Siracusa Places and Charm

All the most charming places in Syracuse to discover as you walk around the city.

Island of Ortygia

This is the oldest part of Syracuse, a charming place to discover by walking round its typical lanes and where most of the museums and historical buildings can be found:

• Via delle Maestranze, this road crosses right through the Isle of Ortigia, starting from Piazza Archimede and going as far as the sea. It is lined with wonderful palaces that once belonged to the Siracusa aristocracy;
  
  

• Piazza Archimede is surrounded by palaces that tell the city’s history, from the middles ages up to the present day. The fountain of Diana can be admired in the center of the square, a fountain that tells the legend of the nymph Aretusa.
  
  

• Aretusa Fountain This is one of the city’s greatest tourist attractions. Over the centuries it inspired poets and writers such as Virgil and Ovid, André Gide and Gabriele D’Annunzio, fascinated by the legend that is linked to this place. The story goes that Alpheus, son of Oceanus, fell madly in love with the nymph Aretusa, the Goddess Artemides’ handmaid. The nymph did not share his feelings. To save her, Artemides turned her into a water source but Zeus also turned Alpheus into a river, allowing him to meet up with Aretusa.

Neapolis Archeological Park

This park covers about 240,000 square meters of land and has a large number of Greek and Roman monuments inside it. These include the Roman amphitheater, the Greek Theater, the Altar of Hieron and the Latomia del Paradiso (Paradise Garden).