Must-see attractions in Southeastern Sicily

  • ancient greek theater in Syracuse, Parco Archeologico della Neapolis, Sicily, Italy, Unesco world heritage list

    Parco Archeologico della Neapolis

    Syracuse

    For the classicist, Syracuse's real attraction is this archaeological park, home to the pearly Teatro Greco. Constructed in the 5th century BC and rebuilt…

  • Ragusa Ibla

    Ragusa

    Ragusa Ibla is a joy to wander, its labyrinthine lanes weaving through rock-grey palazzi to open onto beautiful, sun-drenched piazzas. It's easy to get…

  • (GERMANY OUT) Syrakus, Ortigia, Dom Santa Maria delle Colonne und Rathaus (Municipio)  (Photo by Ihlow/ullstein bild via Getty Images)

    Duomo

    Syracuse

    Built on the skeleton of a 5th-century BC Greek temple to Athena (note the Doric columns still visible inside and out), Syracuse's 7th-century cathedral…

  • Italy, Sicily, Siracusa, Greek theater

    Teatro Greco

    Syracuse

    The highlight of the Neapolis archaeological area is the Teatro Greco, a masterpiece of classical architecture that could accommodate up to 16,000 people…

  • Piazza del Duomo

    Syracuse

    Syracuse's showpiece square is a masterpiece of baroque town planning. A long, rectangular piazza flanked by flamboyant palazzi, it sits on what was once…

  • Palazzo Bonelli Patanè

    Southeastern Sicily

    Never judge a book by its cover, or a palazzo by its facade. Take the 19th-century Palazzo Bonelli Patanè, its demure neoclassical facade tight-lipped…

  • Palazzo Castelluccio

    Noto

    Abandoned for decades, this 18th-century palazzo found its saviour in French journalist and documentary filmmaker Jean-Louis Remilleux, who purchased the…

  • Museo Archeologico Paolo Orsi

    Syracuse

    Located about 500m east of the archaeological park, Syracuse's archaeological museum claims one of Sicily's largest and most interesting collections of…

  • Basilica Cattedrale di San Nicolò

    Noto

    Pride of place in Noto goes to San Nicolò Cathedral, a baroque beauty that had to undergo extensive renovation after its dome collapsed during a 1996…

  • Museo dell'Olio

    Southeastern Sicily

    This is the most interesting of Chiaramonte Gulfi's museums. While the highlight is an olive press from 1614, there's also a collection of old farming…

  • Castello di Donnafugata

    Ragusa

    Located 18km southwest of Ragusa, this sumptuous neo-Gothic palace houses the Collezione Gabriele Arezzo di Trifiletti, an extraordinary fashion and…

  • Italy, Sicily, Iblei Mountains, Cava d'Ispica, Troglodyte caves

    Cava d'Ispica

    Southeastern Sicily

    The town of Ispica, about 12km southeast of Modica, is located at the head of the 13km-long gorge known as Cava d'Ispica. Long used as a neolithic burial…

  • Palazzolo Acreide/ Syracuse Sicily/ Italy - october 04 2019: Two Carabinieri speak and give information to some tourists, on the steps in front of the cathedral of Palazzolo Acreide
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    Piazza del Popolo

    Southeastern Sicily

    The heart of Palazzolo Acreide is Piazza del Popolo, a striking square dominated by the ornate bulk of the 18th-century Chiesa di San Sebastiano and the…

  • Duomo di San Giorgio

    Modica

    The high point of a trip to Modica – quite literally as it's up in Modica Alta – is the Duomo di San Giorgio, one of Sicily's most extraordinary baroque…

  • Duomo di San Pietro

    Modica

    In Modica, the Duomo di San Pietro plays second fiddle only to the Cattedrale di San Giorgio. The original 14th-century church was damaged in the…

  • Area Archeologica di Akrai

    Southeastern Sicily

    Accessed via a 20-minute uphill walk from Piazza del Popolo (or an easy drive up Via Teatro Greco), the archaeological park of Akrai is one of the area's…

  • Chiesa di Santa Maria la Nova

    Southeastern Sicily

    Sporting a relatively restrained neoclassical facade, this church took shape in the 18th and 19th centuries. Among its numerous notable artworks is 18th…

