Despite the name, it was never an abbey but a massive tower. The style and the two-coloured frieze which bounds and underline the storeys, like floral lacework, and the attractive twin windows are very reminiscent of the Santo Stefano palace.

In the 4 B BC, Hieronymus, the tyrant of Syracuse, had a new city built over the old town, by the architect Hippodamos of Milet. Adopting the principles of the town planner, the town has a chessboard plan. It has preserved the walls of the old city.

The blind redbrick arcades that can be seen in a small street parallel to the Corso Umberto I were probably used to support a huge cistern which formed part of a rectangular building. Their name recalls the naval battle spectaculars that the Romans were fond of.

Built in Norman times but modified in Swabian era accommodates the ethno-anthropological museum (local craft industry), the regional archaeological museum which recounts the region's history from the Neolithic to the Byzantine period (see the banchettante ou banqueteur, the small bronze from one of Samos' workshops, the beautiful Attic crater bowl (for mixing wine) on small columns, and the art gallery exhibiting paintings, artefacts and sculptures from the 17-20C.