New Year's Eve Siracusa

The Syracuse city is one of the most evocative of all Sicily, and it becomes even more in the Christmas and New Year period, when the roads of the historical center, Ortigia, fill of lights and markets.
Its origins are ancient and date back to the VIIIth century, when a group of Greek escaped from Corinth established in this area.
Soon, the city expanded and became the most powerful of the island, also because it managed to win, with the help of many wars, the domain of the sea trade.
After the Greeks conquered the city the Romans, then the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans, finally became part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, at least until the arrival of Garibaldi, which set the city free from the Spanish dominion.
Today Siracusa may base its economy on various activities, especially the industrial one.
We start our visit of the city from the Duomo, originally a Greek temple built in 480 A.C. and many times restored along the centuries.
Very suggestive is the Duomo square, where we can admire the Beneventano del Bosco Palace and the Senate Palace, both in Baroque style.
Many are the churches to visit in Siracusa, among which the St. Francis all'Immacolata church, characterized by a charming bell tower of 1800, and then still, it deserves a visit the St. Lucia church, the Jesuits church, the St. Benedetto curch, situated in the immediate vicinity of the St. Martino church, the St. Tommaso church, dating back to the XIIth century and the St. Filippo Neri church.
Among the aristocratic buildings, we recommend a visit to the Mergulese-Montalto Palace, dating back to XIVth century, and to the Bongiovanni Palace.
Still, very interesting is the famous Archimede square, adorned by the beautiful Artemide fountain, dating back to 1800.
Other areas to absolutely visit in Siracusa is the Arabic quarter, with its narrow and ancient streets and the Neapolis archaeological park.
Without a doubt however, the most famous antiques in Siracusa are the Greek Theatre, the Roman Amphitheratre, the Apollo Temple, the Archimedes Tomb and the Dionysus Ear, a legendary cave with particular shape, which is located in Latomia del Paradiso.
Finally, a visit to the museums: we can start with the Civic Gallery of Contemporary Art, and the Regional Gallery; very interesting is also the Paolo Orsi Regional Archaeological Museum, situated in the Villa Lanolin park, and the Papyrus Museum, to visit with the St. Giovanni Catacombs.