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Published: August 8th 2007
The Fam
A family scene.This morning we checked out of Gigliotto and backtracked north to Piazza Armerina and then west about 2 or 3 miles to Villa Romana Del Casale. The remains of this roman villa contain over 3,500 square meters of mosaics, many of which were preserved by a landslide that occurred in the 12th century. The villa is of uncertain origin, i.e. the owner has not been identified, but one thing is clear, the owner(s) led the high life of a typical Roman mogul. The mosaics give a glimpse into Roman life in the 2nd to 4th centuries AD, particularly the privileged class. In additions to baths, public latrines, scenes of the hunt and mythological struggles, there were glimpses of Roman erotic art. We completed our tour, and headed back past Piazza Armerina and Gigliotto south about 20 minutes to the center of Sicilian ceramics, the town of Caltigirone. We spent the hot afternoon looking for ceramic shops that featured individual artists. One shop caught our eye, Contarino Nicosia owned and operated by two artists: Francesco Contarino and Antonella Nicosia. Their work crossed several ceramic periods including arabic and medieval. The colors (dichromatic, polychromatic etc) and motifs were unique to each period. Most
Let The Games Begin
A bikinied competitor of the other shops we visited appeared to be ceramic distribution centers often focusing only on the brightly colored majolica ceramics.
After backtracking to Gigliotto to pick up our luggage we drove another two hours to Siracusa and checked into the B&B, l' Aprodo delle Sirene, located on the island of Orytgia. (Note: we were able to reset the TomTom using a wire from a silk flower on display at Gigliotto.) After a quick nap we went out and grabbed a late night meal and walked a bit to get a sense of the island.
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