Syracuse & the Southeast - Sicily - page 390

To the north of the Duomo, over Via Minerva, Palazzo Municipale OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP
(or Palazzo Senatoriale), is home to Syracuse city council. Built in 1629 by the Spaniard
Juan Vermexio, it is nicknamed 'Il Lucertolone' (the Lizard) after the architect's signature
- a small lizard carved into a stone on the left corner of the cornice. On the other side of
the Duomo, the elegant, 17th-century Palazzo Arcivescovile OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP ( 093 16
79 68) (Archbishop's Palace) is home to the Biblioteca Alagoniana and some rare 13th-century
manuscripts.
Over the square, in the northwestern corner, is the Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco OFFLINE MAP
GOOGLE MAP , which has a pretty 18th-century facade, while at its southern end is the Chiesa
di Santa Lucia alla Badia OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP , dedicated to St Lucy, the city's patron saint.

Legendary Fountains
Fresh water has been bubbling up at the Fontana Aretusa OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP since an-
cient times when it was the city's main water supply. The fountain, now the place to hang
out on summer evenings, is a monumental affair set around a pond full of papyrus plants
and grey mullets.
Legend has it that the mythical goddess of hunting, Artemis, transformed her beautiful
handmaiden Aretusa into the spring to protect her from the unwelcome attention of the
river god Alpheus. In her watery guise, Aretusa fled from Arcadia under the sea, hotly
pursued by Alpheus, their waters mingling as she came to the surface in Ortygia.
Artemis is the star turn of the 19th-century fountain (Piazza Archimede) that's the highlight of
Piazza Archimede, a handsome square circled by imposing Catalan Gothic palazzi, in-
cluding Palazzo Lanza OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP (Piazza Archimede) and Palazzo Platamone
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP , now home to the Banca d'Italia.

FOUNTAIN

Miqwe
OFFLINE MAP GOOGLE MAP

JEWISH

(Ritual bath; 093 12 22 55; Via Alagona 52; hourly tours €5; 11am & noon daily, 4pm, 5pm & 6pm Mon-Sat)
In the old Jewish ghetto, known as the Giudecca, you can visit an ancient Jewish miqwe
that lies buried 20m beneath the Alla Giudecca hotel. The baths were once connected to a
synagogue, but were blocked by members of the Jewish community when they were ex-
pelled from the island in 1492.