Theme of 2020 season: “what lies beneath”, scenes and characters that presents themselves in an opposite way to what they really are.
These are the texts chosen, because in all three you can find hidden truths.
Starting from last Euripides tragedy The Bacchae, where every truth overshadows its opposite, to Euripides Iphigenia in Tauris where every reality believed is false; follows Aristophanes The Clouds, where every faith proves to be illusory.
Further information and tickets learn more
BOX OFFICE INDA:
Corso Matteotti 29, Siracusa
From Monday to Friday, 10:00 – 13:00 / 15:00 – 17:00
Tel: 800 542644
Tel: +39 0931 487248
L’Opera dei pupi is a popular form of theater born in the first half of 1800. From primordial marionnetes armed with tin, it developed into puppets with detailed features and elabo-rated stories.
In Syracuse, the pupi found their homebase in via della Giudecca, steps away from piaz-za Duomo. Travelers visiting town will have the opportunity to discover the delicious mu-seum in the picturesque neighborhood of Giudecca when you can admire the ancient family pupi.
Since several years the museum organizes guided tours for single, family, tour operators and individual groups, while in the theater located nearby, you can see the pupi in action. In the museum the pupi wait for their visitors, armed of shining swards and breastplates to marvel the eyes of their guests.
From March to November
Mattina
11:00 > 13:00
Pomeriggio
15:00 > 18:00
All days
Chiuso la domenica
The Museum of Papyrus is created and managed by the International Institute of Papyrus. It is not just a museum exhibition, but also a museum where activities of studying, teaching and researching provide information about: papyrus origin (River Cyane and Arethusa source) and preservation, ancient papyrus manufacturing techniques and papyrus documents restoration.
It is found inside the former convent of St. Augustine, property located in the historical center of Siracusa. You will find various sections: the museum display, the library, an hall for temporary exhibitions, educational workshops as well as the “International School of Restoration of Papyrus”.
Info Tel: 0931.22100 – 0931.61616
Tuesday – Saturday: 10:30 – 18:00
Holidays: 10.30 – 14:00
Tuesday – Sunday: 9:30 – 14:00
The amazing ancient art Museum is situated precisely in the core of Ortigia, just close to Piazza Duomo and Arethusa Spring. It preserves the huge painting of Antonello da Messina “The Annunciation”, originally painted for the Church of Annunziata in Palazzolo Acreide; it was depicted on board in 1474 then transported on canvas,
The Gallery was founded in 1940, to host the collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Modern and Medieval Art. It was moved into Palazzo Bellomo to valorize and promote the incredible artwork coming from churches and desecrated convents of Siracusa and other locations in eastern Sicily, and from purchase orders and donations. The museum documents the evolution of figurative culture in Siracusa, and in the south-eastern area of Sicily, and it is designed according to a criterion strictly chronological.
VISIT AND BOX OFFICE TIME (Tel: 0931. 69511)
From Tuesday to Saturday 9:00 – 19:00, Sundays 9:00 – 13:00
Monday: closing day
Paolo Orsi Archaeological Museum in Siracusa is one of the most important museum in Europe. It was inaugurated on January 16th of 1988 by Giuseppe Voza, designed by architect Francesco Minissi, within the greenery of Villa Landolina Park located close to San Giovanni Catacombs, as a tribute to the great archaeologist Paolo Orsi.
This museum keeps digging findings shown as curated and contextualized evidences, not as “museum pieces” where visitors can get them. It is a museum not conceived as a storage deposit including outstanding silent masterpieces and great unemotional items, but as a territorial and historical extension, as a workshop where everything that comes from Earth is collected, restored and displayed.
This museum houses artefacts dating from Prehistory to Byzantine period.
VISIT AND BOX OFFICE TIME (Tel: 0931. 464022)
Ticket office hours: 09:00 – 18:00
From Tuesday to Saturday 9:00 – 18:00, Sunday 9:00 -13:00
Numismatic room: from Tuesday to Saturday 9:30 – 13:30 (every 30 minutes for groups max 20 people)
Mondays: closing day
The castle is named to Giorgio Maniace, who was a Byzantine general. In 1038 he conquered Siracusa after defeating the Arabs. The castle was built in Swabian Style, stands on the tip of Ortigia Island, in defense of the natural harbour known as Porto Grande. It was designed by Riccardo Lentini between 1232 and 1240 on behalf of Emperor Frederick II, as the symbol of his power and genius.
