Capo Soprano

Gela, Italy

Built in 333 BC along Gela's western coastline at Capo Soprano by the tyrant of Syracuse, Timoleon, Gela's ancient Greek fortifications are remarkably well preserved, most likely the result of being covered by sand dunes for thousands of years before their discovery in 1948. The 8m-high walls were originally built to prevent huge amounts of sand being blown into the city by the blustery sea wind. Today authorities have planted trees to act as a buffer against the encroaching sand.

References:

Lonely Planet

Address

Viale Indipendenza 9, Gela, Italy

See all sites in Gela

Details

Founded: 333 BCE
Category: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Italy

Rating

4.3/5 (based on Google user reviews)

Interesting Sites Nearby

Greek Acropolis of Gela (3,1 km)
Gela Castle (7,7 km)

Villa Romana del Casale (33,9 km)
San Sebastiano Church (48,6 km)
Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte (31,4 km)
Late Baroque Town of Caltagirone (31,4 km)
Caltanissetta Cathedral (48,5 km)
Late Baroque Town of Scicli (52,9 km)
Enna Cathedral (55,2 km)
Castello di Lombardia (55,3 km)
Donnafugata Castle (36,8 km)

User Reviews

D Peppe G (4 years ago)
I like it

Nylez ! (6 years ago)
Parts of a big wall. There are some repairs done and it's partly damaged. It's also pretty impressive to look at. If you don't hang around for too long you can see most of it in half an hour. We didn't pay any entree fee.

Bogdan (6 years ago)
Historical structure (400-500 aC) proofing that greek civilisation was a huge presence here in Sicilly. Take a bottle of water with you if you planned to visit all this places. There are not so many parking options.

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Finest Norman castles in Italy

Exploring the History of Northern Poland

Discovering Slovenia's Historic Wonders

Photo from Flickr, copyright CONTROTONO

Historic Site of the week

Clementinum

The Clementinum is a historic complex of buildings in Prague. Until recently the complex hosted the National, University and Technical libraries, the City Library also being located nearby on Mariánské Náměstí. The Technical library and the Municipal library have moved to the Prague National Technical Library at Technická 6 since 2009. It is currently in use as the National Library of the Czech Republic.

Its history dates from the existence of a chapel dedicated to Saint Clement in the 11th century. A Dominican monastery was founded in the medieval period, which was transformed in 1556 to a Jesuit college. In 1622 the Jesuits transferred the library of Charles University to the Klementinum, and the college was merged with the University in 1654. The Jesuits remained until 1773, when the Klementinum was established as an observatory, library, and university by the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria.