The construction of the Eurialo Castle (from the Greek euryelos: broad-based nail) is attributed to the military genius Dionysius. After the wartime events that saw Syracuse besieged by the Athenians (415 – 413 BC) and revealed the weakness of that defensive sector, between the years 402 and 397 the tyrant enclosed the city within a 27-kilometer-long wall that had the castle as its advanced point inland. It was an undertaking that ancient historians have passed down to us with tones of admiration; in any case, we are dealing with a truly cyclopean work (15,000 sqm) for those times.
After the Roman conquest of the city (212 BC) the great military complex of the Eurialo was modified several times until the Byzantine age when a part of it was rebuilt using spoliated materials from other ruined parts.
The keep was preceded by three wide moats: the second and third are visible; the first is buried and was at the level of the current ticket office entrance.
The well-squared blocks seen inside the second moat belong to the perimeter structures.
From the third moat, which was at the foot of the keep, a network of galleries and tunnels branched out. In this third moat there was also a barbican connected to the castle by a drawbridge.
The keep was protected in the Greek era by a triangular spur (of which the collapsed remains are left) later replaced by five towers that reached a height of 15 meters; it is probable that catapults were placed on their top.
From the plateau it is still possible to see the northern section of the walls where an invitation gate (a pincers work) opened.
Information about Eurialo Castle
Via Siracusa,
96010 Syracuse (Syracuse)
0931711773
soprisr.area@regione.sicilia.it
Source: MIBACT
