Last week our whole program went to the island of Sicily, just off the tip of the “boot” of Italy for the whole week! I still can’t believe that we got to travel to such an amazing place for CLASS. Sicily has a long history and has been seen as many different things over the millennia: prehistoric dwelling-place; Greek colony; “breadbasket” of the Roman Empire; Byzantine outpost; Moorish emirate; Norman kingdom; German then Spanish then (finally) Italian state. On Saturday morning we drove down the western coast of Italy, stopping at a few important sites, then crossed the Strait of Messina via ferry and spent almost a full week on the island of Sicily, coming home on an overnight ferry from Palermo to Naples on Saturday and driving back to Rome Sunday morning.
It was an absolutely incredible week, but also absolutely exhausting. Every day was 8-10 hours of class, the only free time during our bus rides and meals. But this isn’t really a complaint!! “Class” consisted of walking around in ancient sites while taking notes on the professors’ lectures, so I wouldn’t have given it up for anything. Still, I was never more happy to see the pink stucco walls of the Centro building than upon our return on Sunday! Naps all around, and of course some gelato from next-door. I took almost 1,000 photos in this one week, and a full walk-through of what we did every day could genuinely be a thesis project, so here are just the highlights from each day! Apologies in advance for how long this is.
One of the two Riace Warriors, bronze statues from 5th century BCE. Found by scuba diver in the 1970s, thought to have been sunk in a shipwreckTerracotta plaque depicting Persephone preparing for her “wedding” to HadesStrait of Messina- Odysseus and Aeneas were right here. Kept my eyes out, but no sign of the sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis.
The Greek (then Roman) Theater of Taormina, which now holds concerts and plays! Built in 3rd century BCE, converted to Roman amphitheater in 2nd century CEView of the town of Taormina from the theaterTreat time! Sicily is the birthplace of cannoli, and we couldn’t help but sample some with strawberries!
ORTIGIA & SYRACUSE
Fishermen right next to the legendary Spring of Arethusa on Ortygia, a smaller island just off of SyracuseExterior of the Duomo of Syracuse, a building that was first a Greek temple, then a Byzantine church, then a mosque, then a Norman church, and has continued as a Catholic church for centuries. All of these phases of its existence are visible in the facade.Quarries of Syracuse, where the tyrant-king Dionysius supposedly tortured and starved to death 7,000 Athenian soldiers after their failed expedition to conquer SyracuseTheater of Syracuse, 5th century BCE. The famous playwright Aeschylus came and staged a play here and it was later modified to suit the Roman styleSurviving exterior walls of the Castello Eurialo, a fortress with defenses designed by Archimedes that stood firm from construction in 5th century BCE until the Roman siege of 214 BCE
Had a lot of fun exploring the sprawling ruins of Morgantina, a Sicel & Greek town occupied on-and-off from Early Bronze Age (2,500 BCE) until the Roman attack of 211 BCEKiln for firing pottery at MorgantinaThe Bikini Girls Mosaic at the 4th-century-CE Roman Villa in Piazza Armerina. It depicts female athletes competing in various events: javelin (in the missing corner), long jump, discus-throwing, footrace, and a ball game, ending with the winners being awarded rose crowns and palm fronds Sporty Spice?Scandy!Y’all know I love any depiction of Polyphemus, but this mosaic of Odysseus drugging the Cyclopes with unmixed wine is one of my new favoritesSmall fragment of the massive Great Hunt mosaic that stretches a full hallway and depicts animals being captured for hunting games in the Colosseum. Look at the elephant’s paw-like feet!
AGRIGENTO
First of seven (7!) Doric temples we saw this day. This is the Temple to Hera Licinia, c. 450 BCEBeautifully-preserved Temple of Concordia, also in the Valle dei Templi. #DukeEverywhere??One of the Telamons that would have been placed between columns to “hold up” the massive Temple of Olympian Zeus. Josh for scale.Temple E at Selinunte (sadly, there is not enough evidence to attribute it to any divinity)Columns of Temple E with the rubble of Temples F and G (destroyed by earthquakes) in the backgroundAcropolis of Selinunte at golden hour!
MOTYA & SEGESTA
Gorgeous bronze statue of a Faun from c. 4th century BCE, maybe by the famous Greek sculptor Praxiteles. Miraculously found in two pieces several years apart by the same fishermen on the same boatTerracotta funerary mask from the Carthaginian Tofet at Motya, a place associated with ritual child sacrificeCarthaginian stele from MotyaGreek theater @ Segesta, 4th century BCETemple at Segesta, c. 420 BCE. Abandoned before it was completed
PALERMO
Gorgeous interior of the Palatine Chapel at the Norman Palace, built in the 12th century CE after the Normans conquered Sicily from the Arabs
Cathedral of Monreale, just up the hill from Palermo. 12th century CEThe courtyard of the adjoining cloister has 228 columns
And that was the week! Because I was sick on my actual birthday I was treating Sicily like my whole birthday week, and it really was the best way to bring in a new year I could imagine. It’s a beautiful place with a long history and more incredible things than I ever thought I would see. By the numbers, we saw something like 11 Doric temples and 7 Greek theaters, traveled over 1,000 miles in our bus, sampled more glasses of Sicilian red wine than we probably should have, ate many, many cannoli, sang lots of Taylor Swift and Mamma Mia on our drives, and definitely had the best week of the semester yet. And more still to come!
Wright Now 