In 1288 King Peter III of Aragon lived there with his family. The Castle was part of a series of watch points scattered along the coasts of Sicily; it looks like a towering structure of 51 meters per side, with four rounded and angular towers, built combining Swabian, Byzantine and Arab culture features.
The entrance portal is on west side, a beautiful ogival arch topped by the imperial symbol of Charles V (XVI A.D.) representing an eagle with two heads. Laterally the portal, there were two bronze rams, currently one of them is preserved at the archaeological museum in Palermo while the other has been lost or destroyed. Near the west tower there was the so-called Bath of the Queen, believed to be a spacious place adorned in marble, with seats and tanks, but actually it known as a source of fresh water supply for the castle.
At the end of the sixteenth century, Maniace Castle became a focal point of city walls fortification. In Napoleonic period it undertook military functions and was equipped with guns. Then was used as a repository of military equipment up until the end of the Second World War. Occured demilitarization works of the entire area. Have been made radical and several restoration and renovation works, the last completed in 2010, which reported the castle to its former glory.
Arethusa myth has been sung for centuries by many poets including Virgil, Pindar, Ovid, Milton, André Gide, D’Annunzio…
The fountain is a natural source of fresh water flowing up from a cave just few meters below sea level.
Why it is the symbol of Siracusa since ancient times?
The myth of Arethusa reveals the deep connection between Greek colonies and motherland Greece. Arethusa was a nymph of Siracusa and maiden of goddess Artemis; god Alpheus (son of Oceanus) was totally and madly in love with her; so he tried to seduce Arethusa against her will. She needed to escape, so fled to Sicily, where prayed protection to Artemis: the Goddess turned Arethusa into a fountain, Ortigia a tiny Island so sacred to Artemis. Alpheus prayed to Zeus to turn him into a river located in Greece, near Olympia, so that he could flow underground and reach her. But the fountain is protected from sea’s waves by a massive stone wall. According to the myth, even today, the famous fountain bears her name Arethusa, and the seafront as well is called Lungomare Alfeo. They never really met, then or now.
Today it’s possibile to admire the special fountain adorned with papyrus vegetation, populated by ducks and freshwater fish, with a spectacular view over the coast. Below the fountain, is located the aquarium.
The beauty of the Duomo dominates the shining limestone and marble square Piazza Duomo. Its structure treasures one of the most important and famous Doric monument in all Sicily: the Temple of Athena. The Greek Temple is dated to 480 b.C., wanted by the tyrant Gelone according to the victory against Cartago in the battle of Himera. Currently are clearly visible almost all columns and some parts of the interior chamber. Then in the 6th century the Byzantines converted the temple into a church: included the exterior colonnade in the outer walls of the church and opened eight arches on each side of the interior chamber to create a building with three naves, dedicated to Virgin Mary. In the 7th century the bishop Zosimo moved the cathedral’s seat to the Duomo (which previously was in San Giovanni’s church).
It is a charming square surrounded by typical sicilian buildings, which show the progress of history, from Middle Age to the Baroque period. In the middle stands the beautiful Arthemis Fountain, realized in 1906 by the sculptor Giulio Moschetti.
The buildings already mentioned that overlook the square trace ideally the whole history of Ortigia Island up to nowadays.
Certainly the most ancient Doric temple in Sicily. Dated to the beginning of the sixth century bC is therefore the oldest which correspond to Greek world architectural model: peripteral stone columns temple. Over time it had undergo several transformations: first of all became a Byzantine Church, still has its main staircase, and then was used as a Muslim mosque. Later was turned in the Norman church of the Savior, which in turn was incorporated into a sixteenth-century Spanish barracks again. All these constant changes have severely damaged the entire building during centuries. In 1860 Apollo Temple was rediscovered within the barracks, but was finally and fully revealed later, between 1938 and 1942, due to the excavation works carried out by the renowned archaeologist Paolo Orsi.
Originally there were six columns on short sides and 17 on long sides (whole structure m 58,10×24,50); the entire columns (shaft and capital) reach a total height of m 7,98. The upper part was covered with a stone roof, some of its fragments are still preserved at the Archaeological Museum “Paolo Orsi” in Siracusa. Furthermore inside the Museum it’s possibile to admire a minature model of Apollo temple with an accompanying video showing how it was internally.
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