Teatro Greco
Sitting on the white stone tiers of Siracusa’s Teatro Greco you can see ancient Greek tragedy come alive. Designed c. 500 BC by the Greeks the amphitheatre is one of the largest ever built, and where playwrights such as Aeschylus premiered their works at what was the capital of Magna Grecia.
The Parco Archeologico della Neapolis in Siracusa is a historical treasure. Some 400 bulls were slaughtered at a time in ritual sacrifices to the god Zeus at what remains of the Altar of Hieron II. The site is the burial place of scientific genius Archimedes, and riddled with old limestone quarries, the Latomia del Paradiso, which were used to house POWs captured by the tyrant Dionysus I. The park is home to the second-largest Roman amphitheatre, where bloody gladiatorial games were the norm. And the painter Caravaggio even stopped by there when he was on the run. The artist nicknamed one large cave and former prison ‘Dionysus’ Ear’ because of its elongated shape and acoustics. According to myth, Dionysus I eavesdropped on prisoners’ conversations thanks to the echoes that bounce off its high walls — now schoolchildren amuse themselves calling out their names.
But the park is not just about the past; it’s also about the present. The Teatro Greco is still used for open-air performances put on by the Fondazione Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico (National Institute of Ancient Drama), a national organisation for the promotion of classical drama. Plays are performed in May and June, and it’s a stylish and magical spectacle to watch as the sun sets behind the stage before disappearing into the Ionian Sea.
Opening times: 9 am to two hours before sunset.
Viale Paradiso 1, Siracusa, Italy
Contact tel: +39 0931 66206
Cost Free
Useful links
Fondazione Istituto Nazionale del Dramma Antico
Added 2008/07/11 @ 14:43:23
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