The plane tree, or platanus, has wide jagged leaves with five pointed lobes that resemble the palm of an open hand. As a matter of fact, the name "platanus" means wide and flat. Its resemblance to the palm of a hand made this plant sacred to Mother Earth, as shown by some Cretan sculptural depic...

The Latin poet Ovid in his Metamorphoses describes the legend of the beautiful nymph Arethusa. One day, after a long run in the woods, she decided to freshen up in the waters of the river Alpheus. When she finished bathing, the girl began running again, when a voice urged her to stop: it was Alphe...

Attributed to the worship of Mother Earth, this fruit was a symbol of fertility. In fact, among the people of the Mediterranean there has been a custom for young girls to eat pomegranate immediately after marriage since ancient times because of its vital power. According to a Greek myth, the first...

Part of the entertainment of the symposia held in Syracuse was the game kottabos, which essentially consisted in throwing the sediment of wine left in a cup at a target. This object was placed in the centre of a bronze pole around two metres high called a kottabos, which is where the game took its ...

The Grand Tour was a long trip undertaken by young European aristocracy, starting in the 17th century, with the aim of enriching their knowledge. It could last a few months or several years and usually included Italy as a destination. During the Enlightenment, in contrast to the sumptuousness expre...

The oven and the well were two elements always found in a synagogue. The unleavened bread was baked in the synagogue's oven under the watchful eye and control of the rabbi to ensure that no leavened food was used. The structure was similar to that of an Egyptian oven, cylindrical and small in size...

The celebrations for the city's patron saint are preceded by thirteen days of preparation, including prayers and religious activities. The feast officially begins five days before the 13th of December, St. Lucy's Day, starting with the opening of the niche that houses the simulacrum, kept in the ch...

In Christian liturgical furnishings, the ciborium is an architectural structure in the shape of a canopy placed on the altar and consists of vertical elements, usually four columns, which support a flat or vaulted roof. This furniture is generally intended to house the pyx, a liturgical object cont...

Originally from Palermo, Ignazio Marabitti was a sculptor, considered one of the greatest Sicilian artists. He studied in Rome, at the studio of Filippo della Valle, one of the famous sculptors who worked on the Trevi Fountain. Marabitti began to work independently in Syracuse, where, in addition ...

Gladiators were divided into students and instructors, and were given different types of weapons according to their physical aptitudes: the Samnites carried a rectangular shield and a short sword; the Thracians protected themselves with a small wheel and handled a curved dagger; the Murmillones, w...