Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica
Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica
The site consists of two separate elements, containing outstanding vestiges dating back to Greek and Roman times: The Necropolis of Pantalica contains over 5,000 tombs cut into the rock near open stone quarries, most of them dating from the 13th to 7th centuries BC. Vestiges of the Byzantine era also remain in the area, notably the foundations of the Anaktoron (Prince’s Palace). The other part of the property, Ancient Syracuse, includes the nucleus of the city’s foundation as Ortygia by Greeks from Corinth in the 8th century BC. The site of the city, which Cicero described as ‘the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of all’, retains vestiges such as the Temple of Athena (5th century BC, later transformed to serve as a cathedral), a Greek theatre, a Roman amphitheatre, a fort and more. Many remains bear witness to the troubled history of Sicily, from the Byzantines to the Bourbons, interspersed with the Arabo-Muslims, the Normans, Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty (1197–1250), the Aragons and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Historic Syracuse offers a unique testimony to the development of Mediterranean civilization over three millennia.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Syracuse et la nécropole rocheuse de Pantalica
Le site est composé de deux éléments séparés contenant des vestiges exceptionnels remontant aux époques grecque et romaine : la Nécropole de Pantalica compte plus de 5 000 tombes taillées dans la roche près de carrières à ciel ouvert et datant pour l’essentiel de la période comprise entre le XIIIe et le VIIe siècle av. J.-C. On y trouve également des vestiges de l’époque byzantine, en particulier les fondations de l’« Anaktoron » (palais du Prince). L’autre partie du site, l’ancienne Syracuse, inclut le noyau de la première fondation, au VIIIe siècle av. J.-C., avec l’arrivée des premiers colons grecs de Corinthe : Ortygia. Le site de cette ville contient des vestiges tels que le temple d’Athéna (Ve siècle av. J.-C., plus tard transformé en cathédrale), un théâtre grec, un amphithéâtre romain, un fort et encore bien d’autres trésors architecturaux. La Syracuse historique offre un témoignage unique du développement de la civilisation méditerranéenne sur trois millénaires.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
سيراكوز ومقبرة بانتاليكا الصخرية
يتكوَّن الموقع من عنصرين منفصلين يحتويان على آثار استثنائية ترقى إلى الحقبتين الإغريقية والرومانية. وتعدُّ مقبرة بانتاليكا أكثر من 5000 قبر منحوت في الصخر قرب مقالع مكشوفة وتعود بمعظمها إلى الفترة الممتدة من القرن الثالث عشر إلى القرن السابع ق.م. كما نجد فيها آثاراً من الحقبة البيزنطية، وبالأخص أسس قصر الأمير الأناكتورون. أما الجزء الآخر من الموقع، أي مدينة سيراكوز القديمة، فيشمل نواة الأسس الأولى للمدينة، التي ترقى إلى القرن الثامن ق.م.، مع وصول أول المستوطنين الإغريق الكورنثيين: أورتيجيا. ويحوي موقع هذه المدينة آثاراً عدة مثل معبد أثينا (القرن الخامس ق.م.، والذي تحوَّل إلى كاتدرائية فيما بعد)، ومسرحاً إغريقياً، ومدرَّجاً رومانياً، وحصناً وغيره الكثير من الكنوز الهندسية الأخرى. وتوفر سيراكوز التاريخية شهادة فريدة حول تطور الحضارة المتوسطية على مدى ثلاثة آلاف سنة.
