The Latomie dei Cappuccini, or Quarries of the Capuchins, has fascinated visitors to this site for centuries, with its contrast between the idyllic beauty of the garden, created by the Capuchin monks in this former quarry, and the dizzyingly sheer cliffs that surround it, So entrancing is the location that, in the 17th century, it was included as "must see" of the "Grand Tour" in Italy. 

Additionally, this quarry (the oldest of those in Syracuse, going back to the 6th century B.C.) started as a stone quarry, but aside from signs of human activity also shows signs of the force of nature, including earthquakes, landslides, and erosion, in addition to an explosion of lush greenery, giving this site a rather "wild" and sometimes "extraterrestrial" appearance that cannot fail to strike the imagination.

For the traveler a century ago immersed in reading the literature of classical antiquity, the fascination of this site was intensified by the dramatic fact that these caves were used to imprison the Athenian soldiers captured after the failed military strike against Syracuse in 415/413 B.C. This narrative is told with powerful detail by Thucydides in The Peloponnesian War. 
An excerpt of his words follows:

The prisoners in the quarries were at first hardly treated by the Syracusans. Crowded in a narrow hole, without any roof to cover them, the heat of the sun and the stifling closeness of the air tormented them during the day, and then the nights, which came on autumnal and chilly, made them ill by the violence of the change; besides, as they had to do everything in the same place for want of room, and the bodies of those who died of their wounds or from the variation in the temperature, or from similar causes, were left heaped together one upon another, intolerable stenches arose; while hunger and thirst never ceased to afflict them, each man during eight months having only half a pint of water and a pint of corn given him daily. 
In short, no single suffering to be apprehended by men thrust into such a place was spared them. For some seventy days they thus lived all together, after which all, except the Athenians and any Siceliots or Italiots who had joined in the expedition, were sold. 
The total number of prisoners taken it would be difficult to state exactly, but it could not have been less than seven thousand. 
This was the greatest Hellenic achievement of any in this war, or, in my opinion, in Hellenic history; at once most glorious to the victors, and most calamitous to the conquered. They were beaten at all points and altogether; all that they suffered was great; they were destroyed, as the saying is, with a total destruction, their fleet, their army, everything was destroyed, and few out of many returned home. 
Such were the events in Sicily. 
(Quote from: History of the Peloponnesian War, translation by Richard Crawley, 1903).  

Today the path winds along the steep walls (up to a height of 30 metrers.99.5 feet), marked by signs – still legible after thousand of years – of the extraction, layer by layer, of blocks of stone. Here, as in the Ear of Dionysius,the work proceeded from top to bottom, in search of the deep veins of the best quality.

In addition to caves created by excavation and the pylons and gorges remaining from those caves that have collapsed, the site has paths immersed in vegetation. In addition, the quarries feature an immense, impressive, open-air cavity, the edges of which peep out above, as though hovering over the void, while aerial roots of fichus run around the walls.  

During the summer, in such an area used as an open-air theater, a program of theater, music and dance presentations called "Latomia Arte” is organized every year (one can ask for the program at the reception desk of the  Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel).

The Quarries of the Capuchins are located at the extreme northeast of ancient Syracuse. Given the distance from Ortigia, a visit on foot is not recommended (although it is possible if desired) especially for those who have limited time available for sightseeing.

By car one can reach the site along the Riviera Dionisio il Grande (the road that runs along the sea), which leads right to Piazzale Cappuccini.  Those who do not have their own transportation (car or bicycle) can call a taxi at the reception desk at a special rate. It is also possible to take a bus.

Visitor Information.  
After a "restoration" that lasted 30 years, during which they were closed to the public, the Quarries of the Capuchins in Syracuse are now open thanks to the efforts of the association "Italia Nostra" of Syracuse. Visits are possible Monday through Friday, 9: 30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (ticket: € 3).  Visits on Saturdays and Sundays limited to guided tours (booking requested), at € 5, from10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. For information: tel. / fax (++39) 0931/411394, or 333.6456499; email  siracusa@italianostra.org.