Travels in Italy--Siracusa (Part 2 of 5)

Our stroll in Siracusa continues.

The original Greek settlement is located on the small island of Ortigia. 

Ortigia is home to ancient temples and other sights, including the ruined Temple of Apollo and the well preserved Temple of Athena.

Temple of Apollo:  One of oldest buildings in Siracusa, the Temple of Apollo was built in the early 6th century B.C.  The temple was large--t measured 180' long by 70' wide.  Over the centuries, it served as a Christian church (twice), Mosque and barracks for soldiers.  The ruined temple is not impressive, but a future blog post might change your mind.

A window added to temple long after its original construction.

The Temple of Athena and the Cathedral of Siracusa and the Temple of Athena:  In the photo below, you will see two buildings in one:  the ancient Temple of Athena from the 5th century B.C. and the Baroque-style Cathedral of Siracusa from the 18th century A.D. 

The temple was erected to celebrate Siracusa's defeat of the invading Carthaginians in 480 B.C.  Despite wars, earthquakes and successive civilizations, the building survived and was adapted as a church and later a mosque and still later a church again.  in the photos below, you can see many features of the temple.  (Plus, a future blog post will give you a good idea of the original building's appearance.)

The Sicilian style Baroque façade of the cathedral of Siracusa

The main altar

The Chapel of Santa Lucia.  Santa Lucia is the patron saint of Siracusa.  She lived in Siracusa and was martyred in 304 A.D. for being Christian. 

If you look closely exterior wall of the cathedral (pictured below), you can see some of the fluted columns of the original building, the Temple of Athena.  The columns lined the exterior of the temple with openings between them.

Inside the cathedral (pictured below), you can see the temple's columns on the western wall of the building, now the cathedral's entrance.

From inside the nave of the cathedral (pictured below), you can see both the temple's columns and the remnants of the temple's interior wall.  The inner sanctum of the temple was enclosed by a solid wall.  When the building was adapted to a Christian church, a sort of reversal occurred.  The space between the outer columns was filled in to create a solid outer wall.  Arched spaces were cut into the solid inner wall, creating a nave lined with columns.

Archimedes:  A native of Sircusa, Archimedes was a Greek mathematician and engineer and lived 287-212 B.C.  He is credited with many important discoveries in the ancient world.  (Click here to learn more about his discoveries.)   

Fountain of Diana:  In the center of the old city is a not-so-old fountain.  Completed in 1907, the fountain (pictured below) is dedicated to Diana, the figure with the bow and arrows.  Diana, the goddess of the hut, was the protector of Siracusa in the Greek age.

Next Up:  More sights in Siracusa. 

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