Villa Romana del Casale: Mosaics
The Villa Romana del Casale was Jay's favorite place we visited on this tour. We knew about the famous athletic "bikini girls" mosaic-tiled floor before we came here but not much else. Wow! This 400 A.D. site has room-after-room-after-room of intricate mosaics that are truly amazing to see in person.
Mosaic show mythical characters, fishing scenes, whimsical chariots pulled by animals (for child's room?), hunting scenes, and animals galore, including an incredibly long room showing lions, tigers and elephants, oh my, a menagerie of animals being captured and loaded onto ships. Researchers think the original owner was a wealthy dealer in animals that were probably destined for gruesome ends in coliseums around the Roman Empire.
The villa also had a "hot bath" (you can see its underfloor hypercaust system), a "cold bath", and a "tepidarium" -- a "just-right temperature" room between those two. Makes our shower at home look positively primitive.
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Our tour group has been the luckiest group ever! We got an early start so we'd get to this site before it got too busy. As our bus pulled into the parking lot, Stephanie said, "I've never seen this happen." Only a few cars were there. We practically had the place to ourselves. Woo-hoo!
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WARNING: We went overboard on taking photos and videos of the mosaics. We've restrained ourselves by sharing only a few of the photos here. The subdued lighting inside the villa made our photos look washed out. For best results, go to Sicily to see the real thing! BONUS -- outside you can stand on some freakin' ancient mosaics!
The "bikini girls" floor is laid over an earlier tiled floor. We imagined the lady of the house going, "I put up with all your animal mosaics elsewhere in the house. This is MY workout room and I want to redecorate it! "
Villa Bianca
This working farm is where we had a large buffet of appetizers outdoors. Followed by -- inside a rustic old stone barn -- a large lunch of salad, sausage, roasted peppers, and the best darn lemon pasta we have ever had! Followed by a dessert of a fruit tart and a glass of lemoncello that made us pucker up. Followed by the urge to take a big ole nap!
Because of the season, not much else was happening at the farm, but we did see artichokes in a field, got our first view of Mt. Etna peeping through the clouds, and Valerie had her favorite funny restroom memory of the trip. (Go to Travel Extras in the top menu and click on Adventures in Restrooms.) Then it was off to Siricusa, where once again we were too full to have dinner, but we mysteriously managed to make room for another dessert.
Lemoncello is not for everyone.
Rustic restrooms are located in this old barn.
Richard, David and Susan were ready for the freshly prepared food and the fresh air!
This is the table of appetizers. The main courses come later!
Love the cow troughs next to the tables inside another part of a huge stone barn. Seems appropriate since we scarfed done our meal.
Well hello there, Mamma Etna! Thanks to Alessandro, our bus driver, for pointing out that she finally made an appearance from behind the clouds. Language is not a barrier when it comes to sharing scenic sights with others!