Timeline of Syracuse, Sicily explained

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Syracuse, Sicily, Italy. Syracuse was the main city of Sicily from 5th century BCE to 878 CE.

Prior to 17th century

• 8th C. BCE – Settlement established by Corinthian Greeks.^(it)
• 663 BCE - Founded the settlement of Akrai.
• 643 BCE - Founded the settlement of Casmenae.
• 6th C. BCE – Greek Theatre of Syracuse built.^[1]
• 598 BCE - Founded the settlement of Kamarina.
• 498–491 BCE - Hippocrates of Gela threatened the independence of Syracuse.
• 491–478 BCE - Gelon is tyrant of Syracuse.
• 480 BCE - Gelon defeats Carthage at the Battle of Himera.
• 415–413 BCE – Syracuse besieged by Greek forces.
• 397 BCE - Siege of Syracuse (397 BC)
  • 343 BCE - Siege of Syracuse (343 BC) 311-309 BCE - Siege of Syracuse (311–309 BC)
• 287 BCE – Birth of mathematician Archimedes (approximate date).
• 278 BCE - Siege of Syracuse (278 BC)
• 214 BCE – Siege of Syracuse (213–212 BC) by Roman forces.
• 44 BCE – People of Syracuse (and Sicily) gain Roman citizenship.
• 2nd–4th C. CE – Roman Catholic diocese of Siracusa established.^[2]
• 3rd C. CE – Death of bishop .
• 278–280 CE – Syracuse sacked by Franks.
• 304 – Death of Christian St. Lucia Of Syracuse during the Diocletianic Persecution.
• 535 – Syracuse taken by Belisarius of the Byzantine Empire.
• 668 – 15 September: Assassination of Byzantine emperor Constans II.
• 827-828 - Siege of Syracuse (827–828).
• 877–878 – Siege of Syracuse (877–878) by Aghlabid forces.
• 1088 – Syracuse besieged by forces of Roger I of Sicily.
• 1140 – Earthquake.^{[3] (it)}
• 1239 – Castello Maniace built.^[4]
• 1397 – Palazzo Montalto built on Ortygia island.
• 1448 – Unrest.
• 1542 – Earthquake.^(it)

17th–19th centuries

• 1608 – Caravaggio paints "Burial of St. Lucy" in the .
• 1633 – built.
• 1673 – Porta Ligny (gate) built.
• 1693 – 1693 Sicily earthquake.
• 1710 – 9 November: Naval Battle of Syracuse (1710) fought near city during the War of the Spanish Succession.
• 1753 – Cathedral of Syracuse built.
• 1757 – Earthquake.
• 1779 – Palazzo Beneventano del Bosco rebuilt.
• 1790 – Maritime navigation school established.
• 1847 - Fountain of Arethusa remodelled into current form^[5]
• 1854 – built.
• 1860 – 1 August: Forces of Garabaldi arrive in city.
• 1861 – Population: 19,590.
• 1862 – Syracuse Chamber of Commerce established.^[6]
• 1865 – Province of Syracuse created.
• 1867 – Biblioteca comunale (library) founded.^[7]
• 1870 – Gazzetta di Siracusa newspaper begins publication.
• 1871
  • Siracusa railway station opens.
  • (railway) begins operating.
• 1880 – Tamburo newspaper begins publication.
• 1881 - Population: 21,739.
• 1886
  • Siracusa–Gela–Canicattì railway (railway) begins operating.
  • Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Siracusa (museum) opens.
• 1892 – (train station) opens at the .
• 1897
  • (theatre) opens.
  • Population: 25,740.^[8]

20th century

• 1907 – (fountain) installed in Piazza Archimede.
• 1911 – Population: 40,835.^[9]
• 1915 – (railway) begins operating.
• 1920 – Giornale di Siracusa newspaper in publication.^[10]
• 1924
  • 13 August: Benito Mussolini visits city.
  • A.S. Siracusa (football club) formed.
• 1928 – Strada statale 115 Sud Occidentale Sicula (Trapani-Syracuse roadway) opens.
• 1932 – Stadio Nicola De Simone (stadium) opens in .
• 1934 – Palazzo delle Poste (post office) built.
• 1938
  • industrial railway station begins operating.
  • construction begins at Piazza dei Cappuccini.
• 1941 – Bombing of Syracuse during World War II begins.^(it)
• 1943: 9–10 July: City taken by British forces.
• 1948 – Bellomo Palace Regional Gallery opens.
• 1950 – Augusta-Priolo petrochemical complex begins operating near city.
• 1951 – Population: 66,090.^(it)
• 1953
  • (weeping statue) allegedly occurs, according to tradition.
  • Syracuse Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery established near city.
• 1960
  • (race) begins.
  • opens (approximate date).
• 1961 – Population: 83,205.^(it)
• 1963 – Archivio di Stato di Siracusa (state archives) active.^[11]
• 1990 – 13 December: 1990 Carlentini earthquake occurs.
• 1991 – Population: 125,941.^(it)
• 1994 – built.
• 1996 – U.S. Siracusa (football club) active.
• 1999
  • (puppet theatre) established.
  • becomes mayor.

21st century

• 2005 – Syracuse and the Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica designated an UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 2008 – becomes mayor.
• 2009
  • April: meeting of environmental leaders held in city.
  • (bike path) opens.
• 2013
  • June: Italian local elections, 2013 held.
  • 20 September: 400+ refugees of the Syrian Civil War arrive at port of Syracuse.
  • becomes mayor.
  • Siracusa Calcio football club active.
  • Population: 118,644.^[12]
• 2015 – Regional created (replacing Province of Syracuse).

