The city was founded by Ancient Greek Corinthians and became a very powerful city-state. Syracuse was allied with Sparta and Corinth, exerting influence over the entire Magna Grecia area of which it was the most important city. Once described by Cicero as "the greatest Greek city and the most beautiful of them all", it later became part of the Roman Republic and Byzantine Empire. After this Palermo overtook it in importance, as the capital of the Kingdom of Sicily. Eventually the kingdom would be united with the Kingdom of Naples to form the Two Sicilies until the Italian unification of 1860.

In the modern day, the city is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site along with the Necropolis of Pantalica. In the central area, the city itself has a population of around 125,000 people. The inhabitants are known as Siracusans, and the local language spoken by its inhabitants is the Sicilian language. Syracuse is mentioned in the Bible in the Acts of the Apostles book at 28:12 as Paul stayed there.^[1] The patron saint of the city is Saint Lucy; she was born in Syracuse and her feast day, Saint Lucy's Day, is celebrated on 13 December.

Ancient buildings

• The Temple of Apollo, adapted to a church in Byzantine times and to a mosque under Arab rule.
• The Fountain of Arethusa, in the Ortygia island. According to a legend, the nymph Arethusa, hunted by Alpheus, took shelter here.
• The Theatre, whose cavea is one of the largest ever built by the ancient Greeks: it has 67 rows, divided into nine sections with eight aisles. Only traces of the scene and the orchestra remain. The edifice (still used today) was modified by the Romans, who adapted it to their different style of spectacles, including also circus games. Near the theatre are the latomìe, stone quarries, also used as prisons in ancient times. The most famous latomìa is the Orecchio di Dionisio ("Ear of Dionysius").
• The Roman amphitheatre, of Roman Imperial age. It was partly carved out from the rock. In the centre of the area is a rectangular space which was used for the scenic machinery.
• The so-called Tomb of Archimede, in the Grotticelli Nechropolis. Decorated with two Doric columns, it was a Roman tomb.
• The Temple of Olympian Zeus, about 3 km outside the city, built around 6th century BC.

Churches
• The Cathedral was built by bishop Zosimo in the 7th century over the great Temple of Athens (5th century BC), on the Ortygia island. This was a Doric edifice with six columns on the short sides and 14 on the long ones: these can still be seen incorporated in the walls of the current church. The base of the Greek edifice had three steps. The interior of the church has a nave and two aisles. The roof of the nave is from Norman times, as well as the mosaics in the apses. The façade was rebuilt by Andrea Palma in 1725–1753, with a double order of Corinthian columns, and statues by Ignazio Marabitti. The most interesting pieces of the interior are a font with marble basin (12th–13th century), a silver statue of St. Lucy by Pietro Rizzo (1599), a ciborium by Luigi Vanvitelli, and a statue of the Madonna della Neve ("Madonna of the Snow", 1512) by Antonello Gagini.
• Basilica of Santa Lucia extra Moenia, a Byzantine church built, according to tradition, in the same place of the martyrdom of the saint in 303 AD. The current appearance is from the 15th-16th centuries. The most ancient parts still preserved include the portal, the three half-circular apses and the first two orders of the belfry. Under the church are the Catacombs of St. Lucy.
• Church of San Paolo (18th century).
• Church of San Cristoforo (14th century, rebuilt in the 18th century).
• Church of Santa Lucìa alla Badìa, a Baroque edifice built after the 1693 earthquake.
• Church of Santa Maria dei Miracoli (13th century).
• Church of the Spirito Santo (18th century).
• Church of the Jesuite College, a majestic, Baroque building.
• Church of St. Benedict (16th century, restored after 1693). It houses a painting of the Death of Saint Benedict by the Caravaggisti Mario Minniti.
• Chiesa della Concezione (14th century, rebuilt in the 18th century), with the annexed Benedictine convent.
• Church of San Francesco all'Immacolata, with a convex façade intermingled by columns and pilaster strips. It housed and ancient celebration, the Svelata ("Revelation"), in which an image of the Madonna was unveiled at dawn of November 29.
• Basilica of St. John the Evangelist, built by the Normans and destroyed in 1693. Only partially restored, it was erected over an ancient crypt of the martyr San Marciano, later destroyed by the Arabs. The main altar is Byzantine. It includes the Catacombs of San Giovanni, featuring a maze of tunnels and passages, with thousands of tombs and several frescoes.
Other edifices and sights
• The Castello Maniace, constructed between 1232 and 1240, is an example of the military architecture of Frederick II's reign. It is a square structure with circular towers at each of the four corners. The most striking feature is the pointed portal, decorated with polychrome marbles.
• The important Archaeological Museum, with collections including findings from the mid-Bronze Age to 5th century BC.
• Palazzo Lanza Buccheri (16th century).
• Palazzo Mergulese-Montalto (14th century), which conserves the old façade from the 14th century, with a pointed portal.
• The Archbishop's Palace (17th century, modified in the following century). It houses the Alagonian Library, founded in the late 18th century.
• The Palazzo Vermexio, the current Town Hall, which includes fragments of an Ionic temple of the 5th century BC.
• Palazzo Francica Nava, with parts of the original 16th century building surviving.
• Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco, originally built in the Middle Ages but extensively modified between 1779 and 1788. It has a pleasant internal court.
• Palazzo Migliaccio (15th century), with notable lava inlay decorations.
• The Senate Palace, housing in the court an 18th century coach.
• The Castle of Euryalos, built nine kilometres outside the city by Dionysius the Elder and which was one of the most powerful fortresses of ancient times. It had three moats with a series of underground galleries which allowed the defenders to remove the materials the attackers could use to fill them.

Syracuse is mentioned in the Bible in the Acts 28:12, which states that Paul stayed there. The patron saint of the city is Saint Lucy, she was born in Syracuse and her feast day, Saint Lucy's Day, is celebrated on 13 December.

Syracuse has many sites to see. There is the Temple of Apollo, the Theatre, the Roman amphitheatre, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, as well as numerous Cathedrals and Churches.

Acts 28:11-14

11: And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. 
12: And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. 
13: And from thence we fetched a compass, and came to Rhegium: and after one day the south wind blew, and we came the next day to Puteoli: 
14: Where we found brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days: and so we went toward Rome.