Siracusa Events

Syracuse is increasingly making a name for itself in Sicily and in Italy, as an active cultural center: the international events that are regularly organized in the city attract many visitors. The Festival of Santa Lucia, the city’s patron saint, which is held on December 13th with an attractive religious procession, is very charming to see.

If you decide to visit the city at the same time as one of these events is being held, we advise you to book the hotel in Syracuse that you have chosen well in advance.

Festival of Santa Lucia – 13 December

Syracuse celebrates its patron saint each year with a procession during which the solid silver statue of Santa Lucia is carried from the Cathedral to the Basilica del Sepolcro, where it remains on shown for 8 days. It takes 60 believers to carry the heavy statue, which was made by the goldsmith Pietro Rizzo in the 16th century.

Unlike other cities, Syracuse does not keep the remains of its patron saint: in 1204, when Constantinople fell under the crusades, the saint’s remains were moved to Venice on the orders of the Doge.

Theatrical season at the Greek Theater – from May to July

The Italian National Institute for Ancient Drama has been promoting classical theater in Siracusa since 1913 by organizing a Festival which was at first held every two years and since 2002, each year that is totally dedicated to ancient theater. From May to July dramas by famous authors such as Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides are staged in the wonderful surroundings of the Greek Theater in Syracuse. Tragedies that first appeared centuries ago in this very theater, the oldest in Sicily.

Ortigia Festival - July

This is an artistic and cultural gathering that is full of international events, held in the Isle of Ortigia (and in the Neapolis archeological area). The shows include plays, ballets, concerts, poetry readings and lots more too.