SYRACUSE:
economies
Impact
of
Cultural
Tourism
upon
urban
Barbara Del Corpo, Ugo Gasparino, William Malizia, FEEM
1. Context,
background
and
economic strucure of Syracuse
The city of Syracuse is situated in the Sicily
region, in the south of Italy.
It is the capital city of a district, called
Province. The province of Syracuse is situated
on the only natural harbour of the eastern
coast of Sicily, in a flat area bounded on the
north by the plain of Catania, on the east and
south by the Ionian sea and on the west by the
natural barrier of Mounts Iblei. The province
has a surface of 2,109 km2, a total population
of about 441,000 inhabitants and includes 21
municipalities.
Syracuse itself has 123,093 inhabitants,
distributed over an area of about 204 km2
bringing to a population density of 603
inhabitants/km2 (April 2005).
Concerning the transportation system and the
access to the city, Syracuse presents fair
quality highways, railways and harbours but
no municipal airports (the closest airport is
the Filippo Eredia-Fontanarossa, in Catania,
about 100 km away). The nearest highway
(which is free of charge, a rather uncommon
situation for Italy) is the A19 connecting
Palermo and Catania. In March 2005 the road
yard for a new link to the Catania-Siracusa
highway, which constitutes a fundamental
section of the Messina-Siracusa-Gela route,
has also been opened. Syracuse bay is split in
two by the Isle of Ortigia, thus creating two
main harbours: Porto Marmoreo/Porto
Piccolo (Marble/Little Harbour) on the north,
and Porto Grande (Big Harbour) on the southwest. However, no direct ship connection
between Syracuse and “continental Italy” is
presently operational.
Syracuse is the most industrialized province
in Sicily. Nevertheless, above all in the last
two decades, Syracuse showed a “dual
development” model: on the one hand, the
shipbuilding and petrol-chemical industrial
plants (the Syracuse-Priolo-Augusta triangle,
one of the biggest oil poles in Europe,
employing about 12,000 workers and
extending over 30 km of Syracuse’s coast); on
the other hand, the integration of the
traditional industrial vocation with the rich
fabric of small enterprises in the handicraft,
tourism and modern agriculture sectors,
driven by the need to select those activities
offering higher added value and fewer
externalities, beyond a model of exogenous
development (based upon the settlement of
activities from outside the territory).
Since 1999 the province of Syracuse,
although still having a higher per capita GDP
than the regional average, manifested warning
signs of economic crisis, registering a growth
slowdown (unlike the other provinces of the
region), thus diminishing its contribution to
the GDP of the region, of Southern Italy and
of Italy itself. In 2002 Syracuse province per
capita GDP was the second in the region
(after Ragusa, whereas Syracuse occupied the
first position in 1995) and the 78th in Italy (it
occupied the 72nd position in 1995).
As regards the sectoral structure of the
economy in 2002, the tertiary sector
contributed to 68.9% of the province GDP.
The contribution is increasing (it represented
64.6% of GDP in 1995) thanks to the
development of the education, health, tourism
(hotels and restaurants) and research sections.
The guiding policy is to intensify this sector,
that still shows a lower development than the
rest of the region, above all in the section
“services to business”.
Syracuse municipality reflects only partially
the economic pattern of the province.
Looking at statistical data concerning the
distribution of enterprises and employment,
at municipality scale, over the economic
subsection for the years 1991 and 2001, the
Agriculture, hunting and forestry sector and
the Fishing sector, although minor activities,
soundly increased their weight during the
decade (passing from 4 to 12 establishments –
especially in Agricultural and animal
husbandry service activities – and from 3 to
28 establishments, respectively). On the
contrary, employment remained quite stable
in Agriculture, while strongly increasing in
Fishing (8 workers in 1991, compared to 163
in 2001). In 2001 the primary sector
represented only 0.53% of total firms and
0.59% of total employment.
