Latomia del Puradiso. SYRACUSE. 35. Route. 297
bined with a visit to the so-called "Tombs of Tiinolemi and
Archimedes", situated on the 1. side of the road, about 'i4 M.
beyond the path which diverges to the Amphitheatre and S. Gio¬
vanni (see below). These are tombs with facades of the late Doric
order, arbitrarily named as above. The tomb of Archimedes,
discovered by Cicero, was most probably outside the town.
a. Western Portion.
In a meadow to the r., a short distance from the gate of the
town, stands an unfluted column, probably a fragment of a once
magnificent forum (Agora). Proceeding in this direction, the
traveller soon reaches the road to Catania. The latter is followed
for 10 min.. and then quitted by the road to the 1.. at the point
where S. Giovanni with its Gothic facade lies on the r. After
6 min. the traveller reaches (on the 1.) the entrance to the
Amphitheatre, a structure 2261/o ft. in length and 129 ft. in
width, and apparently destitute of subterranean chambers. Nu¬
merous blocks of marble, appertaining to the ancient parapet, lie
scattered in the arena; some of them bear inscriptions, recording
the names of the proprietors of the seats to which they be¬
longed.
The "Custode delle Antichita". who lives opposite to the en¬
trance of the Amphitheatre, conducts visitors to the neighbouring
Latomie ('/o l.j. Refreshments in the adjoining house. The
Latomie, although of more recent origin than the aqueducts
(exemplified in the case of the Lat. Novantieri). are extensive,
systematically worked ancient quarries , which also served in some
cases as burial-places, fortifications and prisons. The Syracusans
usually compelled their captives to work here, and traces of the
huts of the custodians are said to have been discovered on some
of the isolated and rounded masses of rock.
The **Latomia del Paradiso contains the * Ear of Dionysius,
so named in the 16th cent., a grotto hewn in the rock in the
form of the letter S. , 200 ft. deep, 70 ft. in height and lf>—
3o ft. in width, the sides tapering towards the summit. It is
related of Dionysius that he constructed prisons of such acoustic
peculiarities that at a certain point he could detect every word
spoken in them, even when whispered only, and this grotto has
been arbitrarily assumed to be one of these. The custodian
awakens the echo by tiring a pistol (") soldi). The neighbouring
Latomia di S. Vintra. although less interesting, also merits in¬
spection.
Following the same road, about 200 yds. farther the traveller
reaches the extensive Ara (key kept by the custodian of the
Permalink: http://pid.emory.edu/ark:/25593/j65p7
