The Two Brothers Rocks (

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

: ''Scoglio Due Fratelli''; Sicilian ''I Ru' Frati'') are a rock formation in the Ionian sea to the north-east of Syracuse in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Mimmo Martinucci: ''Dreaming of the Italian islands. Help for amateur radio. Vol 3 - All the islands of Sicily''. 2007, Sandit Books,

Geography

The two rocks are located between the districts of Grottasanta, Mazzarona and Tunis Avenue, in a bay called "Coast of Piliceddi". The coasts in the area are jagged, except a small

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc sh ...

formed by the disintegration of the

rocks In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...

. The depth of the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

does not exceed 20 meters.

The rocks

* The "Big Rock" is 70 meters from the coast and is over 12 meters high. It is called the ''

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae ...

'' or ''

mastodon A mastodon ( 'breast' + 'tooth') is any proboscidean belonging to the extinct genus ''Mammut'' (family Mammutidae). Mastodons inhabited North and Central America during the late Miocene or late Pliocene up to their extinction at the end of th ...

'' because of its shape. It is divided in half by a narrow fissure which starts at

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

and extends to the top of the rock, forming two

cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s. The back is exposed to the open sea and is composed of sharp rocks and holes caused by wave erosion. The front is perpendicular to the sea and is exposed to the bay. It is one of the best known sets of rocks near Syracuse, because of the legend of the two brothers and also because of the actual death of a boy around 12 years old. He died trying to get in the lower part of the rock (the footbridge). * The "Little Rock" is approximately 50 meters from the coast and is 5 meters high. It has the form of a small

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

. It is roughly 12 meters from the big rock, thus there is space for boats to pass between them. The highest part of the rock, on the left, is flat and perpendicular to the sea. On the right, it slides down to sea level and has many holes and sharp points because of its exposure to the open sea.

Legend of the two brothers

Three versions: # One day two brothers came to go

spearfishing Spearfishing is a method of fishing that involves impaling the fish with a straight pointed object such as a spear, gig or harpoon. It has been deployed in artisanal fishing throughout the world for millennia. Early civilisations were familia ...

. One of them dove under the water and became stuck in a crack. The other dove in to save him, but both

drown Drowning is a type of suffocation induced by the submersion of the mouth and nose in a liquid. Most instances of fatal drowning occur alone or in situations where others present are either unaware of the victim's situation or unable to offer as ...

. # One sunny day, two brothers decided jump from the bigger rock. The two brothers climbed the rock but before they jumped, the sea became turbulent and agitated. They jumped and were drowned in the waves. # The third version compares the two rocks to two brothers; an older brother and younger brother.

Flora and fauna

Both the

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

are typical of the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western Europe, Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa ...

. There are several species of aquatic plants, mostly neptune grass. The fauna is composed of crabs, shellfish,

sea urchins Sea urchins () are spiny, globular echinoderms in the class Echinoidea. About 950 species of sea urchin live on the seabed of every ocean and inhabit every depth zone from the intertidal seashore down to . The spherical, hard shells (tests) of ...

, octopus, starfish,

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

of various species,

moray eel Moray eels, or Muraenidae (), are a family of eels whose members are found worldwide. There are approximately 200 species in 15 genera which are almost exclusively marine, but several species are regularly seen in brackish water, and a few are f ...

s, and there can be

stingrays Stingrays are a group of sea rays, which are cartilaginous fish related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingray), Plesiobatidae ...

. In the 2005 there was an influx of

jellyfish Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrell ...

, mostly

Pelagia noctiluca ''Pelagia noctiluca'' is a jellyfish in the family Pelagiidae and the only currently recognized species in the genus ''Pelagia''. It is typically known in English as the mauve stinger, but other common names are purple-striped jelly (causing pot ...

. Other seaside towns saw an increase in jellyfish. The Pelagia noctiluca is very irritating and has hurt many people whom have tried to swim.

Tourism

Tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

is mainly present in the summer, between the months of June and September. The

tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

s who come to visit this place, are particularly attracted by the beauty of the sea and the landscape of jagged

cliff In geography and geology, a cliff is an area of rock which has a general angle defined by the vertical, or nearly vertical. Cliffs are formed by the processes of weathering and erosion, with the effect of gravity. Cliffs are common on co ...

s. There are boat tours driven by

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

ists, which take tourists visiting the sea and rocks. The tour, lasting about half an hour, begin from the

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

of Ortigia, then passes from the coast of sea grottoes of Syracuse, and finally arrives at the "Two Brothers", where it stops for a few minutes to give tourists the possibility to swim. Afterward they repeated by the same round, bringing the tourists to Ortigia. This is a particularly suitable place to spend some time in contact with marine nature, repose and also for fun. The two rocks are also a great place for diving. There is also practiced

, given the abundance of the fauna.

How to reach the rocks

The two rocks are accessible through the Via Sicilia, situated in the district of Grottasanta. Going from this to its end, and turning right, there is a destroyed wall, and immediately after the

bike path A bike path is a bikeway separated from motorized traffic and dedicated to cycling or shared with pedestrians or other non-motorized users. In the US a bike path sometimes encompasses ''shared use paths'', "multi-use path", or "Class III bikewa ...

. After this there is a large

lawn A lawn is an area of soil-covered land planted with grasses and other durable plants such as clover which are maintained at a short height with a lawnmower (or sometimes grazing animals) and used for aesthetic and recreational purposes. ...

, bounded by cliffs overlooking the sea ("Coast of Piliceddi"), and from there the two rocks are visible. Walking centrally towards the cliff, you will reach a cliff with a short, steep descent, where you can see the stairs carved into the rock of ancient origin. Going down toward the reef closest to the sea, one arrives at a small peninsula, where the rocks of "Two Brothers" are only accessible by the sea. Somewhere between the

mainland Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...

and the rocks there are around 60 meters of distance.

References

{{authority control Syracuse, Sicily Islands of Sicily Ionian Sea Mediterranean islands