SIRACUSA, ARCHDIOCESE OF. – City and archdiocese of eastern Sicily. It has an area of 1,200 sq. km. and 224,000 inhabitants, almost all Catholic, distributed across 42 parishes served by 124 diocesan priests and 60 regular clergy; it has a seminary with all courses, 12 male religious houses and 33 female (Ann. Pont. 1953, p. 403). It is a metropolitan see with the suffragan dioceses of Noto, Caltagirone and Piazza Armerina; in 1950 the new diocese of Ragusa was united to it *aequa principaliter* (v.).
I. HISTORY
Already inhabited by the Sicels, in 734 B.C. Archias of Corinth founded a colony by occupying the islet of Ortigia. The city expanded rapidly and in turn founded the colonies of Acre, Casmene and Camarina. The first oligarchic constitution caused incessant struggles between wealthy Greek colonists and the poor indigenous plebeians. In an uprising the former were driven out; they turned to Gelon, tyrant of Gela, who succeeded in having them reinstated in the city, of which he then obtained power (490 B.C.). The victory at Himera over the Carthaginians (480 B.C.) gave Syracuse dominion over eastern Sicily. After the expulsion in 466 of the tyrant Thrasybulus, brother of Gelon, a democratic regime was established, through which Syracuse extended its dominion over almost the entire island. This provoked the anger and jealousyuntil in 878 they permanently occupied II. In 1038 it was for a short time occupied by the Byzantine condottiere George Maniakes, who built the castle there, and in 1085 it was definitively liberated by the Normans and given as a county to Giordano, son of Roger I. At the beginning of the 13th century, successively occupied by Pisa and Genoa, it actively participated in the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers and, falling under Aragonese rule, suffered the island’s sad vicissitudes.
Christianity. – When it was first introduced is unknown; St Paul stopped there for three days in 61 (Acts 28:12), but it is not certain that a constituted Church or faithful already existed. An 8th-century writing claims that the Apostle Peter sent from Antioch the first bishop Marcianus, but the report is very uncertain; the Church of Syracuse was certainly constituted, however, by the 3rd century when the question of the *lapsi* arose (CSEL, 3, 2, p. 553), as is clearly attested by its underground cemeteries dating from that century and perhaps even earlier. The first historically certain bishop is Crestus, who in 314 took part in the Council of Arles (Eusebius, *Hist. eccl.*, X, 5).
After the Norman conquest of the island, the first archbishop to be discovered was Roger, elected by Urban II (1093); he worked for the reconstruction of the diocese, which at that time had a large extent, embracing the whole south-eastern corner of Sicily, including the territory of the ancient diocese of Lentini (Lanzoni, pp. 620–31). Pope Alexander III in 1169 granted the bishop of Syracuse the use of the pallium in perpetuity and declared him immediately subject to the Holy See, but Clement III in 1188 abolished both privileges and declared Syracuse a suffragan of Monreale. In 1317 Bishop Peter Moncada restored the cathedral; the Benedictine Thomas of Catania held the first synod in 1388, and in 1393, while visiting the diocese at Terranova (Gela), he was taken prisoner in a Saracen raid and carried off to Africa. The Syracusan Roger Bellomo built the episcopal palace, and Paul Santafede distinguished himself for charity and self-denial during the plague of 1455; in 1529 Ludovico Platamone welcomed the Knights of Malta expelled from Rhodes. In 1543 the cult of St Conrad, already approved for the diocese in 1515, was extended to the whole of Sicily; in 1553 Bishop Girolamo Bologna promulgated the decrees of the Council of Trent, while his successor Giovanni Orosco introduced the Roman rite, abandoning the Gallican rite already in use since Norman times, and in 1570 began construction of the diocesan seminary. Bishop Giovanni Torres enlarged the episcopal palace; in 1646 a famine devastated the city, and in memory of the liberation a procession in honour of St Lucy was instituted, still celebrated on the first Sunday in May. The terrible earthquake of 1693 completely destroyed 22 cities in the diocese and damaged another twelve, killing 38,000 people; Bishop Annibale Termini oversaw the reconstruction, beginning with the cathedral and the seminary, and fostered devotion to the Eucharist. Bishop Marini (d. 1730) began construction of the cathedral façade, which was completed under Bishop Testa and adorned with statues by Marabitti. Bishop Alagona (d. 1801) built the seminary chapel and established the library, now transferred to the seminary.
