Syracuse City of Legends - 9781848853225

`For newcomers exploring Sicily for the first time, as well as for returining visitors, Jeremy Dummett's Syracuse, City of Legends is a welcome travelling companion whose enthusiasm is catching. Dummett offers a rich trove of information about its deep past, which he helpfully links to the places that can be visited today, including the more intimate places off the beaten path.'-Judith Harris, author of Pompeii Awakened

`At last Syracuse is receiving the attention it deserves. Congratulations to Jeremy Dummett for his celebration of this Sicilian gem. Don't leave for Sicily without this guide.'-Jordan Lancaster, author of in the Shadow of Vesuvius: A Cultural History of Naples

Dubbed the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all by Cicero. Syracuse also boasts the richest history of anywhere in Sicity

Syracuse City of Legends---the first modern historical guide to the city---explores Syracuse's place within the island and the wider Mediterranean and reveals why it continues to captivate visitors today, more than two and a half millenia after its foundation

For more than 1600 years, from its settlement by Greeks in 733 BC, Syracuse was the leading city in Sicily and at times one of the most powerful in the world. As a Greek city State it competed with Athens and Carthage and was for a while an important ally of rome. When Sicily became Rome's first province; Syracuse was the island's capital and was an important centre for early Christinity. Under Byzantine rule, the Emperor Constans II even moved his court to Syracuse for five years Capture by the Arabs in 878 AD marked the end of ancient Syracuse but the city continued to evolye and during the Spanish era Caravaggio created one of his masterpieces, The Burial of Santa Lucia, in the city. After a devastating earthquake in 1693, a major rebuilding programme gave the city the characteristic Baroque appearance it retains today

Over its long and colourful life, Syracuse has been home to many creative figures, including Archimedes, the greatest mathematician of the ancient world, as well as host to Plato, Scipio Africanus, conqueror of Hannibal, and Caravaggio, who have all contributed to the rich history and atmosphere of this beguiling and distinctive Sicilian city. Generously illustrated, Syracuse, City of Legends also offers detailed descriptions of the principal monuments from each period in the city's life, explaining their physical location as well as their historical context. This vivid and engaging book weaves together the history, architecture and archaeology of Syracuse and will be an invaluable companion for anyone visiting the city as well as a compelling introduction to its ancient and modern history