A SPECTACULAR GREEK THEATRE IN THE HEART OF SICILY

Of all the places I've been to in Italy I would have to say that Sicily is probably my favourite destination. One of the things that makes it so interesting is the visible remains of former civilisations that have occupied the island of which there are many - the Greeks, the Romans, the Moors and the Normans to name just some of them.

Sometime in the 700's BC Sicily, along with southern Italy, experienced a major incursion of Greeks seeking to escape an overcrowded homeland to make settlements in a new place. The influx of people was so important the area became known as Magna Graecia (Greater Greece). The city of Siracuse on the southeast coast of Sicily became the de facto capital of the new Greek colony. The city prospered and thrived as a Greek settlement underpinned by trade in agricultural products and not surprisingly, new buildings in the Greek tradition developed to meet the cultural needs of the population.

MY FIRST VISIT TO THE GREEK THEATRE
IN SIRACUSA IN 2020

The Greek theatre was constructed on the side of the Temenite hill - a place which now overlooks the modern city. I was lucky enough to visit it just three years ago whilst on my holiday in Catania.

 

First built in the 5th century BC it is truly amazing. What remains today is a theatre which was renovated in the third century BC with extensions which evidently took in to account the shape of the hill and improved the accoustics. Greek theatres often made much of the location they are built in and this is certainly true here. Visitors to the theatre would have been able to see a panoramic view of the bay, the port and the island of Ortygia. More changes were introduced by the Romans in the early Augustan period, but essentially this is a magnificent Greek structure. 

With a diameter of 137 metres and originally 67 rows of seating it was one of the largest theatres in the Greek world and its known that many important Greek plays were performed here including a work by Aeschylus called "The Aitnans" - a play written to celebrate the refoundation of Catania (Aitna) after its earlier destruction. 

PANORAMIC VIEW TOWARDS THE BAY
AND THE ISLAND OF ORTYGIA

Today it's part of the Syracuse and Rocky Necropolis of Pantalica World Heritage Site established in 2005. In 1788 the travel writer Vivant Denon in his work "Voyage en Sicile", wrote about his visit to the theatre and said: "despite its abandoned state, it remains one of the most beautiful locations in the world, offering the most grandiose and picturesque spectacle that there is". Today that sentiment still stands as far as I'm concerned. It's a must for any traveller to Sicily!!!!

THE GREEK THEATRE AT SYRACUSE SHOULD BE COMBINED WITH A VISIT TO THE ISLAND OF ORTYGIA IF YOU ARE ONLY THERE FOR ONE DAY!

 SICILY'S MOUNT ETNA - A FORCE TO BE RECKONED WITH!!

International news media are reporting this morning (22nd February 22) that Mount Etna on the Italian island of Sicily and one of Europe's most active volcanoes, began to violently erupt again yesterday!

A pillar of ash and debris, related to a lava flow on the southeastern slope of the mountain, rose 6.2 miles in to the sky. Vulcanologists have been reporting increased seismic activity in the region since the middle of February when the volcano first showed signs of significant activity. Though there are no reports of casualities or damage to communities so far, the authorities decided to close Vincenzo Bellini international airport near Catania at lunchtime yesterday for several hours. 

ERUPTION OF MOUNT ETNA
FEBRUARY 21st 2022

It's just two years, almost to the week, since I was staying in Catania and let me tell you - this volcano is an ever present spectre for anyone living in the city. Not for nothing did the Romans see Etna as the home of the god Vulcan - arms supplier to their Gods. Sit and have a coffee in the main square and you can see its dominating summit above the urban skyline. It was smoking at the time I was there! Walk round the town and there's evidence of former volcanic activity in several spots. On one walk I did the remnants of a medival fortress had solidified lava flows almost up to its walls. The largest recorded eruption took place in 1669 when large chunks of the town were destroyed. 

LAVA FLOWS NEAR CATANIA'S
MEDIEVAL CASTLE
Photo taken by me in February 2020

 

VIEW OF THE 1669 ETNA ERUPTION AND
LAVA FLOWS TOWARDS THE TOWN OF CATANIA

Mount Etna sits on a base which lies on top of the convergence point between the African and Eurasion continental plates, so any movement along that line causes stresses and strains in the surrounding rocks which can lead to cracks and fissures and the build up of liquid hot magma from the earth's core. That's probably what's happening now. What will happen in the next few weeks remains to be seen but Catania's residents will be watching the situation carefully for sure!!

 A PIETRA DURA PANEL SHOWING A VIEW OF FLORENCE c1590-1600

I've written about pietra dura (the Italian craft of making beautiful objects using semi-precious hardstones) before in this blog but couldn't resist publishing a short article on a piece which came up for auction last November. 

Florence was an epicentre for the craft of pietra dura in the 16th century and there were several workshops in the city, but probably none finer than that of Cosimo Castrucci (fl.1576-1602) who specialised in making panels with pictorial scenes made from various semi-precious stones. 

In 1592 Cosimo and his son Giovanni travelled to Prague to set up a workshop at the Imperial Court of Rudolph II - a keen patron of the craft. Hardstone panels were expensive, luxurious and highly valued by Kings and aristocrats round Europe so to have a workshop and examples of the craft in one's Kingly possession would have been a huge status symbol for Rudolph. 

This panel, probably made in the Prague workshops of Castrucci and featuring a view of Florence was consigned to German auctioneer Lempertz of Cologne by a Belgian vendor last autmn. The view of the Arno River with a fisherman in the foreground and a panorama of Florence in the background, is crafted from a variety of semi-precious stones including jasper, chalcedony and agates fastened to a slate panel. It's mounted in a leaded iron frame and measures 20 x 27 cm.

With a presale estimate of 30-40 thousand euros when it came to the auction block it fetched 230,000 euros plus commission and was bought by the Princely Collections of Liechtenstein who have a collection of works by Castrucci. I remember them buying the remarable pietra dura Badminton Cabinet for £19 million pounds in 2004 at Christie's in London.