Sicily is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 20 regions of Italy. It is one of the five Italian autonomous regions and is officially referred to as Regione Siciliana.
Syracuse is a historic city on the 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 of the preeminent mathematician and engineer Archimedes. This 2,700-year-old city played a key role in ancient times, when it was one of the major powers of the Mediterranean world. Syracuse is located in the southeast corner of the island of Sicily, next to the Gulf of Syracuse beside the Ionian Sea.
Gelon also known as Gelo, son of Deinomenes, was a 5th-century BC ruler of Gela and Syracuse and first of the Deinomenid rulers.
The Sicilian Expedition was an Athenian military expedition to Sicily, which took place from 415–413 BC during the Peloponnesian War between the Athenian empire, or the Delian League, on one side and Sparta, Syracuse and Corinth on the other. The expedition ended in a devastating defeat for the Athenian forces, severely impacting Athens.
Gela, is a city and comune in the Autonomous Region of Sicily, the largest for area and population on Sicily's southern coast. It is part of the Caltanissetta province, being the only comune in Italy with a population and area that exceeds those of the province's capital. Founded by Greek colonists from Rhodes and Crete in 689 BC, Gela was the most influential polis in Sicily between the 7th and 6th centuries and the place where Aeschylus lived and died in 456 BC. In 1943 Gela was the first Italian beach reached by allies during the Invasion of Sicily from the allies.
The Province of Syracuse is a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Following the suppression of the Sicilian provinces, it was replaced in 2015 by the Free municipal consortium of Syracuse. Its capital is the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth in the 8th century BC. It has an area of 2,109 square kilometres (814 sq mi) and a total population of 403,985 (2016). Syracuse has 8% of the Sicilian population and 8.2% of Sicily's area.
The Sicani or Sicanians were one of three ancient peoples of Sicily present at the time of Phoenician and Greek colonization. The Sicani dwelt east of the Elymians and west of the Sicels, having, according to Diodorus Siculus, the boundary with the last in the ancient Himera river (Salso) after a series of battles between these tribes.
The Siege of Syracuse by the Roman Republic took place in 213–212 BC, at the end of which the Hellenistic city of Syracuse, located on the east coast of Sicily, fell. The Romans stormed the city after a protracted siege giving them control of the entire island of Sicily. During the siege, the city was protected by weapons developed by Archimedes. Archimedes, the great inventor and polymath, was slain at the conclusion of the siege by a Roman soldier, in contravention of the Roman proconsul Marcellus' instructions to spare his life.
Sicilia was the first province acquired by the Roman Republic. The western part of the island was brought under Roman control in 241 BC at the conclusion of the First Punic War with Carthage. A praetor was regularly assigned to the island from c.227 BC. The Kingdom of Syracuse under Hieron II remained an independent ally of Rome until its defeat in 212 BC during the Second Punic War. Thereafter the province included the whole of the island of Sicily, the island of Malta, and the smaller island groups.
The Emirate of Sicily was an emirate on the island of Sicily which existed from 831 to 1091. Its capital was Palermo.
Augusta is a town and comune in the province of Syracuse, located on the eastern coast of Sicily. The city is one of the main harbours in Italy, especially for oil refineries which are in its vicinity.
The Sicilian Wars, or Greco-Punic Wars, were a series of conflicts fought between Ancient Carthage and the Greek city-states led by Syracuse, Sicily, over control of Sicily and the western Mediterranean between 580–265 BC.
The Strade Bianche is a road bicycle race in Tuscany, Central Italy, starting and finishing in Siena. First held in 2007, it is raced annually on the first or second Saturday of March. The name Strade Bianche stems from the historic white gravel roads in the Crete Senesi, which are a defining feature of the race. One third of the total race distance is raced on dirt roads, covering 63 km of strade bianche, spread over 11 sectors.
Akrai was a Greek colony founded in Sicily by the Syracusans in 663 BC. It was located near the modern Palazzolo Acreide.
Cassibile is an Italian village and civil parish (frazione) of the city and municipality (comune) of Syracuse (Siracusa), in Sicily. As of 2006 its population was of 5,800.
Siracusa is the main railway station of the Italian city of Syracuse, in Sicily. Like Palermo Centrale, Catania Centrale and Messina Centrale it is one of the most important stations in Sicily. It is owned by the Ferrovie dello Stato, the national rail company of Italy.
Camillo Camilliani was an Italian architect, military engineer and sculptor. He is mostly known for the design of watchtowers and other fortifications around the coasts of Sicily.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. Syracuse was the main city of Sicily from 5th century BCE to 878 CE.
