Siracusa - Castello Maniace

Via Maniace continues as far as the Castello Maniace, which takes up the whole of the southern tip of the island. It can be visited only with special permission from the Presidio Militare, Lungomare di Ortigia. It dates back to the Byzantine General Georgios Maniakes who liberated Syracuse from the Saracens in 1308. In 1239 the castle was rebuilt by Emperor Frederick II in the form of a square building with round towers at each corner. Near the marble entrance door were two ancient bronze rams, one of which disappeared and the other is now in the Archeological Museum in Palermo.