One of the last Greek colony in Sicily, Tyndaris was founded in 396 b.C. by Dionisyius from Syracuse, on the ruins of the Sicilian site of Abacena, in order to realise a military outpost against the Carthaginians. It was occupied by the Carthaginians in 264 b.C. and passed under the control of Rome ten years later, becaming an important centre during the Imperial period. According to Pliny, part of the town collapsed into the sea after a landslide. Subsequently, a terrible earthquake in 365 AD and the ravages of the Arabs in 863 put an end to the epic Tyndaris.
Once arrived in Tindari, the first thing we encounter is the great Christian Sanctuary of the Black Madonna, which rises up on the cape; it is a modem construction. The statue of the Black Madonna, of Oriental origin, attracts the devotion of many faithful worshippers. From the square in front of the Sanctuary , at the foot of the Tindari crag, there is an unforgettable view over the sea. As we enter the archaeological area, we immediately notice the boundary walls, one of the most imposing and better preserved in Sicily.
The focus then moves to the Greek theater, built in the IV century b.C. and transformed into an arena in the Roman times, the old town with the remains of the thermal baths, dating back to the II century AD with interesting mosaics, of the basilica (I century b.C.) and some houses.