After packing up and leaving our hotel in Palermo,
out of which we had ventured so far, we took the road toward Taormina, the city
where we would stay for the remaining two nights before departing for Ottawa.
We drove through high mountains before approaching the Roman Villa Ruman du
Casali, 2 KM from the town of Piazza Armenina. We were not far from Mount
Etna, the most active volcano in Europe. As we drove through black,
solidified lava fields, from time to time we were able to glimpse Etna’s snowy
cap and Vulcan fire, our view was much obscured by the clouds. It was a rainy
day, as we drove through a valley among high mountains.
The high mountains:
The lesson from history is that all empires
eventually fall. During the 4th century CE (=BC), the Romans, who by
then had colonized their previous masters, the Greeks [consider the Americans
and the British today], had developed Sicily into many agricultural estates (=
L. litifundium), and Villa Ruman du Casali was one of these. The master of the
villa likely did not reside there all the time. He probably spent most of his
time in nearby Taormina or Syracuse. I imagine the villa to have been sort of an
overblown ‘cottage’ for the urban gentleman farmer.
The villa was discovered in the early nineteenth century. It is a one story sprawling split-level, which made me think of what
might have been the Roman version of our mid twentieth century ranch
house. Well, if you have the space, then use it!
The main reason why one of us would spend time at
this villa is that here is to be found the most magnificent display of mosaics
from the Roman world on this planet, so the experts inform me.
A whole floor
of mosaics seen from above:
Detail from
the ‘Little Hunt’
Tired Hunters:
Ladies playing
ball:
Coronation of
the victor of the Ladies Ball Game:
