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places of the ‘Magna Grecia’
The artistic-cultural inheritance which affirms records of classical Greek culture in Sicily is enormous, above all in the southwesterly part of the island. Sicily is still today a necessary starting point for those wishing to understand Hellenic culture.Siracusa. Siracusa is an extraordinarily important archaeological centre and the most illustrious and famous of the Sicilian cities with Greek origins. There are numerous historical monuments which bear witness to the splendour of Siracusa. The Greek theatre, one of the most powerful architectural examples in the Greek world, is absolutely huge (about 150 metres). It was made entirely out of the rocks from the adjacent hill and was altered several times by the Romans.
L’ara di Gerone (the altar of Gerone) is the largest sacrificial altar which still remains nowadays. It stretches over about 5000msq and was probably a sacrificial altar for Zeus Liberatore. A Roman amphitheatre, made completely out of rock is also worthy of note. The Duomo (cathedral) is positioned on the remains of an ancient Doric temple dedicated to Athena and was built in the 5th century by tyrant Gelone. Of the antique temple’s 14 lateral columns and 6 frontal columns, some of the columns of the peristyle and of the stylobate are still visible. Some of the temple’s precious finds are displayed in the archaeological museum “Paolo Orsi” in Siracusa.
Latomia del Paradiso is an ancient cave, about 30 metres deep which includes ‘Dionysus’ ear’ and the ‘Cordari’ grotto. ‘Dionysus’ ear’ is an artificial, funnel-shaped grotto sculpted out of limestone in a form, vaguely similar to the outer ear. The grotto also has exceptional acoustic qualities (sounds are amplified by 16 times).
Around eight kilometres from Siracusa is the Riserva del Fiume Ciane (Reserve of the Ciane river). The river, a scene of myths and legends, is one of the most evocative places in the Siracusan territory. The papyrus installation ‘Cyperus Papyrus Linneo’ is the most important in Europe and is famed throughout the world for the beauty of its papyri similar to those found in the river Nile.
Taormina – One of the most beautiful places in Italy stands on a terrace facing towards the sea and the snow-white mass of Etna. The city was first Greek (4th century) and then Roman and holds many remains dating back to the classical periods. There are also the remains of walls, temple foundations and a large Greek theatre (the second largest Greek theatre in Sicily after that of Siracusa).
Agrigento. This ancient and grand city included what is today the centre of a hill, the top of which was, perhaps, the Acropolis and the so-called Valle dei Templi (Valley of temples). The Valle dei Templi is one of the most representative archaeological sites of classical Greek civility and since 1998 has been a UNESCO world heritage site. On the rocky ridge, which draws the border on the south side of the site and where there is an ancient inhabitation site, there are the rest of the Doric temples, positioned from east to west, such as Hera Lacinia, Concordia, Eracle, Zeus Olimpico, Castore and Polluce and Hephaistos.
Selinunte. Noted as one of the most beautiful archaeological sites in the world and one of the most illustrative of classic culture, Selinunte is, in addition, one of the largest parks in the world. The town planning of this site is astonishing – it is among the most complex and well linked of ancient Sicily and dates back to 580AD. Its image is that of a Sicilian city with ruined monuments, huge, isolated temples which dominate the hillside, an advanced road system and houses crowding the Acropolis sliced by the two valleys. Selinunte is situated in a large natural oasis, immersed in a reserve of the river Belice. Selinunte-s archaeological itinery includes, first of all, a visit to the magnificent temple G on the western hillside. Temple G is probably of a sacral nature (dedicated to the God Apollo) and is in Doric style (like the other two temples: E and F, which were consecrated respectively to Hera and to Athena and Dionysus).