We stopped in Caltagirone to visit a ceramics factory. It was interesting to see a family operated operation where artisans turn out ceramics which are hand sculpted and painted. Barb and I visited a “Presepi” in a local church. This is a large display depicting a complete village in the Christmas tradition. The display is all ceramics, except for some fern and water, and is mostly animated.
This World Heritage Site, Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Amerina is the extreme example of a 4th century luxury Roman villa. It demonstrates the predominant social and economic structure of its age. Restoration is still ongoing. After its abandonment in the 1200s, the villa was covered by a mudslide that protected the mosaics until excavation in the 1880s. The mosaics are so extensive, I only have a sampling here. I also don’t have the identity of most of the rooms.
On our way back across Sicily we stopped for one night at an agriturismo near Piazza Armerina. Agriturismos are operating farms that provide tourist accommodations. For this, they get some sort of government assistance. We have stayed in several before and they usually are quite nice. This one was no exception! We enjoyed a delicious multi-course dinner, accompanied of course with the usual great Sicilian wine.
