The Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi of

Syracuse, Sicily Syracuse ( ; ; ) is a historic city on the Italian island of Sicily, the capital of the Italian province of Syracuse. The city is notable for its rich Greek and Roman history, culture, amphitheatres, architecture, and as the birthplace ...

is one of the principal archaeological museums of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

History

In 1780 the Bishop Alagona inaugurated the ''Museo del Seminario'' which became the ''Museo Civico'' near the archbishop's house in 1808. Subsequently, a royal decree of 17 June 1878 sanctioned the creation of the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Siracusa, which was only inaugurated in 1886, in its historic location on the cathedral square. From 1895 to 1934

Paolo Orsi Paolo Orsi (Rovereto, October 17, 1859 – November 8, 1935) was an Italian archaeologist and classicist. Life Orsi was born in Rovereto, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and now in the province of Trento in Italy. After studying at a gy ...

directed the museum, but the increasing number of finds made a new space necessary at the current location in the garden of the villa Landolina. The new museum space, designed by the architect Franco Minissi was inaugurated in January 1988, with two floors of 9,000². Initially only one floor and a basement of 3,000 m² containing an auditorium were open to the public. In 2006, a new exhibition area on the upper floor was inaugurated, dedicated to the classical period, but more space still remained unused. In 2014 a final expansion allowed the display of the

Sarcophagus of Adelphia The Sarcophagus of Adelphia is an early Christian, circa 340 AD sarcophagus now in the Museo Archeologico Regionale Paolo Orsi in Syracuse, region of Sicily, Italy. The sarcophagus was found in the Rotunda of Adelphia inside the Catacombs of San ...

and other finds from the catacombs of Syracuse. A free partnership with Google Business Photos and

Google Street View Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides interactive panoramas from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expa ...

Indoor has mapped the entire museum and dozen of its archaeological finds into a Google web platform. Launched online in 2016, it provided the first 360° interactive tour for a cultural institution of the southern Italy.

Museum

The museum contains artefacts from the prehistoric, Greek and Roman periods found in archaeological excavations in the city and other sites in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

. The space is divided into four sectors (A – D) and a central space (Area 1) which is dedicated to the history of the museum and briefly overviews the material displayed in the individual sectors.

Sector A

Sector A is dedicated to the prehistoric (

Upper Palaeolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

) with a display of rocks and fossils which testify to the various animals found in Sicily in the

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

. It is preceded by a section which displays the geological characteristics of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

and the Iblean zone.

Sector B

In sector B, dedicated to the Greek colonies in Sicily from the Ionic and Doric period, it is possible to see the locations of the Greek colonies in Sicily and their respective mother cities. Also on display: * a headless marble statue of a

Kouros Kouros (, , plural kouroi) is the modern term given to free-standing Ancient Greek sculpture, Ancient Greek sculptures that depict nude male youths. They first appear in the Archaic period in Greece and are prominent in Attica and Boeotia, with ...

, found at Leontini from the fifth century BC. * a limestone ''kourotrophos'', a headless female statue, holding two twins, which was found at

Megara Hyblaea Megara Hyblaea () – perhaps identical with Hybla Major – is an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek colony of Magna Graecia in Sicily, situated near Augusta, Sicily, Augusta on the east coast, north-northwest of Syracuse, Italy, Syracuse, Italy, ...

.The ''kourotrophos'' from Megara Hyblaea
/ref> * votive statues of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

and

Kore KORE (1050 AM) is a commercial radio station dual licensed to Springfield and Eugene, Oregon. It airs a sports radio format and is owned by KORE Broadcasting, LLC. The studios and offices are on Willagillespie Road off Oregon Route 132 in ...

and a

gorgon The Gorgons ( ; ), in Greek mythology, are three monstrous sisters, Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, said to be the daughters of Phorcys and Ceto. They lived near their sisters the Graeae, and were able to turn anyone who looked at them to sto ...

from the Doric colony at Megara Hyblaea * a head of

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

found at

Centuripe Centuripe (Latin: Centuripae; Sicilian: Centorbi) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Enna (Sicily, southern Italy). The city is from Enna in the hill country between the Rivers Dittaìno and Salso. The economy is mostly based on agric ...

Sector C

In sector C there are finds from the colonies of Syracuse:

Akrai Akrai (; ) was a Greek colony of Magna Graecia founded in Sicily by the Syracusans in 663 BC. It was located near the modern Palazzolo Acreide. Location It was founded on a spectacular and strategic site, on the Acremonte plateau of the Hy ...

(664 BC),

Kasmenai Casmenae or Kasmenai (, Casmene in Italian) was an ancient Greek colony of Magna Graecia located on the Hyblaean Mountains, founded in 644 BC by the Syracusans at a strategic position for the control of central Sicily. It was also intended ...

(644 BC),

Camarina Kamarina or Camarina () was an ancient city on the southern coast of Sicily in Magna Graecia. The ruins of the site and an archaeological museum are located south of the modern town of Scoglitti, a (borough) of the (municipality) of Vitto ...

(598 BC),

Eloro Helorus, Heloros, Helorum, or Elorus (Greek: or , Ptol., Steph. B. or , Scyl.; ), was an ancient Greek city of Magna Graecia in Sicily, situated near the east coast, about 40 km south of Syracuse and on the banks of the river of the same ...

, as well as finds from other centres of eastern Sicily,

Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the regional autonomy, Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province o ...

and

Agrigento Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden ...

Sector D

Sector D, located on the upper floor and inaugurated in 2006, contains finds from the Hellenistic and Roman periods. It contains two of the most celebrated pieces in the museum, the Paleo-Christian ''

'' and the ''Venus Anadiomene'', also called '' Venus Landolina'' after the location of its discovery, found in Syracuse in 1804 and described by Bernabò Brea as "for the excellence of its sculpting, an exquisite treatment of the naked form, of incredibly liveliness and softness". Moreover, a selection of coins from the numismatic cabinet of the piazza Duomo is on display. Venus Landolina

Villa Landolina

Located next to the ancient Villa Landolina, outside the Museum, it is possible to visit the park opposite with finds from the Greek and Roman periods, as well as a non-Catholic cemetery with the tomb of the poet

August von Platen August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

References

External links

Partner site with information & ticketing
{{authority control Buildings and structures in Syracuse, Sicily Museums in Sicily Archaeological museums in Italy Museums of ancient Greece in Italy Museums of ancient Rome in Italy