I like to believe that I could trace my roots to Solunto, one of the first settlements by the Phoenicians that was established between the 8th and 7th centuries BC. The ruins of Solunto, of which these three reconstructed columns are a part, may be visited in Santa Flavia atop Mount Catalfano, overlooking Porticello where my grandfather was born. Solunto was one of the three major settlements of the Phoenicians in Sicily along with Motya (Mozia) and Panormos (Palermo).
It’s so hard for Americans, living in such a new country, to conceive of artifacts and architecture from the 8th and 7th centuries – B.C. Even from the 7th century A.D. I love that you bring this to mind. It stretches my imagination and my sense of time on earth. I noticed that there are still details near the tops of the columns, evidence of human hands doing stone work. -Dana
This photo is just so beautiful and it is so wonderful that you can trace your ancestry to that time and place.