Industrial activities grew, thus confirming the
industrial nature of the province: industry
passed from 12.3% to 16.6% of the total
number of firms during the decade, with an
increase in employment of 62.7%. The
growth concerned especially manufacturing
(+53.8% and +65% increase in the number of
firms and in employment, respectively) and
Construction (+127% and +80.6% increase in
the number of firms and in employment,
respectively), whereas employment in the
Electricity, gas and water supply sector
declined by 26% (as in the whole province).
Manufacture of other food products, Building
of complete constructions or parts/civil
engineering and Building installation
represent very important activities for the
municipality, with 55.3% of total industrial
establishments in 2001. With 51.3%, they are
also the sectors which guarantee most of the
employment of total industrial establishments.
Likewise the whole province, the petrolchemical industry, in both Extraction and
Manufacture of coke, refined petroleum
products and nuclear fuel registered a stable
trend, though showing a consistent loss in
employment (-16.7%).
The tertiary sector represents the main
component of economy at municipal level
(82.8% of total establishments in 2001),
though registering a decrease between 1991
and 2001 as regards both the number of
establishments (-4.8%), as already emerged
for the whole province, and employment (6.6%). Top performances are observed for
Real estate, renting and business activities
(+136%, including Research activities, also
growing at the province level), Transport,
storage and communications (+70.4%), Other
community, social and personal service
activities together with Health and social
work (+61.2% and +29.9%, respectively). An
increase was experienced to a less extent in
Hotels and restaurants (+16.6%) and
Education (+14.3%), whereas trade units
decreased, as also observed at province level.
(High-quality) handicraft represents an
important element of support to the
diversification of the economy.
The labour market in Syracuse shows a quite
critical situation, due to the fact that the loss
of jobs in the petrol-chemical industry has not
been compensated yet by a comparable
growth of employment in substitute sectors.
In particular, there are signs of a new
emigration flow of skilled labour towards
Northern Italy.
Tourism sectors employment share, in the
municipality, slightly overcome the regional
share, approaching the Italian average value.
2. Tourism sector and tourism
resources in Syracuse
Sicily represents the 10th regional tourist
destination in Italy.
In 2004, Sicily contributed with a share of
30% to total tourism expenditures in the
South of Italy, but this contribution amounts
to only 3.5% when weighed against total
tourism expenditure at national level. The per
visitor expenditure was significantly higher
than the national average (571 € vs. 357 €,
respectively), mainly as a consequence of the
considerably longer period of stay (about 7
nights vs. a national average of 4 nights).
With respect to the power of attracting foreign
visitors, in the last 5 years, the province of
Syracuse presented a rather steady
performance, with figures similar to the ones
of other minor cultural destinations.
The Province of Syracuse is the fifth most
visited province in Sicily, after Messina,
Palermo, Catania and Agrigento. In 2001, its
share on total tourism in the region was about
7.5%, with a slight decrease compared to the
previous decade.
Syracuse tourist potentialities haven’t been
entirely exploited yet and the city is often
visited by tourists only as part of extensive
holiday packages, including several tourist
destinations in the region. Nevertheless,
tourism is already a key economic activity,
contributing to 22.3% of the local GDP.
Looking at data about the development of the
tourism sector in Syracuse, elaborated by
APT (the Province Tourist Board), tourism
generally increased in the interval 1997-2004.
Italian tourists are more numerous than
foreigners, who come above all from France,
Germany, USA and UK.
As regards arrivals, hotels attendance
experienced an increase in the last decade
(despite temporary reductions in 1999 and
2003); arrivals in non-hotel accommodations
almost tripled.
Also data related to attendance and
permanence exhibit distinctive performances
for hotel and non-hotel facilities, confirming
the significant increase of the weight of the
non-hotel section. Attendance in both hotel
and non-hotel facilities registered a temporary
decline in 2001.
The average permanence is typically around 3
nights.
Syracuse can claim a multifaceted and
extremely diversified tourist offer:
 cultural tourism – stressing on its massive
historical
and
religious
heritage,
supplemented by a ‘food-and-wine’ as well
as handicraft tradition, aiming at the
valorisation of the typical products of the
territory;
 leisure/environmental tourism – mainly
through the exploitation of the sea/coast
and the various activities it can host.