  • Chiesa di Santa Teresa

    Southeastern Sicily

    The 18th-century Chiesa di Santa Teresa has numerous points of interest, among them a striking geometric floor made of white Cosimo limestone and black…

  • Ragusa Superiore

    Ragusa

    One of the best reasons for heading up to Ragusa's modern and less-attractive half is to walk down again. It takes about half an hour to descend the…

  • Basilica & Catacombe di San Giovanni

    Syracuse

    The city's most extensive catacombs lie beneath the Basilica di San Giovanni, itself a pretty, truncated church that served as the city's cathedral in the…

  • Chiesa Madre San Guglielmo

    Southeastern Sicily

    It's in this church that a warrior-like Madonna delle Milizie (Madonna of the Militias) crushes two hapless Saracens on her white horse. Made of wood and…

  • Palazzo Spadaro

    Southeastern Sicily

    The convex balcony railings of this 18th-century aristocratic pad were cleverly designed to accommodate the era's hooped gowns. One can imagine the gentry…

  • Piazza Municipio

    Noto

    About halfway along Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the graceful Piazza Municipio, flanked by Noto's most dramatic buildings. To the north, sitting in stately…

  • Palazzo Municipio

    Southeastern Sicily

    To fans of the popular TV series Commissario Montelbano (Inspector Montalbano), Scicli's Town Hall – completed in 1906 – is better known as police…

  • Cinabro Carrettieri

    Ragusa

    Biagio Castilletti and Damiano Rotella are two of only a handful of master artisans still making carretti siciliani (traditional Sicilian carts) the…

  • Necropoli di Pantalica

    Southeastern Sicily

    On a huge plateau above the Valle dell'Anapo is the site of Sicily's most important Iron and Bronze Age necropolis, the Necropoli di Pantalica, with more…

  • Palazzo Ducezio

    Noto

    Inspired by French palace architecture of the 17th century, graceful, porticoed Palazzo Ducezio is one of architect Vincenzo Sinatra's finest works. The…

  • Chiesa di San Bartolomeo

    Southeastern Sicily

    Although its origins lie in the 15th century, the luminous church standing today was built between the mid-18th and late-19th centuries. Like many of…

  • Riserva di Vendicari

    Southeastern Sicily

    Butting onto the ruins of Eloro is a wonderful stretch of wild coastline encompassing three separate marshes and a number of sandy beaches. The most…

  • Spiaggia Marianelli

    Southeastern Sicily

    This is the most beautiful of the beaches in the Riserva Naturale di Vendicari, a protected stretch of coastline around 11km south of Noto. Located at the…

  • Miqweh

    Syracuse

    Buried 20m beneath the Alla Giudecca hotel in Ortygia's old Jewish ghetto (known as the Giudecca) is an extraordinary ancient Jewish miqwe (ritual bath),…

  • Chiesa di San Giuseppe

    Southeastern Sicily

    Completed in 1772, the pared-back, late-baroque Chiesa di San Giuseppe claims beautiful stuccowork and a valuable marble statue of Santa Agrippina,…

  • Palazzo Arezzo di Trifiletti

    Ragusa

    If you fancy snooping around the private digs of an aristocratic family, Domenico Arezzo offers guided tours of his family's palazzo, built between the…

  • Chiesa Madonna del Carmine

    Southeastern Sicily

    Completed in 1769, this Carmelite church dominates the southwest corner of handsome Piazza Busacca. Its pure white interior harbours stuccowork by master…

  • Galleria Regionale di Palazzo Bellomo

    Syracuse

    Housed in a 13th-century Catalan-Gothic palace, this art museum's eclectic collection ranges from early Byzantine and Norman stonework to 19th-century…

  • Teatro Tina Di Lorenzo

    Noto

    A swirl of boxes and stuccowork, this petite 19th-century theatre is named in honour of Italian stage and silent-film actress Tina Di Lorenzo (1872–1930),…

  • Basilica del Santissimo Salvatore

    Noto

    Situated towards the grand Porta Reale is the Basilica del Santissimo Salvatore. Its recently restored interior is the most impressive in Noto, crowned by…

  • Chiesa Rupestre di San Nicolò Inferiore

    Modica

    Carved into the rock and discovered by accident in 1987, this 12th-century church is Modica's oldest. It's worth a visit for its Byzantine frescoes, whose…