Roman Amphitheater in Syracusa, Sicily

These pictures are from the Roman Amphitheater in Syracusa, Sicily. The amphitheater was built in the 2nd Century AD. It was used for gladiator battles and horse races. Roman punters used to park their chariots between the amphitieater and Viale Paolo Orsi. The Spainards, who did not have an interest in architecture pretty much destroyed the site in the 16th Century by using it as a quarry to build the city walls of Ortegia. The amphitheater was carved out of limestone rock. The tunnel in the picture is where the beasts would enter the ring.

There are chairs set up in this picture because when we were there they used to use this amphitheater for plays and concerts. Supposedly the area in the center was used to stage sea battles, but it seems rather small to me for something like that.
This picture shows the name of the person who owned and sat in this seat in the Roman Amphitheater to watch the gladiators. Isn't it awesome to think you were able to touch the same stone that someone touched centuries before?

This is a closer view of the area in the middle. According to what I read recently on the Internet this amphitheater has been allowed to become overgrown with weeds and flowers. In the same area is a Greek Amphitheater and that seems to be the bigger tourist attraction.






This cave is known as the Ear of Dionysius. This is an artificial cave carved out of the Termenites hill in Syracusa, Sicily. It's name comes from its similarity in shape to a human ear. It was most likely formed out of an old limestone quarry. According to information we got when we were there, it is 23 meters high and extends 65 meters into the cliff. Horizontally it bends in an "S" shape; vertically it is tapered at the top like a teardrop. Because of the shape it has extraordinary acoustics, making even small sounds resonate throughout the cave. The name was coined in 1586 by painter Caravaggio, and refers to tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse. According to legend, possibly created by Caravaggio, Dionysius used the cave as a prison for political disidents. He would sit in the small opening at the top of the "ear" and by means of the perfect acoustics eavesdrop on the plans and secrets of the prisoners. Another, more gruesome legend claims Dionysius I carved the cave in this shape so that it would amplify the screams of the prisoners as they were being tortured in it.