Urban built heritage
Syracuse, “city of art”. Syracuse is wellknown all over the world for its
archaeological treasures, its monuments and
its natural resources. The city offers more
than 60 sites of cultural interest (only eight
with entrance fee)1.
The Isle of Ortigia is a rare example of a
historic city centre that, without solution of
continuity, bears witness of all the epochs the
city went through, since its foundation:
Greeks,
Romans,
Byzantines,
Arabs,
Normans, Swabians, Aragonese, Catalans,
Savoys. Since 2005, Ortigia has been
enscripted in UNESCO’s World Heritage
List.
In Ortigia visitors can admire the Porta Urbica
(Urbica Gate), the sacred road which
connected two temples: the ‘Tempio di
Apollo’ (Apollo’s temple) and the ‘Tempio di
Atena’ (Athena’s temple). Outside Apollo’s
temple one can find Piazza Archimede
(Archimedes square), with Diana’s fountain,
surrounded by maids and sirens. Athena’s
temple2, after having been turned into a
Christian church, was incorporated in the
Duomo during the Byzantine period.
Next to the Cathedral one can find the
Palazzo dell’Arcivescovado (Archbishop’s
Palace) and, in front of it, the Palazzo del
Senato (Senate Palace), representative of the
1
The province presents 1,071 architectural goods (with
an “architectural good/km2” ratio of 0.51, comparable
to the Sicilian regional one of 0.48) and 572
archaeological sites (with an “archaeological sites/km2”
ratio of 0.27, compared to the 0.07 of Sicily).
2
The construction of the temple was ordered by
dictator Gelone, to celebrate the Himera victory over
the Carthaginians in 480 b.C. The temple was built in
the highest part of the island, inhabited by quails – the
goddess’ sacred birds (Ortigia derives its name from
them).
two, well-balanced, religious and secular
powers. Religion-driven tourists are also
attracted by the many churches in via Roma
(Roma street) such as the church of the
Collegio dei Gesuiti (Jesuits’ College) and
Chiesa di S. Benedetto (St. Benedict’s
church), or Chiesa di S. Lucia (St. Lucy’s
church, that stands on the site where, so the
legend goes, Syracuse’s patron saint was
martyred by decapitation, in 303 a.D.) and
Monastero dei Cappuccini (Capuchins’
monastery).
The Duomo
On a far point of Ortigia, overlooking the sea,
stands the Castello Maniace (Maniace castle,
whose name remembers a Byzantine general
who defeated the Arabs and conquered
Syracuse), on the same piece of land where a
Byzantine fortification was previously built. It
was the residence of Frederick II. Castello
Eurialo (Eurialo Castle), the only example of
castle-fortress from ancient times, was instead
built under the Dionysius’s dictatorship,
together with the city walls, in order to defend
the city from the Carthaginians, and
rearranged by the Byzantines.
Outside Ortigia, the Parco Archeologico della
Neapolis (Neapolis Archaeological Park) is
the most representative testimony of the
ancient Greek city. It contains several
monuments. The Teatro Greco (Greek
Theatre), built in 664 b.C., is one of the
largest Greek theatres in the world. Its
acoustics is so excellent that the theatre is still
used in summer for the “Classical
Representations”.
Teatro Greco during the Classical Representations
Ara di Ierone II (Ierone II’s Altar) was built
from 269 to 216 b.C., during the period of
peace between the Punic Wars. The
Anfiteatro Romano (Roman Amphitheatre),
built in the I century a.D., is the third largest
amphitheatre in Italy. Latomia del Paradiso
(Paradise Quarry) is an enormous cave where
rocks were excavated and used to build the
city. Inside Latomia del Paradiso there is an
artificial S-shaped cave, named by
Caravaggio “Orecchio di Dionisio” (Ear of
Dionysius), famous for its distinctive
acoustics, consequence of the acute angleshape of the ceiling that is similar in shape to
the outer ear3.
Outside the Neapolis Park, there are still the
ruins of a sanctuary dedicated to Demetra and
Kore.
