The Ear of Dionysius

The "Orecchio di Dionisio" is one of the must see places before you die. It is a large cave carved out of the Temenites Hill in the shape of an ear, where series of stone quarries can be found. Legend has it that the emperor Dionisio used the acoustics in this cave so as to eavesdrop his political opponents, or much more dramatically to enjoy the screams of prisoners, and thus this name was given by the famous painter Caravaggio, whose "Sepellimento di Santa Lucia" painting can be seen in Chiesa di Santa Lucia alla Badia again in Syracuse. Although the stories are scary about this magnificent space, today people are singing, talking at high pitch voices or children create game out of its acoustic properties and shadows. Once you are in, the feeling is completely different from the one you get from its outside appearance. You start comparing everything with its majestic size when inside, and everything and everyone on earth seems so small once more...

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