Sicily’s Archeological Wonders

“Sicily is an island lying outside time, where past events endure in an external present, a beach on which the tides of successive civilizations have heaped in disorder their assorted treasure.” - Vincent Cronin.

Thanks to its location in the Mediterranean, Arabs, Romans, Greeks, Carthaginians, Normans and various other people came, saw, conquered and left their mark on the island of Sicily.

If you are familiar with the tales of the Odyssey and the Iliad, some of them will come alive as you wander through the archeological marvels to be found here.

As you explore the valley of temples in Agrigento, you will get to enjoy the beautiful blue of the sea, and the picturesque town as seen through the lens of the ruins.

The ear of Dionysus, first stop on the archeological trail in the district of Siracusa. There is some debate whether this is a naturally occurring cave or manufactured by Dionysus.

There are dark tales of political prisoners imprisoned and tortured here and how the king used the resonance to listen to plots or plans and/or to relish in the cries of anguish.

Regardless of its use in the past, there is no question of the acoustics as our group tested and tried them out.

First built in the 5th century BC, rebuilt in the 3rd Century BC and renovated yet again in the Roman period, the Greek theater is reputed to be one of the most beautiful locations in the world.

As the local guide talked about the various plays and performances, she mentioned some of the Greek tragedies and satires performed here, one of which was Lysistrata.

I could well visualize the performance having had the good fortune to score a performance of this satire at the outdoor theater in the beautiful Getty Villa in Malibu last summer.

“Eureka”, nope not the street in Studio City, California nor the restaurant in Woodland Hills California. The town of Ortygia, Sicily is well known for this famous cry of discovery made by Archimedes as he ran naked through the streets. In fact, a statue of Archimedes sits at the entrance to the town to commemorate his contribution to science and being an inspiration to such notables as Newton, and Leonardo Da Vinci.

As we walked past, the sun was beating down and it was hot as hades and humid to boot. I was not a happy camper, and it must have rubbed off on how I viewed this city. Not my favorite at all. Plus, our tour guide kept talking about the Sirocco. Isn’t that something that happens in a desert?

I had had enough despite the wonderful refreshing freshly squeezed orange juice our tour director had scored for us at the archeological site and decided that I did not want wander through the winding streets, gawking at the ruins, interesting shops or sidewalk cafes.

So, I plonked myself at the nearest sidewalk cafe under the nice shady umbrella and waved goodbye to my fellow intrepid travelers. The ice-cold granita and the people watching did much to restore my spirits before I had to brave the sun and heat to continue our onward journey.

Leaving Ortygia in our rear view, we continued our drive through the beautiful Sicilian countryside towards our nighttime stop of Ragusa.

The city looks like something out of a fairy tale with its church spires and beautiful colorful houses sprawled all over the hillside. Thanks to my overall grumpiness today, I made my way to an early check in and a cold shower in the tiniest shower cubicle I have seen, instead of walking through the winding cobblestoned streets of the town.

Some days one just reaches a limit and it’s smart to recognize it and work through it so you can be restored for what’s to come.

Much restored by the evening I made my way towards a nice glass of wine and a wonderful dinner of Sicilian flavors. The cathedral was all lit up as we made our way back to the hotel and I was able to capture this beautiful sight.

Stone pillars and miniature temples began to appear in the distance as we headed towards the famous Valley of the Temples. This comprises a large area on the South side of the ancient city of Agrigento where 7 monumental Greek temples in the Doric style were constructed in the 6th and 5th centuries BC.

The Temple of Hera. Now excavated and partially restored, it is considered one of the largest and best-preserved ancient Greek buildings outside of Greece itself.

Did you know that they kept these statues headless on purpose? Since it takes a lot longer to build an entire new statue, in ancient times they made these statues headless and placed the head of whomever was the current ruler or conqueror du jour. Talk about recycling and reuse. Apparently, it existed long before we were born.

I have seen headless statues like this before. Most recently at Caesarea in Israel. At the time we were led to believe that the heads were not found when they excavated the statues. Now I know better.

The temple of Concordia which owes its preservation due to being used as a Christian church during the 5th century AD.

Icarus, proud son of Dedalus flew too close to the sun and lost his wings plunging down to the earth. Apparently that spot was here in Sicily and a statue commemorates his fall.

What a way to connect my childhood readings to archeological discoveries and wonders.

The temple of Hercules, with its fallen pillars. Originally destroyed by the Carthaginians, rebuilt by the Romans and destroyed again by an earthquake.

This vast complex like no other brings alive Sicilian history, Greek myths and the various people that came, conquered, settled and left pieces of their culture, art and religion. Of course, this visit brought alive the burning desire to visit Tunisia which is reputed to be ancient Carthage. Hopefully someday soon.

Leaving the wonderful archeological history of Sicily, we headed towards Palermo and the valley of gold to enjoy a few nights in one location as we explored gorgeous churches, wine yards, olive groves, beautiful mountain towns and the fantastic coastline.