Overlooking the amazing Piazza Duomo in Ortygia, the Cathedral of Syracuse is one of the most powerful expressions of the Baroque and Rococo style in Sicily. The current façade is a masterpiece of the architect Andre Palma from Palermo and it was built between 1728 and 1754.
The building is unique and it was raised on the ancient basis of a Doric temple of 480 BC dedicated to the divinity Athena; in the 7th century it was incorporated in a church built in honor of the Mary’s Nativity. Reshaped in the Norman period, the Cathedral is today an outstanding mixture of styles of several ages: some Greek elements such as the still visible imposing Doric columns, Byzantine paintings, fifteenth-century decorations and the statues of the famous sculptor Gagini; they all live together in a single scene and give a very unique result.
The main entrance has a staircase. An alternative entrance from the courtyard of the Archbishop’s Palace, next to the Cathedral, is available for people with reduced mobility or on wheel chairs. The opening of this entrance is on request and you need to ask the personnel at the Cathedral’s entry.
Useful Information
Address: Piazza Duomo, Syracuse
Contact details: Ph. +39 0931 65328 – email: cattedrale.siracusa@alice.it
Visit times: Every day: 8.00 am – 7 p.m. (from April, the 1st until 7.45 p.m.).
The celebration of Mass is at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., from Monday to Saturday; on Sundays at 8 a.m., at 11.30 a.m. and 7 p.m.