Piazza Duomo, Syracuse, Sicily, Italy
Cathedral of Syracuse (Duomo di Siracusa)
A cathedral built directly into a fifth-century BC Greek temple of Athena, where massive Doric columns still stand embedded in the church walls — one of the most striking fusions of pagan and Christian architecture anywhere.
You can see the Greek columns from the nave. That is the extraordinary thing about Syracuse Cathedral — it is not built on the ruins of a Greek temple, it is built inside one. The Temple of Athena was constructed around 480 BC after the Greeks defeated the Carthaginians at the Battle of Himera. In the seventh century AD, the local bishop converted it into a church by filling in the spaces between the Doric columns with walls, cutting arches through the cella walls, and adding an apse. The massive limestone columns, twenty-four centuries old, are still structurally holding up the building. The Baroque facade was added after the 1693 earthquake that leveled much of eastern Sicily, and it faces the main piazza of Ortygia, the island that forms the old city center. Inside, the effect is layered: you are standing in a Catholic cathedral that is also a Greek temple that is also a Norman and Baroque renovation. A painting attributed to Antonello da Messina hangs in one of the chapels. The baptismal font is a Greek marble krater adapted for Christian use. Every surface of this building tells you something about what survives and what gets repurposed when civilizations overlap.
Diocese: Archdiocese of Syracuse
Style: Ancient Greek Doric temple converted to Baroque cathedral
What to See
Walk along the north exterior wall first, where the Doric columns of the original temple are visible from outside — huge, fluted, and unmistakably Greek. Inside, the same columns run down the nave, now partially embedded in the walls. The contrast between the rough ancient stone and the smoother Baroque additions is visible everywhere. The baptismal font — a repurposed Greek vessel — is in a chapel near the entrance. The Chapel of St. Lucy, the city's patron saint, is decorated with silver and contains a statue carried through the streets during her December feast day. The Baroque facade is best photographed from across the piazza in the late afternoon light.
Pilgrim Notes
The cathedral is on Ortygia, the small island connected by bridge to the modern city of Syracuse. The island is pedestrian-friendly and walkable. Park on the mainland side and cross on foot. The cathedral is open daily; a small entrance fee is charged outside of Mass times. The Piazza Duomo is one of the most beautiful squares in Sicily, lined with Baroque palaces and cafes. Syracuse is about an hour south of Catania and makes a good day trip or overnight. The archaeological park on the mainland, with its Greek theater and Roman amphitheater, is essential.