Scholars and schoolchildren on trips to Syracuse pause in amazement and wonder in the cavern described by Caravaggio as the “Ear of Dionysius”.
Tradition has it that the tyrant Dionysius, thanks to the extraordinary echoing between the cave walls, could hear every single word spoken by the slaves imprisoned in the Latomie, who spoke freely thinking they were alone in their stone prison.
It is not clear whether the tyrant used this information channel, but the grotto was definitely used to increase the diffusion of sound in the Greek theatre, where exciting performances took place.