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
锡拉库扎和潘塔立克石墓群
锡拉库扎和潘塔立克石墓群由两个单独的成分组成，拥有希腊和罗马时期的显著痕迹：潘塔立克石墓群共有5000多个靠近露天采石场的石刻坟墓，大部分可追溯至公元前13世纪到公元前7世纪。这里保留有拜占庭时期的遗迹，特别是王子的宫殿阿纳托伦宫室的废墟。锡拉库萨古城的另外一部分是市中心的奥提伽城，在公元前8世纪时由来自科林斯城的希腊人修建。这个被西塞罗描述为“希腊最伟大、最美丽的城市”遗址保留有雅典娜胜利女神庙（建于公元前5世纪，后改造为大教堂）、希腊剧院、罗马圆形剧场、堡垒等。许多遗迹见证了西西里从拜占庭到波旁家族时期阿拉伯-穆斯林人、诺曼底人、腓特烈二世（公元1197年到1250年的霍亨斯道芬家族）、阿拉贡和两西西里王国之间纷乱的历史。锡拉库扎遗址展示了地中海文明在近3000年时间里的发展。
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Древний город Сиракузы и скальный некрополь Панталика
Объект состоит из двух отдельных территорий, на которых находятся выдающиеся, относящиеся к временам Древней Греции и Древнего Рима памятники археологии. В некрополе Панталика можно видеть более 5000 гробниц, вырезанных в скале вблизи открытого карьера по добыче камня; большинство из них относится к периоду ХIII-VII вв. до н.э. Следы византийской эпохи также присутствуют на этой территории, наиболее заметны остатки фундамента Анакторона – дворца правителя. Другая часть объекта – это Древние Сиракузы, основанные под именем Ортигия греками из Коринфа в VIII в. до н.э и ставшие ядром современного города Сиракузы. В городе, который Цицерон характеризовал как «величайший греческий город, прекраснейший из всех», сохраняются многие объекты археологии, например, храм Афины V в. до н.э. (позднее преобразованный в кафедральный собор), руины древнегреческого театра, древнеримского амфитеатра, крепости и т.д. Многие памятники являются свидетельствами бурной истории Сицилии, от Византии до Бурбонов, а между ними – арабов-мусульман, норманнов, Фридриха II Гогенштауфена (1197-1250 гг.), арагонцев и Королевства Обеих Сицилий. Историческая часть города Сиракузы служат уникальным свидетельством развития средиземноморской цивилизации в течение более чем трех тысячелетий.
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Siracusa y la necrópolis rupestre de Pantalica
El sitio comprende dos partes diferenciadas con vestigios notables de la época grecorromana. La primera es la Necrópolis de Pantalica, situada cerca de unas canteras a cielo abierto, que cuenta con más de 5.000 tumbas excavadas en la roca entre los siglos XIII y VII a. C. En esta necrópolis subsisten vestigios de la época bizantina, en particular los cimientos del “Anaktoron” (Palacio del príncipe). La segunda parte está constituida por la antigua Siracusa, donde se puede contemplar el núcleo primigenio de esta ciudad fundada por colonos griegos llegados de Corinto en el siglo VIII a. C, que le dieron en un principio el nombre de Ortygia. En el emplazamiento de Siracusa quedan vestigios del Templo de Atena (siglo V a.C.), que más tarde fue transformado en catedral. También subsisten vestigios de un teatro griego, un anfiteatro romano, un fuerte y muchas otras construcciones. La antigua Siracusa ofrece un ejemplo, único en su género, de la evolución de la civilización mediterránea a lo largo de más tres milenios.
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
シラクーザとパンタリカの岩壁墓地遺跡
このシチリア島の2つの登録地は別個の要素から成る。シラクーザは、ローマの政治家キケロが“最も偉大なギリシャの都市で、あらゆる都市の中で最も美しい”と称えた古代の都市遺跡。アテナ神殿、ギリシャ劇場、ローマの円形劇場、要塞などの遺跡で構成されている。一方パンタリカの岩壁にある古代の共同墓地遺跡は、紀元前13世紀から紀元前7世紀にかけてのもの。採石場近くの岩壁に刻まれた5000以上もの墓で、ビザンチン時代の痕跡も残る。この2つの遺跡からは、3000年以上に及ぶ地中海文明の歩みをつぶさに知ることができる。source: NFUAJ
Syracuse en de rotsnecropolis van Pantalica
Dit gebied bestaat uit twee afzonderlijke elementen, met overblijfselen uit de Griekse en Romeinse tijd. De Necropolis van Pantalica bevat meer dan 5.000 rotsgraven in de buurt van open steengroeven, de meeste dateren uit de 13e tot 7e eeuw voor Christus. In dit gebied bevinden zich ook overblijfselen uit het Byzantijnse tijdperk, met name de fundamenten van de Anaktoron (Prinselijk paleis). Het andere onderdeel van het gebied is het oude Syracuse. Dit omvat de stadskern van Ortygia – gesticht door Grieken uit Korinthe in de 8e eeuw voor Christus –, die Cicero beschreef als ‘de allergrootste Griekse stad en allermooiste van allemaal’.
