Experience Sicily

Tag: archeologia

  • Pack Your Toga

    In May 2016, during our Experience Sicily with Chef Melissa Muller tour, we’ll see a performance of an ancient Greek play at the 5th-century-BC Teatro Greco in Siracusa. This photo is from last summer’s performance of The Suppliants by Aeschylus. It was breathtaking!

  • Ancient Acoustics

    From the top of Monte Barbaro, the seats of the amphitheater at Segesta face the sea and hills in the distance. The acoustics from the orchestra, where I’m standing, are outstanding, something I proved when I sang to everyone visiting the site with me that day!

  • They are Still Finding Stuff!

    When grants support archaeological work, more excavations take place. This is true all over Italy. I was surprised this summer when I was at Agrigento’s Valley of the Temples (during 3 different visits) and I learned that various parts of the UNESCO World Heritage site were still subjects of research projects. For example, this statue…

  • Selinunte Temple

    The Doric-style Temple “E” at the ancient Greek site of Selinunte was completed between 490 and 480 BC. Recent research reveals that it was probably dedicated to the goddess Hera, the protectress of weddings, engaged couples, and pregnant women.

  • Corinthian Leaves

    These columns from the Baroque facade of the Duomo on Ortigia are in the Corinthian architectural style for a reason. The city of Siracusa, with Ortigia Island as its jewel, was founded in 734 BC as a colony of Corinth, Greece. Over the subsequent centuries, Siracusa became the most important city of Magna Grecia. Corinthian…

  • Ancient Enthroned Goddess

    During the second half of the 6th century B.C., indigenous peoples of Sicily were beginning to mingle more with the Greek colonists. Evidence of this can be seen in artwork such as this terracotta enthroned goddess, which once had a child in her lap. Found near Grammichele, historians recognize this work as being created by…

  • Uh, Luxury “Palace,” not Villa

    You might consider the Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina the “dark horse” of Sicily’s UNESCO sites. It’s not as well-known as others in Sicily, but once you have seen it, its magnificence and historical significance overshadows your memories of other sites. First off, calling it a villa is really a misnomer because it…

  • Temple of Harmony

    The magnificent Temple of Concordia is named for a Latin inscription that was found on a dedication marker unearthed in the vicinity of the Valley of the Temples archaeological site–i.e., a marker not associated with the temple; however spirited archaeologists took the text on the marker that said something to the effect of “dedicated to…

  • Ancient Oil Carafe

    This vessel is called a lekythos. I photographed it in the civic museum of Castelvetrano, which houses some of the artifacts unearthed from the nearby archaeological site of Selinunte. Lekythoi (plural of lekythos) were used by ancient Greeks to store oil, most often, olive oil. It’s appropriate to see this beautiful one from the beginning…