The Museo Archeologico Paolo Orsi (Paolo
Orsi Archaeological Museum), opened in
1988, houses around 18,000 findings coming
from Syracuse and the surrounding region and
dating from the Paleolithic to the Christian
age. The catacombs, used since II century
a.D. and exceeded in size only by those in
Rome, are mostly closed to the public, with
exception of the Catacombe di S. Giovanni
(St. John’s catacombs).
Finally, Museo del Papiro (Papyrus Museum,
opened in 1989) contains ancient papyruses,
some of them dating back to the 15th century
b.C., and keeps a historical documentation
about the origin and the production
techniques of papyrus.
3
The cave is named after Dionysius as this ruler of
Ancient Syracuse was said to use to eavesdrop on
prisoners incarcerated here thanks to the cave
acoustics.
Natural Heritage
Syracuse province is rich of natural reserves
(included in the Regional Reserves Plan),
caves, and water (two rivers and a
considerable number of springs).
Syracuse “city of water” refers both to sacred
water, like the one of the spring in Athena’s
temple foundations, or Bagni della Giudecca
(Jewish Baths)4, and to mythological water,
like Aretusa Spring5 and Ciane river6.
Just outside the city of Syracuse, in the former
salt mines, one can find the Ciane-Saline
Natural Reserve, instituted to revitalize and
protect the biggest (and last) papyrus colony
of Europe (papyrus was probably introduced
in the area already in the III century b.C.).
Some other natural reserves are: the faunal
oasis of Vendicari, in Noto (about 40 km
south of Syracuse) with thousands of
migratory birds such as flamingos, herons,
cranes, pelicans, ducks who come here to nest
each year in the Reserve’s brackish swamps;
the canyons in the Anapo valley; the beach of
Portopalo (in the extreme south-east of
Sicily), famous for the lay of the big sea
turtles’ eggs, a phenomenon that today has
been greatly reduced as a consequence of the
modern development of beach tourism.
Urban intangible cultural heritage
Fonte Aretusa
Syracuse is increasingly making a name for
itself in Sicily and in Italy, as an active
cultural centre: the international events that
are regularly organized in the city attract a
large number of visitors.
The most important religious celebration in
Syracuse is St. Lucy’s holy day, the city’s
patron saint, celebrated in December and in
May.
Ciane river
4
The Giudecca Jewish Baths are excavated under the
ancient synagogue (upon which in 1492, after the
expulsion of the Jews from Akradina quarter to Ortigia
by Ferdinando II, the Chiesa di S. Filippo Apostolo –
St. Philip Apostle’s church – was built). It held the
ablution rite of women after childbirth, by means of
rain water, not touched by man.
5
Aretusa Spring is an impressive place, linked to
Aretusa nymph and Alpheus’s myth, to represent the
unity of ancient Syracuse with Greece.
6
That is one of the most ancient cult places in Sicily,
linked to Persephone’s myth (and to the near
Olympeion-Zeus temple): The legend goes that Ciane
nymph was turned into a river for having tried to
prevent Persephone’s abduction by Hades.
St. Lucy’s holy day
The main cultural event, which also attracts in
Syracuse a considerable number of tourists,
are the Classical Representations, arrived at
their 41st edition (since 1913 the Festival was
organized every two years and since 2002,
yearly). Organised by the Italian National
Institute of Ancient Drama with the aim of
bringing ancient drama back to life, the
Classical Representations take place in the
Greek theatres of Syracuse and of Palazzolo
Acreide from May to July.
In July the Maniace castle holds the Ortigia
Festival (which has reached its 4th edition), an
international contemporary art festival, with
plays, ballets, concerts, poetry readings and
cinema. It is organised by the Theatre
Foundation Ortigia (made up of the
Industrialists’ Association of the province of
Syracuse, the local Confcommercio, the
Chamber of Commerce and Sicily Region).
The Palio del Mare (Festival of the Sea), a
sailing race of the five historic town districts,
takes place around Ortigia isle in mid August.
