Hey again, friends, ready for the last post! Here we go:). This blog post will be discussing the Syracusan fort aka Euryalus Castle, where my group and I did some ‘sploring last fall, if you’ll pardon the alliteration.
One of my friends exploring one of Euryalus Castle’s many doorways.
The fortress is technically located in the town of Belvedere, but is really only a few miles away from Syracuse proper. It lies on the Epipoli ridge, and is composed of a series of walls, towers, and also underground tunnels, as well. It was built in the 400’s in the BC era by the Syracusans, specifically by Dionysius the Elder. He did so in order to renovate a part of the fortifications on the Epipoli that could withstand the attacks of the Carthaginians, which Syracuse and the surrounding area was facing at this point in time (Unesco 121). The entire structure is composed of white, porous stone and as a result stands out from the countryside. I would imagine it also would stand out at night under a full moon, although I have yet to see that. Although the structure wasn’t built in a day, it was built fairly quickly to ready the Syracusans for the Carthaginian onslaught, and required a fair bit of labor. To be specific, this structure required “60,000 troops and 6,000 pairs of oxen” to be “mobilized”. Quite a few laborers! Overall, it was a great structure to explore, although a word to the wise-if you like climbing on ancient things, make sure not to climb here. There are park ‘guards’, so to speak, and they’ll certainly come after you if they catch you climbing too high on the guard towers here (not that I would know).
Alright, I suppose this is my last post for awhile, so vale! Perhaps I’ll see you in Sicily :)
Works Cited:
UNESCO Heritage. “Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica: World Heritage Nomination.” Syracuse. Web.
Tourism in Syracuse, Sicily – Euryalus Castle in Siracusa – Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel.” Tourism in Syracuse, Sicily – Euryalus Castle in Siracusa – Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.