Syracuse, City of Legends: A Glory of Sicily

This vivid and engaging book weaves together the history, architecture and archaeology of Syracuse and is an essential companion for anyone visiting the city.

Dubbed ‘the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all’ by Cicero, Syracuse also boasts the richest history of anywhere in Sicily. This is the first modern historical guide to the city, exploring Syracuse’s place within the island and the wider Mediterranean and revealing why it continues to captivate visitors today, more than two and a half millennia after its foundation.

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 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 history 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.