Santuario della Madonna delle Lacrime

Supposedly modelled on the shape of a tear drop, the 102m-high spire of this church dominates modern Syracuse's skyline. The church itself houses a statue of the Virgin Mary that allegedly wept for four days in 1953 and bestowed more than 300 miraculous cures; a room full of ex-voti (votives) – among them crutches – testify to the Virgin's healing powers. The sanctuary's lower floor houses the Museo della Lacrimazione (Museum of the Lacrymation), a small, underwhelming museum summarising the 1953 event.