In Giudecca quarter, the “Opra dei Pupi”
(Pupi museum) witnesses a typical aspect of
Sicilian tradition and culture, which allowed
the transmission of the ‘high habit code’, such
as chivalry, honour, fight for justice
(represented, after Italian unification in 1860,
by the character of the ‘bandit’), faith and
love. Other expressions of local handicraft are
objects made in wicker, raffia, cork and
papyrus.
The city offers high-quality gastronomy and
wines.
3. Main axes of Syracuse’s cultural
tourism Strategy
Syracuse aims at encouraging a possible
coexistence between tourism entrepreneurial
activities (hosting, entertainment, cultural
events, vanguard trade and services,
swimming, yachting, etc.) and traditional
urban activities (residency, handicraft,
traditional commerce and services, social
activities, etc.).
The Municipality does not have an
established tourism policy but has developed,
during the last decade, a series of composite
programmes, including tourism, for integrated
and local sustainable development. These are:
 Area Integrated Plan (PIA) for the
development of cultural and environmental
tourism;
 Territorial Integrated Programme (PIT),
aiming at the valorisation of historical and
cultural resources along with the recovery
of the ‘local cultural identity’ linked to
traditions, places, professions, and typical
products;
 Territorial Pact, for an integrated
development of different sectors as agrofood,
manufacturing,
tourism
and
innovative services;
 CIP URBAN I, for the integrated revitalisation of the historical centre,
focussing on sectors like cultural tourism,
new economic activities (handicraft,
advanced services and tourism trade),
social
activities,
urban
security,
infrastructures, green spaces and urban
mobility;
 CIP TERRA, DIAS project, for an
integrated spatial planning of cultural and
environmental heritage, in partnership with
colleagues from Spain and Greece,
including
the
experimentation
of
interventions for a networked development
of eco-cultural tourism;
 Programme of Urban Re-qualification for
the Sustainable Spatial Development
(PRUSST), for the integrated development
of tourism and connected services,
environmental
re-qualification
and
internationalisation of local economy;
 Strategic Integrated Plan for Commercial
Systems (PISSC), directed to the requalification and valorisation of the
retailing and distribution network in force
in the historical centre and in its
neighbouring quarters;
 Urban Transformation Company (STU),
for the correct safeguarding, requalification and valorisation of the
immense heritage of historical buildings
and the managing of specific tools like the
Specific Plan for the Historical Centre
(PPO), two Urban Re-qualification
Programmes (PRU), an Intervention
Integrated Programme (PII) and several
Quarter Agreements.
investments, also in the frame of Urban
project.
Finally, Ortigia project Foundation is
planning to replicate in Syracuse a project for
the creation of a “Cultural District”, promoted
and implemented for the first time in Noto.
From 1991 to 2005 the City has been
investing a total amount of about 69 mln. €
for public works in Ortigia. Important works
have been the restoration of the municipal
building in Minerva street, the renewal and
refurbishment of Duomo square, the
realization of a courtyard inside the Bottari
block and the completion of an escape way –
to be used in case of emergences – in Ortigia.
Beside these, private works have been
included in the urban re-qualification plan up
to an amount of more than 3 mln. €, together
with interventions for the improvement,
seismic adjustment and restoration of private
residences in Ortigia.
Three main setbacks for tourism development
in Syracuse have been identified and,
consequently,
three
main
objectives
established:
 To elevate the quality standards in all the
services related to tourism supply chain;
 To improve and boost the appreciation and
enjoyment of goods;
 To improve market competitiveness
through adequate price-quality policies.
In order to further support tourism growth, a
tourist residential tax was abolished 16 years
ago and a cumulative ticket was introduced
for visiting, at a special price, the Neapolis
Archaeological Park, the Paolo Orsi Regional
Archaeological Museum and the Bellomo
Regional Gallery.
Moreover, it is considered essential to
enhance the receptivity of medium-level
hotels, to improve hospitality by ‘awareness
raising’ training and dissemination campaigns
aiming at the establishment of a superior
“tourism culture”, to increase and diversify
the tourism-cultural offer and to promote its
de-seasoning, thus reducing the impact of
seasonal/seaside tourism.
Congestion phenomena concern in specific
periods of the year (in general, from April to
August) Neapolis Archaeological Park (up to
500 visitors/hour), Ortigia isle (traffic,
parking problems, waste) and the Duomo
(tourists’ visits limited by ceremonies taking
place inside the Cathedral). But the most
critical situation concerns the access to the
sea, less and less available, because of
‘savage’ urbanization and privatisation.
Tourism also implied a loss of identity, a
‘musealization’ of the historical city centre,
‘cementisation’ and an increase in local prices
(above all in the real estate sector).
The Municipality of Syracuse has been
involved in important public work
The URBAN project has invested, from 1996
to 2002, an equivalent of about 19 mln. €.
4.Transferable key lessons
The municipality of Syracuse is a worthwhile
example of how tourism can be seen as an
opportunity to revitalize and to diversify the
local economy (characterized by a declining
contribution of ‘heavy industries’) in the
‘most favourable way’.
Syracuse in fact has a great endowment in
terms of cultural and environmental resources
that the local government is promoting in
order to overcome the presently prevalent
form of leisure mass tourism, based on sun
and beach attractors and characterised by high
seasonality, which causes overcrowding, thus
penalising the local quality of life and
impacting the quality of local environment.
Thus, Syracuse case study offers a twofold
possibility:
 to study the behaviours of different
typologies of visitors, with a specific
focus on ‘sun&beach’ tourists and
‘cultural tourists’ (although the distinction
between the two is not so sharp, as
‘sun&beach’ tourists are often involved in
cultural activities and ‘cultural tourists’ in
leisure activities);
 to compare the economic benefits of
‘cultural tourism’ and of leisure
‘sun&beach’ tourism.
The methodology implemented in the
framework of the PICTURE Project involved
two steps:
 First of all, specific surveys were
developed, aimed at obtaining site-specific
information on both the spending pattern
and the ‘profile’ (e.g., length of stay,
nationality, education, income, …) of
different typologies of tourists;
 Successively, the spending patterns were
used to estimate the direct, indirect and
induced impacts on the local economy and
employment, by using an economic
approach based on the statistical ‘InputOutput’ transaction matrix.
The case study findings point to three main
elements.
Firstly, the case study evidenced how
different forms of tourism impact differently
on the destination. Compared to ‘leisure mass
tourism’, ‘cultural tourists’ in fact tend to
show a more dispersed seasonal pattern of
arrivals; their mobility also contributes to a
more evenly (temporally, spatially and
socially) spread impact.
From an economic point of view, one of the
main findings was that cultural tourists tend to
contribute stronger to local economy on a
daily basis; on the other hand, ‘sun&beach’
tourists are found to ‘leave more money’ to
the local economy, if the analysis is done on a
per capita basis. This is due to the fact that
‘leisure’ tourists are much less mobile and
tend to stay longer in the Syracuse area (an
average of more than 8 days, compared with
the less than 3 days length of stay of the
average cultural tourist).
From a policy point of view, three measures
could be suggested:
 To further enforce the locally developed
strategies and plans (as the creation of a
‘cumulative ticket’ and of a ‘Cultural
District’, the integrated spatial planning of
cultural and environmental heritage and the
networked development of eco-cultural
tourism);
 To further develop long-term local events
(as the Classical Representations and the
Ortigia Festival) that have the potential of
attracting ‘cultural tourists’ for longer
periods;
 To further enhance the ‘quality’ of the
offer (as compared to mere ‘quantity’).
One has however to notice that the analysis
mainly focussed on the quantification of the
direct, indirect and induced economic impact
of tourism at local scale (province and
region). As a consequence, this has to be seen
as the (necessary) first step towards a more
general ‘cost-benefit’ assessment of tourism
activities (i.e., an analysis of both the benefits
and the negative environmental and sociocultural costs/externalities) and local tourism
policies (as the Area Integrated Plan, the
Territorial Integrated Programme or the
Territorial Pact).