia, 1969}}
* {{Cite book|last=E. Kanceff, Interuniversity Center for Research on Travel in Italy|title=Syracuse in the Eyes of the Traveler|trans-title=Siracusa nell'occhio del viaggiatore|year=1998|publisher=|ref=Kanceff, 1998}}
* {{Cite book|first=Melinda |last=Miceli|title=Treasures of Syracuse|trans-title=Tesori di Siracusa|year=2009|publisher=Edessae}}
* {{Cite book|title=Syracuse and Province|trans-title=Siracusa e provincia|year=1999|publisher=Touring Club Italiano|isbn=88-365-1253-4}}
* {{Cite book|first=Melinda|last= Miceli|title=Syracuse, Noto, Pantalica, Akray|trans-title=Siracusa, Noto, Pantalica, Akray|year=2009|publisher=Edessae}}
* {{Cite book|first1=Francesco|last1= S. Cavallari|first2= Adolf|last2= Holm|title=Archaeological Topography of Syracuse|trans-title=Topografia archeologica di Siracusa|year=2002|publisher=Città Aperta|isbn=88-8137-055-7}}
* {{Cite book|first=Melinda|last= Miceli|title=Syracuse and the Wonders of UNESCO|trans-title=Siracusa e le meraviglie dell'UNESCO|year=2008|publisher=Edessae}}
* {{Cite book|first=Marcello|last= Scorciapino|title=Syracuse and Province|trans-title=Siracusa e provincia|year=2002|publisher=Città Aperta|isbn=88-8137-054-9}}
* {{Cite book|first=Pino|last= Di Silvestro|title=The Escape, the Stay. Caravaggio in Syracuse|trans-title=La fuga, la sosta. Caravaggio a Siracusa|year=2002|publisher=Rizzoli|isbn=88-17-87056-0}}
* {{Cite book|first=Salvatore|last= Adorno|title=The Production of an Urban Space. Syracuse between the 19th and 20th Centuries|trans-title=La produzione di uno spazio urbano. Siracusa tra Ottocento e Novecento|year=2004|publisher=Marsilio|isbn=88-317-8594-X}}
* {{Cite book|first1=Alessandro|last1= Brandino|first2= Luca|last2= Brandino|title=Syracuse in Your Pocket|trans-title=Siracusa in tasca|year=2004|publisher=Flaccovio Dario|isbn=88-7758-559-5}}
* {{Cite book|first=Salvatore|last= Adorno|title=Syracuse 1880-2000. City, History, Plans|trans-title=Siracusa 1880-2000. Città, storia, piani|year=2005|publisher=Marsilio|isbn=88-317-8760-8}}
* {{Cite book|first=Santi|last= Correnti|title=Unusual Guide to the Mysteries, Secrets, Legends, and Curiosities of Sicily|trans-title=Guida insolita ai misteri, ai segreti, alle leggende e alle curiosità della Sicilia|year=2000|publisher=Newton Compton|isbn=88-8289-117-8}}
* {{Cite journal|editor-first=E.|editor-last= Mocchetti|title=Treasures of Ortigia|trans-title=Tesori dell'Ortigia|journal=Supplement to Bell'Italia (August-September)|year=1994|publisher=Giorgio Mondadori|pages=104–105}}
* {{Cite book|first1=F.|last1= Coarelli|first2= M.|last2= Torelli|title=Sicily|trans-title=Sicilia|year=2000|publisher=Guide Archeologiche Laterza|pages=209–306|isbn=88-420-2407-4}}
* {{Cite book|editor=Institute of Syracuse Studies|title=Syracuse: Identity and History: 1861-1915|trans-title=Siracusa: identità e storia: 1861-1915|year=1998|publisher=A. Lombardi}}
* {{Cite book|first=Tommaso|last= Gargallo|title=Patriotic Memories for the Restoration of Syracuse|trans-title=Memorie patrie per lo ristoro di Siracusa|volume=1|year=1791|publisher=Stamperia Reale}}
* {{Cite book|editor-first=Ruggiero|editor-last= L.|editor-first2= Luigi|editor-last2= Scrofani|title=Tourism and Urban Competitiveness|trans-title=Turismo e competitività urbana|year=2011|publisher=FrancoAngeli|isbn=978-88-568-3970-8|ref=Ruggiero, Scrofani}}
* {{Cite book|first=Vincenzo|last=Cabianca|title=Twenty Years of Urban Planning Utopia in Syracuse|trans-title=Vent'anni di utopia urbanistica a Siracusa|year=2013|publisher=La Casa del Nespolo|isbn=978-88-909062-0-6}}
* {{Cite journal|first=M.A.|last= Mastelloni|title=Quarries and Materials Used in Some Syracuse Monuments|trans-title=Cave e materiali utilizzati in alcuni monumenti di Siracusa|journal=Arqueología de la Construcción IV, Ancient World Quarries: Exploitation Systems and Production Processes, Int. Conf. Padova 22-24/11/2012|year=2014|publisher=Merida|pages=223–245}}
{{Col-end}}

== Further reading ==
{{See also|Timeline of Syracuse, Sicily#Bibliography|l1=Bibliography of the history of Syracuse, Sicily}}
*{{cite book | last = Dummett | first = Jeremy | title = Syracuse City of Legends: A Glory of Sicily | publisher = I. B. Tauris | location= London| date=2015| format = Paperback | isbn=978-1-78453-306-9|url=https://www.lehmanns.de/shop/reisen/31063532-9781784533069-syracuse-city-of-legends}}

== External links ==
{{Commons|Siracusa}}
* {{wikivoyage inline|Syracuse (Italy)}}
* [http://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?vpar=54 Coins from ancient Syracuse and Sicily]
* [https://www.livius.org/su-sz/syracuse/syracuse_history01.html Livius.org: History of Syracuse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110013228/http://www.livius.org/su-sz/syracuse/syracuse_history01.html |date=10 November 2016 }}
* [http://bartolomy.com/syracuse/ Photos of Ortigia in Syracuse] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141015174236/http://bartolomy.com/syracuse/ |date=15 October 2014 }}

{{Province of Syracuse|nocat=yes}}
{{Archaeological sites in Sicily|nocat=yes}}
{{World Heritage Sites in Italy}}
{{Magna Graecia}}
{{Cities in Italy}}

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[[Category:Syracuse, Sicily| ]]
[[Category:8th-century BC establishments in Italy]]
[[Category:Archaeological sites in Sicily]]
[[Category:Cities and towns in Sicily]]
[[Category:Coastal towns in Sicily]]
[[Category:Corinthian colonies]]
[[Category:Dorian colonies in Magna Graecia]]
[[Category:Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy]]
[[Category:Municipalities of the Province of Syracuse]]
[[Category:Populated places established in the 8th century BC]]
[[Category:Sicilian Baroque]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Italy]]
[[Category:Greek city-states]]