See also

• Syracuse history
  • • Origins of Syracuse (in Italian)
• History of Syracuse: Greek period (in Italian)
• History of Syracuse: medieval period (in Italian)
• History of Syracuse: modern period (circa 16th-19th centuries; in Italian)
• History of Syracuse: fascist period (in Italian)
• History of Syracuse: contemporary period (in Italian)
• List of mayors of Syracuse, Sicily
• List of bishops of Syracuse
• History of Sicily
• Timelines of other cities in the macroregion of Insular Italy:^(it)
  • Sardinia: Timeline of Cagliari
  • Sicily: Timeline of Catania, Messina, Palermo, Trapani

References

This article incorporates information from the Italian Wikipedia.

Bibliography

in English

• Book: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography . . London . John Murray . 1854 . 1872. Syracusae . . 2027/hvd.ah5cur . Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography .
  • Book: Chambers's Encyclopaedia. London. 1901. Syracuse. . 2027/njp.32101065312959. Chambers's Encyclopaedia.
• (+ 1867 ed.)
• Book: Douglas Brooke Wheelton Sladen . Sicily, the New Winter Resort: An Encyclopaedia of Sicily . 2nd . 1908. Methuen. https://books.google.com/books?id=1b0YAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA490. Syracuse History (timeline). Douglas Sladen .
• Syracuse . 26 . Freeman . Edward Augustus . Edward Augustus Freeman . Ashby . Thomas . Thomas Ashby (archaeologist). 296 - 302 . 1910 . . 1.
  • Book: Catholic Encyclopedia . New York . 1912. Syracuse . https://books.google.com/books?id=KYEqAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA395. . Catholic Encyclopedia . Herbermann . Charles George .
• Book: Travellers' Guide to Sicily . Christopher Kininmonth . Jonathan Cape . 1965 . https://openlibrary.org/works/OL6412782W/Sicily_travellers%27_guide . Open Library. Syracuse . 172–208. .
• Book: Trudy Ring . Southern Europe . International Dictionary of Historic Places . 3 . Fitzroy Dearborn . 31045650 . 1996. Syracuse . 674+. . 9781134259656 .
• Book: Regions of Italy: a Reference Guide to History and Culture . Roy Domenico . Greenwood. 0313307334 . 2002. Sicily: Syracuse . 291+. .
• Book: Medieval Italy: an Encyclopedia. Christopher Kleinhenz . Routledge. 0415939291. 2004. Syracuse . .
• Book: Colum Hourihane. Grove Encyclopedia of Medieval Art and Architecture. 2012. Oxford University Press. 978-0-19-539536-5. Syracuse. .

in Italian

• Book: Guida generale di Sicilia e Malta: storica, artistica, commerciale . . it . Catania . 3rd. 1889. Siracusa. 2027/gri.ark:/13960/t0zp6s27f . (+ via Internet Archive)
• Book: Nicola Bernardini . Guida della stampa periodica italiana . it . R. Tipografia editrice salentina dei fratelli Spacciante . Lecce . 1890. Provincia di Siracusa. . 2027/njp.32101074983378 .
• Book: Sicilia. Guida d'Italia . . Milan . it. 1919. Siracusa . 349+. 2027/uc1.$b535988 .
  • Book: M. Guido . Siracusa: Guida storico pratica ai suoi principali monumenti ed ai luoghi d'interesse . it . 1960 .
• Book: T. Carpinteri . Siracusa, città fortificata . it . 1983 .
• Book: Siracusa e provincia. Touring Club Italiano . Milan . it . 978-88-365-1253-9 . 1999. .

External links

• Web site: Archivio Storico Comunale . Città di Siracusa . 10 March 2023 . it . Comune di Siracusa . (city archives)
• Items related to Syracuse, various dates (via Europeana)
• Items related to Syracuse, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ancient Greece, 1000 B.C.–1 A.D.: Key Events . Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History . . New York . 23 December 2016 .
2. Web site: Chronology of Catholic Dioceses: Italy . . Norway . 23 December 2016 .
3. Book: Mario Baratta .

   it:Mario Baratta

   . I terremoti d'Italia . Earthquakes in Italy . 1901. . Turin . it. (includes chronology)
4. Web site: . Syracuse . Retrieved 25 June 2017
5. Book: Cord, David. The Spring of Arethusa . 2023. 98-100.
6. Web site: Profilo storico istituzionale . it . Camera di Commercio di Siracusa . 24 June 2017 .
7. Web site: (Comune: Siracusa) . Anagrafe delle biblioteche italiane (Registry of Italian Libraries) . . it . 23 December 2016 .
8. Book: Statesman's Year-Book . 1899 . London . Macmillan and Co.. Italy . HathiTrust . 2027/nyp.33433081590550 . Statesman's Year-Book .
9. Book: Statesman's Year-Book . 1913 . London . Macmillan and Co.. Italy . 2027/njp.32101072368374 .
10. Web site: OPAC SBN . . it . 24 June 2017 .
11. Web site: Storia dell'Istituto . it . Archivio di Stato di Siracusa . . 23 December 2016 .
12. Web site: Resident Population . Demo-Geodemo . . 23 December 2016 .