Ear of Dyonisius

The Ear of Dionysius is a limestone cave carved out of the Temenites hill in the city of Syracuse, on the island of Sicily. Its name comes from its similarity in shape to the human ear. The Ear of Dionysius was most likely formed out of an old limestone quarry. It is 23 metres high and extends 65 metres back into the cliff. Horizontally, it bends in an approximate "S" shape, vertically it is tapered at the top like a teardrop. Because of its shape the Ear has extremely good acoustics, making even a small sound resonate throughout the cave.