In 1816 the diocese was divided with the erection of that of Caltagirone, while the canons of the cathedral were granted the use of the mitre and the cappa magna; a further division occurred in 1844 with the erection of the diocese of Noto; on this occasion Syracuse was declared an archiepiscopal and metropolitan see. Among the most recent archbishops, the Franciscan Benedetto La Vecchia (d. 1896) stood out for holiness of life and learning. After the erection of the new diocese of Ragusa (1950), the archdiocese of Syracuse comprises the cities of Augusta, Buccheri, Buscemi, Canicattini, Carlentini, Cassaro, Ferla, Floridia, Francofonte, Lentini, Melilli, Palazzolo Acreide, Solarino, Sortino and the hamlets of Belvedere, Brucoli, Cassibile, Pedagaggi, Priolo, Rizzolo and Villasumundo.
### III. MONUMENTS
Of the ancient Sicel civilization there remain, besides the important artifacts collected by Paolo Orsi in the city’s archaeological museum, the famous necropolis of Pantalica, dating from the 12th to the 8th century B.C., and that of Buscemi. More significant are the Greek and Roman monuments, such as the Temple of Apollo from the 6th century B.C., recently cleared of the superstructures that obscured it; the Ara of Hieron; the Greek theatre; the so-called Ear of Dionysius, famous for its acoustics; the Castello Eurialo; the imposing stone quarries transformed into lush gardens; the amphitheatre; and the Roman gymnasium. The Cathedral, originally the Temple of Athena from the 5th century B.C., adapted—according to tradition—into a Christian temple by Bishop Zosimus in the 7th century, features a fine 1518 timber ceiling, a ciborium by Vanvitelli, a canvas by Antonello da Messina, and several sculptures by Gaggini.
Notable among the churches are S. Pietro, Byzantine in origin but remodeled in the 14th century; the Norman churches of S. Niccolò (11th century), S. Giovanni alle Catacombe (11th–12th century), and S. Tommaso (12th century), though later altered; and the Norman basilica of S. Lucia al Sepolcro, which houses a 13th-century crucifix and a magnificent canvas by Caravaggio depicting the Burial of the Sicilian Martyr, as well as a fine 1501 portal adorning the small church of the Madonna dei Miracoli.
Among the secular or civic monuments worthy of note are: the Castello Maniace, built in 1038 by the eponymous Byzantine condottiere and rebuilt by Frederick II of Swabia; the 13th-century Palazzo Bellomo, later remodeled, with fine biforas and triforas, now home to the medieval museum and a modest picture gallery featuring Byzantine works and pieces from the 14th and 15th centuries; the Palazzo Montalto (1397) with Gothic-Catalan windows; the 15th-century Palazzi Lanza, Abela, and Interlandi; the 17th-century baroque Palazzo Municipale (1635); and the 18th-century Palazzo Beneventano. In Lentini, a Byzantine Madonna is preserved in the former cathedral, a reproduction of Tintoretto’s *Crucifixion* in the parish church of S. Luca, and two 15th-century canvases in the parish church of S. Maria Trinità depicting the *Nativity* and *St. Anthony of Padua*. In Melilli, the church of S. Sebastiano features fine frescoes by Olivio Sozzi (18th century); 18th-century churches also exist in Augusta (the Duomo), Palazzolo Acreide (S. Sebastiano, S. Paolo, Annunziata), and Buccheri, where a *Magdalene* by Antonello Gaggini is preserved.
