‘Syracuse’ has a role in new ‘Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny’ movie

One of cinema’s greatest archaeologists is headed to Syracuse. No, not that Syracuse.

“Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny,” in theaters Friday, brings back Harrison Ford for a fifth and final adventure as Indy, now a retired professor in the 1960s. What could be left for him after finding the Ark of the Covenant, traversing the “Temple of Doom,” surviving “The Last Crusade,” and even bringing his trademark hat and whip to the lesser “Kingdom of the Crystal Skull?”

After a 1940s-set prologue with a de-aged Ford, “Indiana Jones 5″ launches into a search for Archimedes’ Antikythera — a celestial calculation machine with predictive capabilities and some otherworldly powers, according to the Associated Press. That’s the so-called “Dial of Destiny.”

To find it, Indy will head to Syracuse — in Italy.

Siracusa, Sicily, the namesake of Syracuse, N.Y., is the birthplace of the mathematician Archimedes and a city filled with history.

“An ancient capital clad in white limestone, it’s a wonder it took the franchise until the fifth film to arrive in Syracuse,” magazine London Luxury wrote. “Amid the limestone alleys of Ortigia (its historic centre) rowdy Sicilian fish markets fulminate, while, in an unassuming corner of the Piazza della Duomo, a Caravaggio hangs, emanating an irresistible pull. It’s exactly the kind of city where you’d hide treasures, with so many already in plain sight.”

According to National Geographic, the new movie used a number of locations in Syracuse for filming. Places tourists can actually visit include the Catacombs of St. John, the Ear of Dionysius, the Greek Temple of Apollo, and the ruins of Italy’s third-largest Roman amphitheater.

As a result, “Syracuse” gets a shout-out in “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.” Sure, they’re not talking about Central New York, but for a franchise that’s featured face-melting Nazis and the ability to survive nuclear bombs in a refrigerator, it’s not…