Bouleterion

The Greek theatre dates back to between the 3rd and 2nd century BC. It is of modest size and is now used for youth performances during the INDA Festival which is held every year. It was discovered in 1824 by Baron Gabriele Judica together with the bouleterion.

The park includes the theatre, the latomie and with a different entrance (based on the times indicated at the ticket office) also the visit to the Santoni.

The area where the hypogeum stands is called latomia, that is, a stone quarry like those found in Syracuse. The latomie then became a place of worship and were crossed by a sacred way due to the presence of pinakes (squares dug into the rock walls). The early Christian hypogeum features pit tombs with arcosolium separations. A style found only in the Syracuse area.

The Santoni are stone statues dated around the 4th-3rd century BC that represent different figures connected to the cult of Cybele for which there was an important sanctuary. The cult is one of the only examples in Sicily having originated in Asia Minor. Today there are twelve sculptures carved in a very poor state of conservation after a probable violent destruction. In the 18th century they were drawn by the traveller Jean Houel who found them already in a very poor state but more legible than today.

It was rebuilt together with the convent of the minors after the earthquake in Baroque style, with an extraordinarily curved facade. Inside you can see the marble statue of the Madonna with Child by Francesco Laurana from 1471/72 and a painting depicting a scene of the crucifixion by Paolo Tanasi from 1818. The convex facade seems to recall the facades of the churches in via Crociferi in Catania.

It was built in 1721-1722 under the direction of the architect Giuseppe Ferrara, the church has three naves and a simple baroque façade, inside a noteworthy painting by Michele Antonino Bova.