SIRACUSA, ARCIDIOCESI di - Capital with symbol of the Evangelist John, in the crypt of S. Marciano (5th–6th century) - Siracusa, church of S. Giovanni alle Catacombe.
SIRACUSA, ARCHDIOCESE OF - Capital with symbol of the Evangelist John, in the crypt of S. Marciano (5th–6th century) - Siracusa, church of S. Giovanni alle Catacombe.
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### IV. ILLUSTRIOUS PERSONAGES
Among the notable figures of Syracuse, the following deserve mention for their antiquity: Giuseppe Innografo (8th century); St. Methodius, elected Patriarch of Constantinople (843); St. Simeon the Hermit, who died in Trier (1031), the first saint canonized by a papal bull under Benedict IX (1041). In the 13th century, the notary Giacomo and Arrigo Testa, both from Lentini, were poets of the Sicilian School at the court of Frederick II.
In the 17th century, the Jesuit Ottavio Gaetani (d. 1620) diligently compiled—though not always accurately—the hagiographic annals of Sicily, while his brother Costantino (d. 1630), a Benedictine, philosopher, theologian, and historian, was a friend of Cardinal Baronio and librarian of the Vatican Library. Vincenzo Mirabella (d. 1624), an archaeologist, mathematician, and historian, left a work on the monuments of Syracuse, the fruit of patient and costly research. Mario Minniti (d. 1640), a painter and pupil of Caravaggio, of whom a fine *St. Benedict* survives. The Jesuit Ortensio Scammacca of Lentini (d. 1648) was a prolific tragedian; Domenico Bottone of Lentini (d. 1696), a distinguished physician, authored *Pyrologia topographica*, earning a reputation as a scholar and scientist.
In the 18th century, the founding of the literary academies degli Aretusi and degli Anapei, along with the establishment of the Biblioteca Alagoniana, greatly advanced culture in Syracuse. Notable figures included Emanuele de Astorga (d. 1755) of Augusta, a renowned castrato whose work *Dafni* was successfully performed in Genoa in 1709; the architect Pompeo Picherali (d. 1746), who oversaw the city’s reconstruction after the 1693 earthquake with eclectic spirit and versatility; Saverio Landolina, a scholar and archaeologist who initiated the archaeological museum alongside the Biblioteca Alagoniana; and the priest Giuseppe Logoteta (d. 1809), a historian who founded the *Giornale ecclesiastico di Sicilia* and an academy of agricultural and ecclesiastical studies.
In the 19th century, the priest Giuseppe Capodieci (d. 1828) was a sagacious and patient collector of local history, leaving behind 50 manuscript volumes in the Biblioteca Alagoniana, in addition to his published works. Tommaso Gargallo (d. 1843) was an eminent poet, classicist, and historian; Alessandro Rizzo (d. 1867), a respected naturalist who founded an academy and a scientific cabinet; Raffaele Politi (d. 1870), a painter and archaeologist who illustrated the monuments of Agrigento; Gaetano Italia Nicastrò (d. 1896) of Palazzolo Acreide, a fortunate researcher and illustrator of the archaeological monuments of his homeland; Gregorio Zappalà (d. 1908), a sculptor who worked on Rome’s Piazza Navona; G. Aurelio Costanzo (d. 1913) of Melilli, a distinguished poet of the Romantic school; and Orso Mario Corbino (d. 1937), a renowned physicist from Augusta.
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### V. CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY
The paleo-Christian monuments of Syracuse are all located in the Acradina, one of the five districts that formed the ancient Greek city. They constitute a grand complex in terms of scale, architectural grandeur, and the richness of inscriptions and artifacts, surpassed in Italy only by Rome. Unfortunately, repeated ancient and modern devastations have caused considerable damage and dispersed much valuable material.
Among the numerous cemeteries in the Syracusan region, approximately 1,000 inscribed stones survive, most dating to the Constantinian era, though earlier nuclei—particularly in the larger cemeteries—can be traced back to the 3rd century and even earlier.
