9/29/24: Piazza Armerina's Monumental Mosaics!

After leaving the ceramic-filled town of Caltagirone, Steven and I drove about 20 miles northwest further inland to Piazza Armerina, a town famous for its unparalleled mosaics. En route, our mouths were agog at the bucolic pastoral scenes in the scenic valley of the Gela River on the slopes of Mount Mangone.

We'd never come across cactus being grown on a commercial basis before and didn't know what its purpose was. Was it aloe vera, possibly, I wondered. 

The villa’s history began around 320-350AD when some academics believe it belonged to a member of the Roman senatorial aristocracy, possibly a Roman governor under Emperor Constantine. After being inhabited also during the Arab era, the villa was partially destroyed by the Normans before being almost completely covered by an avalanche of mud from Mount Mangone. The villa’s discovery is due to the archaeologist Gino Vinicio Gentili, who conducted excavations in the 1950s.

The large Entrance Court, irregularly shaped and designed to connect the different parts of the villa, was unified by an Ionic colonnade and a mosaic-covered portico. It seemed remarkable that the villa's millions of annual visitors were allowed to walk on the ancient mosaics. 

In 1997, it was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List for its splendid mosaics, which cover some 3,500 square meters and are still in perfect condition. The mosaics depicted heroes and gods, as well as scenes of hunting, games, and everyday life.

There were two distinct access routes to the stately oblong palestra, which served as a passage hall to the thermal areas: one for the dominus or leader, family, and the most important guests and the other for commoners.

The trapezoidal-shaped room was identified as a Latrine because a sewer ran through the base of the walls and the restructured concrete seats on the curved side. The latrine's small size and the sophistication of the mosaics indicate that it was used by the dominus and his family.

The geometric pattern in the Quadrangle Peristyle was defined by a three-color braid that alternated with crowns of green laurel leaves on a black background. Inside the wreaths were wild animals like boars, tigers, lions, and panthers, forerunners of the 'great hunt' mosaics scene we’d soon see.

If you are new to this blog, you can click on any picture to make it bigger. You might want to do that, especially with the shots of the bikini girls' below!

The stunning mosaics in the private entrance to the Thermae, a connecting room between the peristyle and two other rooms:

Solomon's Knot was an ancient pattern consisting of two intertwined rings. In Roman art, it was generally regarded as a positive and auspicious symbol. The villa's only geometric mosaic had a black background and few colors. It was used in a workers' area because it required little care.

The location of the Private Glat's Second Room likely meant it was used for resting. Its mosaic consisted of one of the villa's most original subjects: male and female characters enacting dancing or kidnapping scenes, possibly recalling legendary tales such as the Rape of the Sabine.  

Next was the Hall of the Small Hunt, which was used for banquets during winter. The mosaic floor depicted an open-air banquet with hunting scenes and lively characters.

One of the most famous spaces in the villa was the Ambulatory of the Great Hunt because of the room's architecture and its exceptional mosaics, which extended the entire room's length. I read that the images didn't represent an actual hunt with the killing of wild animals but rather ferocious and exotic animals being captured and transported so they could be exhibited at Roman circus spectacles. 

The Second Service Room of the south master's apartment was also called the Room of the Palestrife. The villa's most famous mosaics were those of young women, commonly known as the "bikini girls," whom all visitors, including ourselves, came to ooh and ahh over! In reality, they were athletes wearing light outfits used in athletic competitions!

The women, arranged on two registers or layers, tested themselves in different athletic sports typical of the female pentathlon. There was the long jump, the discus throw, running, a race with rings, and a game played with a ball. We were reminded of the same theme of games and athletics seen elsewhere in the villa. 

Pay special attention to the discus thrower as she was adorned with rich jewels that emphasize her aristocratic rank. The figure on the left used hand weights to help provide momentum during the long jump.

The young woman who has been crowned winner is shown carrying the baton and spoked wheel used in a race with rings. The only draped figure is shown crowning the victors and presenting them with a crown of roses and a palm branch. 

The exquisite colors and level of detail in the next mosaic were almost overwhelming. It was hard to know where to look!

Some have identified the central figure as the villa's dominus because of his deep and serious gaze and his particular clothing, which characterize him as a high-ranking figure with an important post. He is surrounded by his two protectors. 

In the final scenes, set in the far-off mythical lands of India, images of soldiers give way to ferocious beasts. 

Staggeringly, we were again welcome to trod on the priceless mosaics.

The mosaics were nothing short of outstanding and one-of-a-kind if you love mosaics like we do. However, it was very frustrating to appreciate them as fully as we'd have liked because they were displayed with light streaming in, which blocked our view of many. That was particularly the case in the Great Hall that was used for holding official banquets, during which semi-circular beds were set up in the apses for the many guests. 

Certainly, not all floors were fully covered with mosaics. Here was one example of many where much of the scene was left to a viewer's very active imagination because huge swaths of the mosaics were missing.

An amusing floor mosaic in the Antechamber of the apsidal hall pictured chariots drawn by birds and children, an imitation of the adults' chariot races!

The mosaics went on and on, each phenomenal in its own right, but there were so many that we lost count of their importance and their location in the enormous villa. 

A Greek singer playing the lyre on the back of a dolphin did catch out attention, however. 

As we strolled toward the villa's Basilica, we wondered how different it might be.

Because it was the only room in the villa where precious polychrome marbles from throughout the Mediterranean adorned the floors and walls, access to its interior was limited. The Basilica, the residence with the highest official status, was likely used as an audience hall for the dominus as there must have been a throne in the center from which the lord spoke with his guests.

Likely, a monumental statue of Hercules would have been in the niche because his head was found during the archaeological excavations.

Extraordinarily vibrant mosaics embellished the Antechamber of the master's northern apartment. Ulysses was depicted following faithfully Book IX in Homer's Odyssey, set in Sicily, the land where the Cyclops lived according to mythical legend. 

Polyphemus, according to literary tradition, is normally described as a one-eyed giant. Here, though, he had a third eye in the center of his forehead with an upward gaze. 

As sublime and mind-blowing as the mosaics had been, Steven and I walked away, not wanting to see another one for a long time! We still had a 75-minute drive southwest to Agrigento ahead of us, but the skies were again blissfully blue, Lina, and the scenery equally picturesque. 

We whizzed by pretty Pietraperzia.

Not much whizzing by on this highway as the speed was just 50kph! How we wished we knew the rationale for some of the out-of-whack speed limits on Sicily's roads as people sped by easily going 90kph.

Our apartment in Agrigento was in the shadows of the 11th-century Cattedrale di San Gerlando above.

After spending several days in Sicily's interior, we were happy to return to the coast.

We definitely needed a glass or two of wine after starting our day in Modica, touring Ragusa, Caltagirone, and Piazza Armerina, and finally sitting down to dinner far later than usual!

Next post: Agrigento's Valley of Temples.

Posted on January 11th, 2025, the last night spent visiting loved ones for almost a week in Ottawa. God only knows how long it will be before I return. I will leave in just hours, having shed many tears of sadness but also happiness while being with family. I know many more tears will rain down in the days and weeks ahead. As always, please take care of yourself and your loved ones.