Selinunte, 2018

We visited Selinunte in 2011 and were sufficiently impressed to want to return. In size, it certainly rivals the Valley of Temples, near Agrigento, although Selinunte's seven Doric temples are, with one exception, pretty much ruins. I posted about Selinunte in 2011, and there are some decent pix there too. Selinunte was yet another 7th century Greek colony on Sicily, later taken over by the Carthagenians and then the Romans. Selinunte's temples are so remote, historically, their names or associations have been lost. They are simply Temple A, Temple B, Temple C, etc.

Temple E has been reconstructed, in part, and therefore receives the most
attention

Nave view, as it were

Looking toward Temple C, on the sea, across the ruins of the city

Cella of Temple E

Ruins of Temple F

Excellent interpretative signage all over; and in English too

Scale

At Temple F

Ditto

Today's profundity, courtesy of J-P Sartre: (roughly) "the silence of Selinunte's
temples speaks more than many words"

The quarry was some 10-12km away; they cut out the column drums, then rolled
them to the site and erected them; then cut the flutes and other ornamentation

Contemporary beach adjoining Temple C and friends

Interesting shade tree

Earthquakes are really tough on temples: sometimes you can see exactly how
the earth rolled...

Temple C, again; where the metopes in Palermo would have been

And a last look at Temple E

We spent the next two nights at a campground on the beach, just a few kilometers
from the ruins

Thus

And thus

The Temple At Segesta

We continued driving along the west of Sicily, stopping to spend the night at a free sosta in the small town of Calatafimi. Our aim was to visit the temple at Segesta the next morning. Segesta and Selinunte were both Greek colonies in the 6th and 5th centuries, BC, and were often at war with one another. Matters did not change much when Selinunte allied itself with Carthage and Segesta with Greece. Both pretty much petered out in Classical times. In the Wars of Tourism in the 21st century, AD, Selinunte is definitely winning out. Segesta is a medium-sized Doric, unfinished, for which the locals want 6E each for admission, plus 7E to park down the hill (despite a perfectly serviceable car-park, now apparently reserved for turbusses) and to take a shuttle bus. We settled for a few distant pix and headed on to Selinunte.

A patent rip-off

Not one of the biggies

Nor finished

Uninteresting surroundings

On to Selinunte

Erice

The Medieval mountain-top village of Erice was not among our more successful visits. Granted, we got there, but we did not stay very long, finding ourselves on a one-way alley through a labyrinth whose end was very uncertain. Especially in an RV. We should have parked at the RV/bus lot and walked the kilometer up-hill. But we thought there was a higher car-park we could find, and by the time we had passed it, if it exists, we were committed. We stopped at the top, by the castle ruins, I reconned on foot, and we boldly headed back down, every twist and turn a drama. The exit through the gate in the old wall was a special thrill. When will we learn?!

But first, heading out of Palermo, we stopped at the Auchan at the beautiful
Poseidon shopping center

Right on the sea: Spain out there, hundreds of miles...

Auchan's pretty much our favorite French supermercado

View from the top of Erice

Two towers

Castello

Looking north back toward Palermo

Clouds rolling in

Somehow, Vicki directing traffic, we got through the gate;
disbelieving onlookers

Erice from below

Chiesa Di San Cataldo

The other 12th century century church, a former royal chapel originally, is the Chiesa di San Cataldo. It was the chapel of a castle, now gone, then a property of the Benedictines, then a royal post office; more recently it is of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. And, most importantly, it is Palermo's artistic/cultural symbol, the city's emblem. It is defiantly sparse, more dramatically so.

Sparse 

A little background

A marvel of understatement

Chiesa Di Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio

Three churches are on a small central square, and we hit two of them. They were an interesting contrast: both 12th century, but one over-the-top mosaic/baroque, the other bare stone. The Chiesa di Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio was first. I'll mute the aesthetic/theological commentary. Mostly.

Tower of Ammaraglio

Inside this small church: 12th century mosaics to rival Monreale and the Royal
Chapel

Greek to me

Thus the nave and aisles

But then you get to the apse and it's this Baroque nightmare...

Scenes like this caused really bad back problems for the Gospel writers

Still a pretty glorious place

Stop it! You know how I hate groveling!

Men in black

Alas, left, is the only pic I got of Ammiraglio