Syracuse, Cordari Cave reopens after 40 years

After nearly forty years, the Cave of the Cordari, inside Syracuse’s Neapolis, reopens on Monday, July 12, named after the fact that for three centuries and until 1983, Syracusans produced ropes here using the traditional hand-wheel system, thanks to the natural humidity and the amplitude of the place that allowed them to stretch plant fibers and turn them into threads.

Not far from theEar of Dionysius, the cave is located within the “Latomia del Paradiso,” in the monumental area of Syracuse’s Neapolis, known as a stone quarry and prison; according to historians, it was later transformed into a lemon and orange garden.

“The reopening of the Cave of the Cordari, after decades of closure,” says Councillor of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity Alberto Samonà, “testifies to the willingness of the regional government to return a wealth of humanity that is history, environment, tradition and that testifies to the industriousness of the people of Sicily since antiquity. Thanks to the efforts of the Archaeological and Landscape Park of Syracuse, Eloro, Villa del Tellaro and Akrai, important cleaning and securing works have been carried out in recent months, necessary to ensure the best visiting conditions. Returning to the whole world the enjoyment of such a powerful and evocative place is, for us, a source of pride and great satisfaction.”

The Cave of the Cordari is still one of the most evocative natural environments in Sicily, with its scenic effects and the succession of large “rooms” with polychrome hues enriched by mosses and maidenhair; pillars and false pillars make this place even more evocative thanks also to the presence of water.

In addition to the Grotta dei Cordari, the adjacent Grotta del Salnitro (Saltpeter Cave), named so because saltpeter was processed there: a deposit consisting of mineral salts found on the wet walls of the cave; the monumental mouth is covered by a giant boulder of the collapsed vault on which the detachment planes of the limestone blocks are visible, evidence of the extraction of stone from this quarry.

The Neapolis monument area is open to the public daily from 8:30 a.m. to 7:45 p.m. Reservations are to be made at www.aditusculture.com

Syracuse, Cordari Cave reopens after 40 years

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