2,500 years if Sicilian History, in one day... part two

Still Wednesday the 17th, and we are on our way to see our second UNESCO World heritage site in one day.  We've left Agrigento and the 2,500 year-old Greek colony of Akragas at 11:30 am, and are heading for the 400 A.D. Villa Romana del Casale just outside of Piazza Armerina.  After a rather long, rainy, twisty drive through the Sicilian midlands, shouts of ho fame e ho sete (I'm hungry and thirsty) arose from la famiglia, so using advanced technology, Steve found us a place to eat.  We pulled into the parking lot of La Ruota (the Wheel) at around 2:30 pm.  It looked closed, but as we opened the bus doors, Mama poked her head out of the restaurant and said "aperta" (I'm open).  They quickly arranged a table for ten, and we had the most enjoyable, relaxing meal, setting the tone for visiting the Villa Romana site, which just happened to be next to the restaurant.

It was now late in the day, a rainy one at that, so we had this amazing site totally to ourselves.  Villa Romana del Casale was built in the 4th century A.D., as the centerpiece of a large Roman agricultural estate and hunting lodge.  It was used for this and other purposes until the 12th century, when a landslide covered it.  It was re-discovered in the 20th century, when it was un-earthed and studied during several decades.  It contains the largest and most complex collection of Roman mosaics in the world.  The floors of the villa are completely done in tiny mosaic tiles, and are stunning in any era. 

Some of the floors are pictorial, some are geometric.  All are amazing...

Female athletes depicted...

Amazing artistic expression...

huge rooms.... all with mosiac floors

Chariot races... with odd animals pulling the chariots!

beautiful geometric patterns...

All of the original roof structure and most of the walls of the Villa are long gone, but some of the walls remain and show portions of original frescoes....

Our visit to Villa Romana finished up just before they closed the site at 5 pm.  What an amazing day it had been, to brave the elements and miles to see these two incredible UNESCO World Heritage sites.  There are only six in Sicily, and in two days we had seen three of them (Mt. Etna is the third). 

We set off for Catania Airport to return the 9-passenger bus and retrieve a proper car for Steve and Arianna, then return to The Lemon Tree for a well-deserved and delicious dinner for ten...

The road goes on forever, and the adventures never end....

Touch any photo to enlarge....