Romana Villa Casale and Caltabellotta, at last. Two days on the road.

One of the most intriguing excavation sites in Sicily is the villa Casale just outside of Piazza Armerina. It is the site of a Roman latifundia, large landholding/farm, that was operating until the 3rd or 4th century AD. It had to be owned by Roman royalty or a very important senator of Rome. We had visited about 6 years ago with Rachel and we decided to go back and see what the renovations and construction that were taking place then had resulted in.

Well, we were not disappointed. The last time we had to wear hard hats through much of the site due to overhead construction and now we saw the "finished" product. They have constructed a Roman style house, walls and roof, where only partial walls and temporary roofs, had been before. Your really get the sense of what it looked like when it was in use 1600 years ago. At the ingresso there were signs indicating photos were not allowed, however if you read the small print you found that personal photography is permitted. Commercial photos involving use of tripods, lighting, etc. require advance approval of the site's Director of operations.

The importance of the site lies in the mosaic inlays. They represent probably the peak of Roman mosaic work that was not repeated until around 1200 or 1300 when churches such as Monreale and the Palatine Chapel in Palermo's Norman Palace were built.

All the floors are inlaid and much of the space still has the original mosaic designs. The Hall of the Hunt extends the full width of the house separating the large entry courtyard from the master apartments and the basilica or formal audience room. You can imagine an emperor or his direct descendents residing in and using this home. I'm including some of the photos I took on this visit to provide a taste of it's artifacts. Ther used to be frescoes painted on the walls but time and weather have had a toll on them. The floors, however, since they were colored stone survived mostly intact.

This first set of photos is of the villa's exterior and the peristyle, or central courtyard where guests were greeted, the inhabitants entertained and spent much of their waking hours. The side aisles are set with detailed images of animals along their length.

Exterior of the villa

Bozo at the "gate" (south entrance)

Marble column that is mostly still intact. These line the central courtyard

Entrance to the courtyard. Family apartments and service rooms are on the sides.

Side aisles along the courtyard provide covered access to the side rooms

Aisle details showing quality of the mosaics

All the side room floors are decorated, however the ones used by the servants as service rooms or working rooms use geometric shapes while the rooms used by the family and guests are decorated with scenes from Roman life or figures representing mythology, gods, etc.

The baths are on the western side of the site. Some are expected to be used in a more public nature, guests as well as family, and are decorated accordingly.

Entrance room to the baths

Detail of the floor of the bathhouse

Geometric designs on floor of service room/servant quarters off of the courtyard

Floor of family or guest room off of the courtyard.

Side room referred to as the room of the small hunt since it shows common hunting scenes.

The most impressive set of mosaics is the Hall of the Large Hunt. This space extends the entire width of the house and consists of scenes depicting how the Romans hunted, captured and shipped animals from all over the empire to Rome. The animals include elephants, rhinoceri, lions, tigers, etc and depicts the means used to transport them.

Hall of the Great Hunt from inside looking north

The Hall from outside the house looking south

Details of the hall

Detail showing ship with sails and oars used to transport large animals in cages.

Capturing a rinocheros

Other rooms are equally decorated and here are a few more photos, including the "Bikini Girls" who are actually depictions of female athletes engaged in typical games. Including in the set are shots of the master's north apartment private chamber and bedroom.

The female athletes. Note the upper corner where the original floor is exposed. The female figures were installed at a later date.

Bozo and the "Bikini Girls"

A children's room based on the child figures at play and hunting

Sign describing the master's personal chamber. Light was poor so characters are not real clear.

Sleeping alcove is at the top of the view.

Central detail from master's chamber

Floor depicting autumn's products, fruit and vegetables

Detail showing figs

Peaches

On our way out we captured some additional local scenery.

The Duomo in Piazza Armerina from the highway back towards Gela.

The country around here is really dry and rocky. Prickly pear cactus is farmed all over around here for the fruit.

On Sunday we again headed to Caltabellotta, a true hill town about 19 km north of Sciacca. When we tried to go a few days earlier we found the road blocked about 9 km up due to landslides. This time we headed east of Sciacca through Santa Ana via SP10 and SP36. SP10 was covered in many places through the valleys by dried mud from the storm 2 weeks earlier and some spots were still only one lane wide. Caltabellotta's streets are cobblestone, steep and narrow to the point where in places only one car can get through. The town is located at nearly 3000 feet and the winters can be very cold, but the views are unbelievable. The Michelin guide says that the road up is scenic and they are definitely correct. We were lucky that the weather was warm. Our friend Pascale told us that the high school students are bused to Sciacca and when it snows they are unable to get down. I don't see how folks can even walk or drive in that town when it snows.