Lentini (also Leontini, Greek Leontinoi) is a city of the province Syrakus in the region Sicily in Italy.

Situation and data

Lentini is appropriate for 51 km northwest from Syrakus. Here live 24,403 inhabitants (conditions to 31. March 2005), which work in the agriculture and the industry.

The neighbour municipalities are: Belpasso, Carlentini, Catania, Francofonte, Militello in Val di Catania, Palagonia, Ramacca and Scordia.

History

In the antique one the city Leontinoi was called. Here are the human being-corrosive giants Laystrygonen used have, which described Odysseus. The city became 729 v. Chr. of Chalkidiern from based.

From Leontini the famous Sophist Gorgias originates.

Leontini lies about ten kilometers far away from the sea and is thereby nearly the only Greek settlement, which is not directly because of the coast. The place was kept original by Sicilian inhabitants, conquered then however by the Greeks due to its controlling situation to a fruitful level in the north. It became 498 v. Chr. subjected by Hippokrates of Gela, and Hieron I. of Syrakus settled here 476 v. Chr. the inhabitants from Catana and

Leontini its independence attained later back, had however in its efforts to defend it ever more frequently to the support of Athens to fall back. Mainly the Beredsamkeit of the Gorgias is to be owed, those to the missed athenischen expedition of 427 v. Chr. led.

422 v. Chr. if Syrakus supported the Oligarchen of the city against the people, she took up as a citizen, after Leontini had been given up. This led to a renewed athenischen intervention, at first diplomatically, then however, when the banished ones together-did from Leontini with the envoys of Segesta, to the large expedition of 415 v. Chr.

After their miss Leontini became once more subject of Syrakus (see Strabo vith 272). Its independence became by the contract of 405 v. Chr. between Dionysios I. of Syrakus and Karthago guarantees, yet the city lost her soon again. Them became finally of Marcus Claudius Marcellus in the year 214 v. Chr. conquered.

In Roman time Leontini does not seem to have played an important role more. In earlyChristian and Byzantine time was Lentini Biuschofssitz. The city was destroyed by the Sarazenen 848 and made equal by an earthquake 1698 nearly completely the ground.

The city was strongly damaged with earthquakes in the years 1140, 1169 and 1542 and destroyed in the year 1693. Afterwards the city disintegrated. Only since beginning 19. Century grows the city again.

Archaeology

Polybius (viith 6) describes the antique city as in one lowers being between two hills, with view northward on the mentioned fruitful level. There, a direction level, were two city gates the other one in the south direction Syrakus, per a Akropolis toward both sides of the valley, and a land development to beyond the flat hills.

The eastern of the two hills shows remarkable remainders of a strong medieval fortress, with which some authors (falsely) want to have recognized Greek bricklayer work.

Excavations were made for the ravine in the year 1899 in sizilischen Nekropolen in one, finds in the different Greek cemeteries, above all some remarkable bronze work, are kept in Berlin.

Today are the remnants of the antique Leontini, in particular the Stadtmauer and the Nekropole to visit in an archaeological zone. Finds are issued in the museum of the modern Lentini.

Objects of interest

• Church Sant' Alfio, at the end 17. Century builds
• Archaeological museum with finds from the environment
• Archaeological zone with the old Stadtmauer and Nekropole

Literature

• Cirino Gula: Storia di Dent origini alla conquista romana. CUECM, Catania 1995.
• Salvatore Rizza: Studi sulle fortificazioni greche di Leontini. Consiglio Nazionale depression Ricerche, center di Studio sull'Archeologia Greca, Catania 2000 (Studi e materiali di archeologia greca, 7)
• Giovanni Rizza, Massimo Frasca, Dario Palermo: Scavi nelle necropoli di Leontini (1977-1982). Univ., is. di Archeologia [among other things], Catania 1991 (Cronache di archeologia, 21.1982)

Related links

• Side of Lentini (Italian)

Articles in category "Lentini"

We found here 2 articles.