Grotta del Ninfeo

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Coordinates: 37°03′35″N 15°17′37″E / 37.059604°N 15.293694°E / 37.059604; 15.293694
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37°03′35″N 15°17′37″E / 37.059604°N 15.293694°E / 37.059604; 15.293694

Grotta del Ninfeo
Ancient Syracuse
ManagementComune of Siracusa
Main article: Greek Theatre of Syracuse

The Grotta del Ninfeo is an artificial cavity in the rock of Temenite Hill (named after the Greek temenos, "sacred precinct") located in the Archaeological park of

Syracuse
.

Terrace of Temenite Hill

The grotta is located near the highest part of the little rocky relief, on a rectangular terrace which verges on the

Muses, three of which (dated to the 2nd century BC)[1] are still preserved and are on display at the Museo archeologico regionale Paolo Orsi. The fountain is dedicated to the Ancient Greek cult of the nymphs, nature goddesses. The name nymphaeum
for a monumental, decorated fountain derives from this.

The Syracusan nymphaeum is thought to have been the ancient location of the Mouseion (the sanctuary of the Muses), seat of the artistic guild, where the Syracusan actors gathered before descending into the theatre to put on

comedies and tragedies in the time of Epicharmus and Aeschylus
.

Regarding the Grotta del Ninfeo, the Syracusan Giuseppe Politi wrote in the nineteenth century:

There, with squared niches of various dimensions on all sides for votive tables and epitaphs, and further cells for catacombs, was a corridor in the living rock which we call the Sepulchral street and a large grotto opens at one point, with vestiges on the outside of

Ephebes of the Academy of Music just like the one that Pausanias says was at the Theatre of Athens. Alternatively, perhaps more likely, a nymphaeum, i.e. a grotto decorated with many statues of the nymphs, with water sports, as the name suggests.

— Giuseppe Politi, Siracusa pei viaggiatori [...][2]
1835

The grotto has a

Spanish period remains visible even today. It took water from the grotta and redirected it into the theatre after using it to mill grain. From nymphaeum, one continues to the Via dei Sepolcri
and from there to the summit of the hill, where there are other Graeco-Roman monuments.

The Grotta del ninfeo as painted by Houel

The water that flows into the Grotta derives from two separate aqueducts, both of Greek date; one is called the Acquedotto del Ninfeo (Nymphaeum Aqueduct) after the Grotta,[4] while the other is the Galermi Aqueduct.[4]

Depiction by Jean Hoüel

During one of his trips to Syracuse in the second half of the 1700s, the painter Jean-Pierre Houël depicted the Grotta del Ninfeo as he found it. The gouache shows a much deeper grotta than today, with water descending towards the theatre, where the mills were installed. In the grotta, some women are busy making cloth.[5]

Gallery

  • The final steps of the Greek theatre, the Casetta dei mugnai and the cavity of the Grotta del Ninfeo in the distance
    The final steps of the Greek theatre, the Casetta dei mugnai and the cavity of the Grotta del Ninfeo in the distance
  • Image of the Temenite terrace from inside one of its cavities
    Image of the Temenite terrace from inside one of its cavities
  • The votive aediculae in the rock wall of the hill near the nympaeum
    The votive aediculae in the rock wall of the hill near the nympaeum

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nimphaeum (Syracuse).

References

  1. ^ Sicilia, Touring Editore, 1989, pag. 596
  2. ^ Giuseppe Politi, Siracusa pei viaggiatori, ovvero Descrizione storica, artistica,topografica delle attuali antichità di Ortigia, Acradina, Tica, Napoli ,ed Epipoli, che componevano l'antica Siracusa, 1835
  3. ^ Giuseppe Bellafiore, La civiltà artistica della Sicilia dalla preistoria ad oggi, F. Le Monnier, 1963
  4. ^ a b "Area archeologica - Regione Siciliana Assessorato Beni culturali".
  5. ^ Francesca Gringeri Pantano. Jean Houel, Voyage a Siracusa. Palermo: Sellerio editore.

External links

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