Source: unesco.nl
Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
The site of Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica on the Mediterranean coast of south-eastern Sicily consists of two separate elements, the historic town of ancient Syracuse and the Necropolis of Pantalica. Together these two components form a unique cultural record that bears a remarkable testimony to Mediterranean cultures from the time of the ancient Greek.
The historic town of ancient Syracuse consists of Ortygia, the historic centre of the city, and today an island that has been inhabited for around 3000 years, and the archaeological area of the Neapolis. Syracuse, the second Greek colony in Sicily was founded by the Corinthians in 743 A.D and described by Cicero as ‘the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of all’. Syracuse or ‘Pentapolis’ was constructed in five parts, still visible today of which Ortygia is the base of all urbanistic and architectonic developments of successive eras. This area of the property contains traces of the temple of Apollo made in Doric style and the most ancient in Western Greece(6th century B.C.E.), and the temple of Athena, erected for the victory of Gelone over the Carthaginians in 480 A.D., re-used as a church from 6th century C.E. and rebuilt as a Baroque cathedral, in the late 17th century. The Neapolis contains the archaeological remains of sanctuaries and impressive complexes, a theatre, the Latomies, the so-called Tomb of Archimedes and the amphitheatre. Many structures attest to the continuing development of the city through Roman times, from the Byzantines to the Bourbons, interspersed with the Arabo-Muslims, the Normans, Frederick II of the Hohenstaufen dynasty (1197–1250), the Aragons and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
The Necropolis of Pantalica is a rocky outcrop located 40 km. away from Syracuse that contains over 5,000 tombs cut into the rock near open stone quarries. The tombs are spread along a spur over 1200m northeast to southwest and 500m northwest to southeast and most date from the 13th to 7th centuries BC. Associated with the tombs are the remains of dwellings dating from the period of Greek colonisation and other vestiges of the Byzantine notably the foundations of the Anaktoron (Prince’s Palace).
The cultural, architectural and artistic stratification evident in the Syracuse/Pantalica ensemble bears exceptional testimony to the history and cultural diversity of the Syracuse region over three millennia from the ancient Greek period to the Baroque.
Criterion (ii): The ensemble of sites and monuments in Syracuse/Pantalica constitutes a remarkable testimony of the Mediterranean cultures over the centuries.
Criterion (iii): The Syracuse/Pantalica ensemble offers, through its remarkable cultural diversity, an exceptional testimony to the development of civilizations over three millennia.
Criterion (iv): The group of monuments and archaeological sites situated in Syracuse (between the nucleus of Ortygia and the vestiges located throughout the urban area) is the finest example of outstanding architectural creation encompassing several cultural influences (Greek, Roman and Baroque).
Criterion (vi): Ancient Syracuse was directly linked to events, ideas and literary works of outstanding universal significance.
Integrity
The property of Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica includes all the essential elements that show the Outstanding Universal Value of the property. Each of the three core areas of the property has a substantial buffer zone. Although Syracuse was affected by urbanization and expansion in the second half of the 19th century and even more so in modern times, most of the architectural and monumental developments and structures that date back to its greatest period of splendour are still intact today. All the new developments have taken place outside the recognized areas of historical and archaeological interest.
The most important buildings and structures of the historical centre and the archaeological area (Theatre, Amphitheatre, Monumental Altar of Ieron II, cave of “Orecchio di Dionisio”) are well preserved and the general state of conservation of the majority of the urban and building network has considerably improved due to the protection policies that have been implemented particularly in the last thirty years.
The core area of the Necropolis of Pantalica corresponds to the parts of the site that contain the most important and significant archaeological evidence. Today this area is complete and each element of the rocky villages in the necropolis and in the landscape is perfectly intact and is in an excellent state of conservation.
