A 20-minute uphill walk from Piazza del Popolo, the archaeological park of Akrai is one of the area's best-kept secrets. The city of Akrai, Syracuse's first inland colony, was established to defend the overland trading route to other Greek settlements. Nowadays, its ruins are an evocative sight, even if the lack of explanatory signs means that you're often not sure what you're looking at.
The most impressive (and obvious) ruin is the Greek theatre , built at the end of the 3rd century BC but later altered by the Romans. A perfect semi-circle, it once had a capacity of 600. Behind the theatre are two latomie (quarries), which were later converted into Christian burial chambers. The larger of the two, the Intagliata , has catacombs and altars cut into its sides, while the narrower one, the Intagliatella, has a wonderful relief of a large banquet cut into the rock face.
South of the archaeological zone are a series of 3rd-century-BC stone sculptures known as the Santoni (Holy Men). It's a 15-minute walk down to the statues, but you'll need to go with a guide as the area around the statues is closed to the general public.
