Fonte Aretusa

It is one of the most beautiful monuments of Syracuse, on the island of Ortigia, the oldest part of the city, a meeting place between reality and legend: Arethusa Fountain, in fact, is the setting for the legend of Arethusa and Alpheus, one of the most fascinating Mediterranean myths. Over the centuries it has undergone several transformations: in the sixteenth century was divided into multiple streams used for tanning leather; in 1540 it was incorporated in Charles V fortifications to be released in 1847, when the reservoir took its present concentric shape. The belvedere is what remains of the bastion, demolished in the second half of the nineteenth century. Source is still the heart of Ortigia, walking place, as well as the second forest of papyrus in Europe after Fiumefreddo.