Authenticity
The authenticity of Syracuse is evident in many of the city’s structures, which retain the same characteristics as during the late Hellenistic period, while other buildings clearly reflect the history of successive cultures over three millennia. The original Hellenistic system and the changes that occurred during the various historical periods have made it possible to clearly distinguish the evidence left in each age and how each culture operated and interacted with the pre-exiting ones.
All restoration works are preceded by meticulous and in-depth research, as well as historical and other subject analyses. They were carried out, as far as possible, maintaining the original characteristics, typologies, building systems and original material according to the most advanced and shared international knowledge in the field of restoration of monuments, under the direct control of technicians and specialist personnel of the Superintendence of Environmental and Cultural Assets.
Despite the fact that the tombs were plundered in different periods, the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica has a high level of authenticity due to its integrity, good level of conservation and absence of modern developments. It represents an extraordinary landscape as it was in a precise historical period without any significant variations in subsequent times.
Protection and management requirements
The property is protected under the national provisions of the Legislative Decree 42/2004, Code of Cultural Heritage and Landscape, a safeguarding measure that ensures any activity on the site must be authorized by the relevant Superintendence of Environmental and Cultural Assets of Syracuse (peripheral office of the Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity).
The areas of the property declared by the State in the past and since 1975 by the Sicilian Region of ‘archaeological interest’ and therefore largely expropriated and registered to the State, are subject to stricter rules for the protection and conservation. The areas registered to the State are managed by the Superintendence Service of Environmental and Cultural Assets of Syracuse. The Region has defined the surface and borders of the Archaeological Park of Syracuse, but this is not instituted as an independent body yet. The Superintendence Service applies the Cultural Heritage Code (Legislative Decree 42 / 2004) and assigns state-owned sites, and operates the tools of government land, protecting and enhancing areas. In addition, the Region proposed a Landscape Territorial Plan that is pending approval. Locally, the General Urban Plan of each municipality, in accordance with the requirements of higher-level tools, identifies the uses of non-state-owned areas and the manner and extent of urban transformation. The activities of the Superintendent are controlled by the Regional Directorate of the Department of Cultural Heritage.
The Department of Cultural Heritage of the Assessorato for Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity coordinates the actions within the vast territory, which includes the areas of the city of Syracuse and the Necropolis of Pantalica, through the Superintendence Service of Environmental and Cultural Assets of Syracuse. This Superintendence is responsible for all activities involving the protection for emergency treatment, implementing archaeological research, restoration, enhancement as well as to ensure the use, protection and preservation of cultural heritage. Activities aimed to enhance, promote and protect the landscape are under the responsibility of the Superintendence Service. The Municipalities of Syracuse, Sortino, Ferla and Cassaro have expertise in tourism promotion of the territory and on its roads, at a provincial level.
A Management Plan for the property has been prepared by the Superintendence Service with the involvement of the municipalities. The vision of the Management Plan is to safeguard the cultural heritage and to conserve the stratified urban fabric; to support traditional socio-economic interrelations and cultural production; to improve the quality of life, maintaining mixed uses, increasing security and hygiene, as well as to raise awareness and understanding of heritage resources. Management of the property requires combining conservation processes with the needs of a living and evolving urban landscape.
The necropolis of Pantalica is located in a zone that is distant from all urban areas and industrial facilities, and there are few risks to the site. Syracuse on the other hand is located near a zone of large-scale industries and in a modern urban fabric. This means it is potentially subject to various kinds of risks such as air and noise pollution and illegal development. These risks are currently reduced by environmental protection mechanisms and surveillance.
View photos from OUR PLACE the World Heritage collection
The Nomination files produced by the States Parties are published by the World Heritage Centre at its website and/or in working documents in order to ensure transparency, access to information and to facilitate the preparations of comparative analysis by other nominating States Parties.
The sole responsibility for the content of each Nomination file lies with the State Party concerned. The publication of the Nomination file, including the maps and names, does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever of the World Heritage Committee or of the Secretariat of UNESCO concerning the history or legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its boundaries.