Sicily: Siracusa - The Neopolis Archeological Park: We departed Florence for Catania Sicily in the evening on Vueling Airlines, one of the largest low-cost carriers in Europe and the...

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

We departed Florence for Catania Sicily in the evening on Vueling Airlines, one of the largest low-cost carriers in Europe and the only non-stop to Catania. The flight was originally scheduled for 2PM but was changed to 7PM unbeknownst to us. Fortunately, Tauck was aware of the change and arranged the transfer appropriately. We were also lucky that the Catania airport was re-opened after an eruption of Mount Etna earlier in the week. We checked into the hotel in Ortigia at around 11PM and were treated to platters of cold cuts and cheese in our room since we missed the welcome dinner. Ortygía is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily. The island, also known as the Città Vecchia (Old City), contains many historical landmarks. We joined the group early the next day for a visit to the Neapolis Architectural Park.

From the website: https://www.sicily.co.uk/things_to_do/archaeological-park-of-the-neapolis/
The archaeological park of the Neapolis hosts the most important ruins of the old Greek Roman city of Syracuse. This park is divided in three sections which include the Latomie, the Greek theatre and the Roman amphitheatre. Neapolis was one of the five quarters of Syracuse during the Greek and Roman periods. It is considered an open air museum where it is possible to find a massive collection of ruins dating back to Sicily’s glorious days.

The first section of the park contains the Latomia del Paradiso (Paradise Quarry), one of the most famous ancient caves of the period. It is a narrow cavern 76 feet high, 214 feet deep, and only about 25 feet wide. Caravaggio called it the Ear of Dionysius because of its anatomical shape. The name latomia comes from the Latin lātomĭae and it means cut stone; and during the Greek – Roman period this dark stone quarry has been used to imprison slaves or war prisoners, and due to its particular shape, guardians were able to hear every word they said. Near this monument it is possible to discover Grotta dei Cordari a wide cave characterised by a tiny fissure framed by water and ferns. Proceeding through the archaeological park you can visit the altar of Gerone II, considered the largest amazing surviving altar of the Magna Graecia. The altar was surrounded by columns and during the Roman era, it was adorned by luxuriant trees in the courtyard; unfortunately today only the base of this huge structure remains.

Close to the Archaeological Park of the Neapolis there are the famous Catacombs of San Giovanni Evangelista. The sight contains almost 10,000 graves from small niches to elegant arched chambers,including gorgeous traces of painting. if you want to discover more about the history behind this suggestive place you can book a guided tour with English expert guides.

I hope you enjoy these!
Mark

(Download)

The Latomie of Syracuse is the limestone quarries later used for prisons. Now it is a tropical garden full of local and exotic plant species.

(Download)

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Trip Itinerary:

Shellback Loc: North of Cheyenne Bottoms Wetlands - Kansas

Wonderful photos - thanks for sharing -
I was stationed in Sicily for 6 months in 1971 - this was a nice trip down memory lane.

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Shellback wrote:

Wonderful photos - thanks for sharing -
I was stationed in Sicily for 6 months in 1971 - this was a nice trip down memory lane.

Thanks so much Dave I'm pleased that the photos brought back pleasant memories for you.

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Beautiful.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Neat.

Gilkar

We must have gone on the same tour. I liked the tour so much I bought a house in Sicily, (which i like to call a Microcosm of the Mediterranean), and lived there for ten years.

UTMike Loc: South Jordan, UT

Beautiful tour with a marvelous start, Mark!

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

NMGal wrote:

Beautiful.

Thanks very much Barbara.

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Longshadow wrote:

Neat.

Thanks very much Bill.

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Gilkar wrote:

We must have gone on the same tour. I liked the tour so much I bought a house in Sicily, (which i like to call a Microcosm of the Mediterranean), and lived there for ten years.

Good move. Too bad Sicily was denied being the 49th state but they may be better off the way they are. Thanks for your comments Gilkar.

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

UTMike wrote:

Beautiful tour with a marvelous start, Mark!

Thanks very much Mike. Having her back in the lead is a guarantee of success!

DJphoto Loc: SF Bay Area

srfmhg wrote:

We departed Florence for Catania Sicily in the evening on Vueling Airlines, one of the largest low-cost carriers in Europe and the only non-stop to Catania. The flight was originally scheduled for 2PM but was changed to 7PM unbeknownst to us. Fortunately, Tauck was aware of the change and arranged the transfer appropriately. We were also lucky that the Catania airport was re-opened after an eruption of Mount Etna earlier in the week. We checked into the hotel in Ortigia at around 11PM and were treated to platters of cold cuts and cheese in our room since we missed the welcome dinner. Ortygía is a small island which is the historical centre of the city of Syracuse, Sicily. The island, also known as the Città Vecchia (Old City), contains many historical landmarks. We joined the group early the next day for a visit to the Neapolis Architectural Park.

From the website: https://www.sicily.co.uk/things_to_do/archaeological-park-of-the-neapolis/
The archaeological park of the Neapolis hosts the most important ruins of the old Greek Roman city of Syracuse. This park is divided in three sections which include the Latomie, the Greek theatre and the Roman amphitheatre. Neapolis was one of the five quarters of Syracuse during the Greek and Roman periods. It is considered an open air museum where it is possible to find a massive collection of ruins dating back to Sicily’s glorious days.

The first section of the park contains the Latomia del Paradiso (Paradise Quarry), one of the most famous ancient caves of the period. It is a narrow cavern 76 feet high, 214 feet deep, and only about 25 feet wide. Caravaggio called it the Ear of Dionysius because of its anatomical shape. The name latomia comes from the Latin lātomĭae and it means cut stone; and during the Greek – Roman period this dark stone quarry has been used to imprison slaves or war prisoners, and due to its particular shape, guardians were able to hear every word they said. Near this monument it is possible to discover Grotta dei Cordari a wide cave characterised by a tiny fissure framed by water and ferns. Proceeding through the archaeological park you can visit the altar of Gerone II, considered the largest amazing surviving altar of the Magna Graecia. The altar was surrounded by columns and during the Roman era, it was adorned by luxuriant trees in the courtyard; unfortunately today only the base of this huge structure remains.

Close to the Archaeological Park of the Neapolis there are the famous Catacombs of San Giovanni Evangelista. The sight contains almost 10,000 graves from small niches to elegant arched chambers,including gorgeous traces of painting. if you want to discover more about the history behind this suggestive place you can book a guided tour with English expert guides.

I hope you enjoy these!
Mark

We departed Florence for Catania Sicily in the eve... (show quote)

Good set to start your tour of Sicily. Your last photo reminds me of one of the things I think of when I think of Italy (which is pretty often).

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

DJphoto wrote:

Good set to start your tour of Sicily. Your last photo reminds me of one of the things I think of when I think of Italy (which is pretty often).

Thanks very much Dennis. The starting point for limoncello!

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

A fine set, Mark.