Discover Sicily - a Roman treasure trove

Sicily's prime geographic location in the centre ofof floors, with some mosaics, the lower portions
the Mediterranean Basin has meant that, overof walls, with some murals, and some columns.
time, settlers and conquerors from the medievalWhile there is a small archaeological museum here,
Normans, Aragonese Spanish, Moorish Northmost of the original artifacts are in the Palermo's
Africans, ancient Greeks, Phoenicians, and RomansRegional Archaeological Museum.
have come and, except for the latter, mostly,Taormina
gone. Today, Sicily's Roman ruins are rivaled onlyThe Greek amphitheatre here, built in the third
by those in Rome, and lovers of Romancentury BC, was expanded later by the Romans,
archaeology will find a treasure trove of sites towho enlarged the stage. The view of Mount Etna
explore.and the sea beyond the theatre is spectacular.
To get an idea of the diversity of Sicily in ancientDuring summer, the theatre stages dramatic
times and particularly the range of artifacts fromperformances. A much smaller Roman theatre,
the Greek and Roman colonizations of the island,the odium, is near Santa Caterina church.
visit the Museo Archeologico Regionale in Palermo.Tyndaris - Capo Tindari
One of Italy's greatest archaeological museums, itTyndaris, founded by Dionysius the Elder in 396
is filled with rare finds that put the multiple foreignBC, and later destroyed by pillaging conquerors,
occupations in perspective. As well, you'll have ahas been excavated to display the ruins of
chance to compare priceless artifacts from theeverything from a basilica to a Roman theatre.
island's different civilizations, including those fromOverlooking the sea, the setting here is
the Phoenician, Punic, Greek, Roman and Saracenmagnificent.
periods. Listed here are some of the best RomanVilla Romana del Casale - Piazza Armerina
ruins in Sicily:This Roman villa, a few kilometers outside town,
Cape Boéo - Marsalaand built between 330 and 360 AD, is one of the
Roman ruins here include a villa with baths andlargest surviving classical-era Roman dwellings
colourful mosaics, and the Church of San Giovanni,anywhere. The villa contains 40 rooms with
built over a cave converted into a home inwestern Europe's most magnificent mosaics
Roman times. The Baglio Anselmi Archeologicaldepicting scenes from daily life, such as hunting,
Museum on Lungomare Boéo exhibits shipand one mosaic of ten young women dressed in
from the Punic era.strapless two-piece swim suits that could be in
Cataniafashion today.
Catania has two Roman amphitheatres, oneNo archaeology lover's trip to Sicily would be
reminiscent of Rome's Colosseum. The smallercomplete without visiting the Valley of the
one, off Via Vittorio Emanuele, built upon an earlierTemples, the largest and best collection of ancient
Greek theatre, accommodated 6,000 spectators,Greek ruins in the world. You'll also see necropoli,
while a larger amphitheatre, near the commercialhouses, streets and everything else you would
centre in Piazza Stesicoro, is completely Romanexpect to find in an ancient city. Be sure to check
and was built in the second century AD.out the small amphitheatre, the several auditoria,
Solunto - Palermoand the first-rate archeological museum. You can't
Seventeen kilometres east of Palermo,miss the Concord Temple with its with 13 tall,
overlooking the coast, and on a site that waswind-eroded columns. Set outside the city of
originally a Phoenician village that had beenAgrigento, on the southern coast of Sicily, the
expanded by the Greeks in 396 BC, are the ruinstemples look dramatic at night when floodlights
of a town that was rebuilt by the conqueringaccentuate their shape and form.
Romans 50 years later. The ruins mostly consist