The oldest is that of S. Lucia, so named for the martyr buried there. A small section was explored by Paolo Orsi in 1916–18; due to its architectural features, the scarcity of marble inscriptions, the narrowness of the ambulatories, and the archaic style of its paintings in both subject and technique, it is certainly datable to the 3rd century. Other extensive nuclei were discovered in 1942 and 1950 but have yet to be systematically studied. The few surviving paintings depict well-known themes such as the Good Shepherd, Jonah, Daniel in the lions’ den, and the Orant. Of singular importance is a Byzantine hypogean oratory from the 8th–9th centuries, featuring paintings that include SS. Marciano, Cosmas and Damian, Helena, and in the vault, the martyrdom of the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.
The cemeteries of S. Maria di Gesù and Vigna Cassia, originally separate, now form a single vast complex. The former consists of a double cross-shaped gallery flanked by loculi, while the latter resulted from the merging of a series of 1,000 tombs excavated at different levels and later combined. The architectural similarities between these two cemeteries and that of S. Lucia leave no doubt as to their chronological relationship. The extreme northwestern section of Vigna Cassia dates to later periods due to successive expansions. Few inscriptions and paintings have been recovered here, among which those of the arcosolium of Marcia are significant, though it must be said that neither cemetery has been fully explored.
The largest, best-known, and most recent of the Syracusan underground cemeteries is that of St John. Broad galleries with multi-arched *arcosolia*, vast cubicula with imposing sepulchres, give it a truly grand aspect that fully justifies the enthusiastic wonder of the first explorers and visitors. Its excavation took advantage of an old Greek aqueduct and several cisterns converted into cubicula. There are few paintings, notable among which are those in the *arcosolium* of Deodata and a Madonna in the main gallery; in this cemetery was found the well-known 4th-century Roman sarcophagus of Adelfia. On the other hand, the epigraphic material has been rich, yielding about 500 inscriptions (among which an important one relating to the cult of St Lucy), mostly in Greek. The cemetery was in use between the 4th and 6th centuries; soon afterwards the ground above was also exploited. Not far from St John and independent of it is an *hypogeum* of the 4th century converted into a chapel in the Byzantine period.
A dense series of *hypogea* rises on the eastern rocky slope of the Acradina, extending from the small port as far as the Capuchin convent. Exploration of these has produced rather ambiguous furnishings for the Christianity of their users, who preserved Jewish or pagan traditions. The chronology of these *hypogea* can be fixed between the 4th and 5th centuries. Worthy of mention are also the open-air necropolises of Grotticelli and del Fusco.
In the suburbs, to the north of Syracuse, important underground cemeteries are found at Manomozza and Riuzzo near Priolo, and at Molinello near Augusta: all three show marked similarities with the oldest cemeteries of Syracuse, to whose chronology they must be linked. Traces of *hypogea* are found at Lentini, while more important are those of Floridia, Canicattini, Ferla and above all those of Palazzolo Acreide (Grotta di Senebardo, Intagliata, Intagliatella).
After Rome, Syracuse is the richest city in Italy in inscriptions. These have been published in various journals and works as they came to light during the exploration of the cemeteries; yet there is a need for a scientifically modern Corpus to collect them all, a task to which Fr Ferrus SJ has been devoting himself for many years and has already published excellent essays and preliminary studies. Of the minor arts, the collection of terracotta lamps is important, but even here there is still lacking a comprehensive scholarly work.
The Byzantine period then left important monuments for Syracusan archaeology, especially in ecclesiastical buildings. Besides the hypogeal oratories of St Marcian and St Lucy already mentioned, worthy of note are the church of St Phocas near Priolo, dello Zitone near Lentini, St Teresa near Syracuse, St Lucy of Mendola near Palazzolo; the troglodyte oratories of St Mark near Palazzolo, St Nicholas and St Michael near Pantalica, St Peter near Buscemi, etc. — See pls. XLIV–XLV.