Tag: museum
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Shoes and Song
The Museo Etno-Antropologico Annalisa Buccellato in Castellammare del Gulfo possesses a magnificent exhibit of items from past peasant-life in western Sicily. I can’t say enough about the glimpses it gives us into “the old days.” For example, this guitar, which of course, as a musician, attracted my attention. I’ll transcribe for you the explanation of…
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A Different Kind of Feast for the Eyes
My highlight of today’s adventures in Palermo, in terms of sightseeing, was a visit to the private museum, Stanze al Genio, a collection of majolica ceramic floor tiles focused on designs from Naples and Sicily created from the end of the 16th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Housed in the 17th-century Palazzo…
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Silver Scylla
The hill-top town of Aidone hosts a world-class archaeological museum containing treasures unearthed at Morgantina, an ancient Greek town down the road a stretch. Morgantina was founded in 850 BC, and over the next 400-600 years the settlement was destroyed and rebuilt until it was finally abandoned in 211 BC. Throughout the centuries, the citizens…
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We’re Waiting for Her
Terracotta statuette of Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, from Morgantina’s North Sanctuary, c.300 BC.
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Hail Demeter, Hail Kore
Demeter and Kore-Persephone were fervently venerated in Sicily in ancient times. This exhibit from the Regional Archaeological Museum at Aidone features two acroliths (That is, sculptures that have been constructed of stone, such as marble, and other materials, such as, in this case, iron, and draped with fabric) most likely depicting the mother goddess and…
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The Splendid
La Zisa, which is currently open to the public as a museum, had been a residence since the 12th century when it was first constructed. Parts of it still maintain its original Moorish splendor–a good word to use because its name “La Zisa” was derived from the Arab word “al-Aziz,” meaning splendid. Throughout its history,…
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She’s Finally Home
At Aidone, finally, is one of the most magnificent statues of a goddess from the ancient Greek era. Dated to be from 410 BC, the figure’s torso was carved using limestone from a quarry near Ragusa and her head and arms from imported Parian marbel. It was produced using a pseudo-acrolithic technique, giving her chiton…
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Triskeles
It’s believed that this object (a bowl?) was created by an artisan near Gela in the end of the 7th century BC. Its details recall those found on the Isle of Rhodes. The striking triskeles at the center of the design demonstrates the association of the ancient 3-legged symbol with Sicily. It was found in…
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An Ancient Mask from Siracusa
Ancient mask, Siracusa’s Museo Archeologico Regionale “Paolo Orsi”