Noto Fotos, 1

We had never been to Noto before, nor even heard of it. Normally we would not go out of our way to see anything Baroque, even a town known for  it. One can hardly avoid Baroque in this part of the world. But Noto is another World Heritage Site, it gets three stars for its architecture, according to some guides, its story reminded us a bit of Napier, North Island, and, most important, we had read that Noto's flower festival, going on that very weekend, was one of Sicily's big shows. One of the highlights of our 2011 Sicilian campaign was happening on to Sciacca's Carnival--Sicily's second largest--and we were hoping Noto's flower festival might be another stroke of such good luck. It was.

The original Noto, an important site from prehistoric times, was leveled by an earthquake in 1693. The new town was located some miles closer to the sea, the Ionian Sea, and, being a regional capital, had enough wealth to rebuild itself in the architectural fashion of the day, Baroque. Students of this blog will recall our visits to Napier, North Island, which had a similar experience, sort of, only in the 1930s and in Art Deco.

Anyhow, we spent the best parts of two days at Noto, and took lots of fotos.

That's the flower festival event sign; this year's theme--the
festival has been going on for decades--was China [sic]

Traffic was so choked--scores (hundreds?) of turbusses--so the campground
shuttle let us out still a mile from the centro storico

We could have spent the rest of the day at the large flea market in a park on
the way to town

Need any philosophy books? Maybe Feyerabend's Against Method, in Italiano,
of course

Maybe a Klimt?

Maybe some material for an alligator purse? And matching belt
and shoes?

A souvenir of your visit to Sicily

A wood-burned portrait of Lenin ("I am the walrus" "Shut
the fuck up, Donny")

Here demonstrating a phone case so strong you can not
drill through it, even with a kryptonite bit

But after only a few tables of the market, we joined the throng heading to the
flower thing

It's an up-hill kind of place

We found it expedient, as did others, to cut through a
church here or there, rather than battle through the crowd;
this one a rather muted Baroque

Former palace, now city hall

Baroque dress-up at the height of the festivities

Villa Romana del Casale, 2

Rarely does one walk away from something so impressed. We have seen mosaics of the Roman world from England to Morocco, Spain to Turkey, many of them superb, whether in museums or churches or in situ. But this one is head and shoulders above all the others. Do check out other images, by professionals, on the web. If you like mosaics, ancient or Medieval, don't miss Sicily!

Among the basilicas

The most impressive piece at the Villa Romana is the 200 foot long ambulatory
known as The Great Hunt, where a variety of African animals are hunted and
captured for transport to Rome and the amusements there

Including elephants

The interpretive signage is extensive, informative, and in English too

More of the Great Hunt

The Great Hunt, plus a couple depictions of the Circus Maximus have led some
scholars to suggest that the owner of the villa was one Lucius Aradius Valerius
Proculus, governor of Sicily and later a Roman consul; as praetor, earlier in
his career, he had organized some of the most spectacular games and other
amusements the City had ever seen; perhaps the scenes at the villa celebrate
them...

Among some--count me in--the most memorable scene in the Villa is the floor
of a large room now thought to have been the ladies' gym; thus the ten, well,
nine, Bikini Girls that are the Villa Romana's main emblem

Running a deep pattern...

OK, back to The Great Hunt

The guy with the funny hat is said by some to be the Master

Still more Hunt

Helpful model #...well, locked off in a room, it actually wasn't that helpful

Satire (?) on the Circus Maximus--indeed there are the Red, Blue, Green, and
White teams

Another huge seafood scene

All 200 feet of The Great Hunt

Dionysan cult, Pan, maenads, satyrs, and such; oh my

Detail of an interesting marine scene with assorted sea divinities including
nereids, tritons, mermaids, and a stray dragon and panther

And now for something completely different: an
Ichthyocentaur...human torso, horse's front legs, and fish
tale

More of said marine scene

According to Vicki, the most memorable and emblematic scene: Cupid and Psyche

Lastly, Ulysses telling Polyphemous to have another...

Also at the Villa that day, a touring group of vintage Jags

Villa Romana del Casale, 1

The great Roman villa in Sicily's interior, near Piazza Amerina, was closed when we visited in 2011, and thus seeing it was our highest priority for 2018. It is another World Heritage Site and is the largest and greatest of all known Roman mosaic sites...a 40,000 square foot villa, every inch of which is paved in some of the most extensive and exquisite mosaics of the ancient world. The villa dates from the early 4th century, AD, when Sicily's interior consisted of a number of large agricultural estates. The owner/builder of the Villa Romana de Casale is unknown, although there are as usual many conjectures...a senator, a governor, perhaps a member of the imperial family? In any case, the villa suffered from the Vandals and Visigoths as they plundered Sicily and then was buried in a landslide in the 12th century. And forgotten. Serious excavation and research did not occur until the 20th century. One views the mosaics from outside some of the rooms or, mostly, from extensive cat-walks that have been constructed above. All the principal mosaics now have been roofed-over and protected. We were there three hours, and I took 350 pix!

The place is huge, and although the architecture is of interest, it's mostly the
mosaics that are so impressive

One of two sets of baths

The usual Roman HVAC

About bathing

On to the interiors

Rebuilt latrine

An atrium

Its ambulatory pave all around with animal portraits

Thus

The woman in the middle is thought by some to be the Domina

Abstract designs account for much of Roman mosaics, and the Villa Romano
has its share...but not more than about 20% I'd guess

Seasons

Autumn, I think

Deer hunt; these are large full rooms

A day at the races

Fishing scene

Employee relations