Chiesa di Santa Lucia al Sepolcro

The basilica-sanctuary Madonna delle Lacrime is a Marian sanctuary erected in memory of the miraculous tearing of a plaster effigy representing the Virgin Mary in 1953. The work was designed in 1957 by the French architects Michel Andrault and Pierre Parat following an international competition, but the structural works are by the engineer Riccardo Morandi. Built between 1966 and 1994, the church was elevated to the status of a minor basilica by John Paul II in 2002.

The church of San Nicolò ai Cordari was built in the Norman period, immediately after the period of Arab domination in the city of Syracuse. In 1577, the church was granted to the cordari (rope makers) who worked their ropes in the limestone quarries of Neapolis, located beyond the church. With the establishment of the Neapolis Archaeological Park in 1955, it became the headquarters of the information office for visitors preparing to tour the vast archaeological park. The church was and still is the entrance to the park. It now houses a small photographic museum which exhibits period photographs of all the Syracuse monuments located in the Neapolis Archaeological Park.

The Cathedral of the Nativity of Mary Most Holy, built in the 7th century, is incorporated in what was the main sacred temple of Doric style of the Greek colony of Syracuse, dedicated to Athena. After being damaged during the earthquake in Sicily in 1693, it was restored in a rococo style in the 18th century. Since 2005, the cathedral is protected by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.