traNsversal ARCHAEOLOGY IN SicilY
Sicily, July 6-12, 2019
Post 10th IALE World Congress Excursions
‘Transversal Archaeology in Sicily’ is the post congress program by Gianluigi Pirrera for SIEP - IALE (Società Italiana Ecologia del Paesaggio) in cooperation with Kòrai - Territorio, Sviluppo e Cultura. The post congress excursion will take place after the 10th IALE World Congress.
The annual international and scientific appointment of the International Association for Landscape Ecology this year features the theme “Nature and society facing the Anthropocene: challenges and perspectives for Landscape Ecology”. It will take place in Milan (July 1-5, 2019). The organization gives participants the opportunity to continue their staying in Italy and take part to a rich and varied program of scientific initiatives and excursions in some regions of Italy.
The post congress excursion program in Sicily will take place from 6th to 12th of July (also extensible up to July, 15th) and will be focused on the on-site analysis of some archeological sites in Sicily.
‘Transversality’ in archaeology concerns the epochs and the landscape. Through the visit of some archaeological sites, this tour promotes the objectives of the Ancient Transversal Road in Sicily. According to the ancient journals of the archaeologist Paolo Orsi, it goes from Camarina to Mozia.
Accompanied by the geoarchaeologist Francesca Mercadante, we will visit megalithic, palaeontological and archaeoastronomic sites, underground dolmen sites, geo and archaeological parks, Unesco archaeological sites, under hydrogeological risk sites and Natura 2000 areas.
In the 6 days tour, in addition to the welcome day in Palermo, the participants will be able to analyze the motivations and the effects of the Anthropocene, related to the hydrogeological risk, to the ancient communication routes and to the mutations causing the loss of the ancient landscape in some of the Sicilian Archaeological sites.
For each stage there will also be a site specialist (the archaeologists Roberta Di Rosa, Enrico Giannitrapani, Giuseppe Labisi, Serena Raffiotta) for deepening.
Book your Post-Congress Experience in Sicily
Contact: korai@korai.it
TRANSVERSAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN SICILY
STAGES
STAGES OF TRANSVERSAL ARCHAEOLOGY IN SICILY
DAY 1
Palermo. Optional: "Antonio Salinas" Regional Archaeological Museum and/or "Gemmellaro" Paleontological - Geological Museum.
DAY 2
Pietra Tara. Oriented Nature Reserve of Capo Gallo.
Oriented Nature Reserve of Pellegrino Mount.
DAY 3
Archaeological park of Segesta. Mothya and the saltpans. Archaeological Museum of Marsala.
DAY 4
Cusa Quarries. Valle dei Templi Archaeological park and Garden of Kolhymbethra. Enna. Pergusa special Reserve.
DAY 5
Hennaion. Lombardo Castle. Rocca di Cerere. Archaeological park of Morgantina. Museum of Aidone. Villa Romana del Casale in Piazza Armerina.
DAY 6
Archaeological park of Camarina,
Archaeological park of Cava d’Ispica,
Necropolis of Pantalica.
DAY 7
Transfer included to Catania or ‘extra days’.
DAY 8-9-10
It is available an extra 3 days extension. Visit to
- the UNESCO sites of the Arab Norman Palermo and Cathedral
Churches of Cefalù and Monreale, included their amazing contexts.
DAY BY DAY PROGRAM
DAY 1 - PALERMO, CROSSROAD OF CULTURES
SATURDAY, JULY 6, 2019
-
Start of work: presentation of the excursion program by Francesca Mercadante and Gianluigi Pirrera.
-
Multi-ethnic welcome dinner in the heart of Ballarò, Palermo
Recommended extra program:
-
Guided tour at "Antonio Salinas" Archaeological Museum.
-
Guided tour at: "Gemmellaro" Paleontological - Geological Museum.
Optional:
-
Botanic Garden guided tour.
-
Palermo guided tour to discover the treasures of the city.
"SALINAS" REGIONAL ARCHEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
The Museum is housed in the former House of the Fathers of the Congregation of San Filippo Neri, built in the 17th century: the monumental complex includes the church of Sant'Ignazio and the Oratory of San Filippo Neri. It has one of the richest archaeological collections in Italy, evidence of Sicilian history in all its phases, from prehistory to the Middle Ages. Inside archaeological findings and artifacts of the peoples that made the history of the island are preserved: Phoenicians, Punic, Greeks, Romans and Byzantines ones. Artifacts of other peoples, such as the Egyptians and the Etruscans, are kept as well. A section of the museum is dedicated to the findings found during the underwater excavations: materials that were part of the cargo of ships, stone anchors, lead logs, oil lamps, amphorae and inscriptions ranging from the culture of the Punic to that of the Romans.
PALERMO, MOSAIC OF CULTURES
The richness and the beauty of Palermo (Panòrmos means ‘harbor in every side’) lies in its thousand souls, outcome of dominations, of arrivals and departures, of welcome and exchange. All this kind of contamination is testified by its landscape, its language, its monuments, its cuisine and its urban fabric. The stratified and syncretic richness of this city, founded by the Phoenicians, then conquered by Romans, Arabs, Normans, Swabians, Angevins, Aragonese, Spagnoli, Savoia, Austrians and Bourbons, is readable in art, architecture, food and traditions. Its monuments, churches, palaces, villas and gardens tell a thousand-year history of beauty and contradictions.
BALLARO' MARKET IN THE ALBERGHERIA NEIGHBORHOOD
Palermo, a multi-ethnic mosaic, expresses its beauty in the meeting of cultures: an example of it is Ballarò, the oldest of the four historical markets, with a dynamic and colorful character, animated by the stalls, in an area rich in particularly important and suggestive monuments and churches. In recent years the market has been enriched by the presence of foreign communities, which have integrated their commercial activities to those of Palermitans, learning from them the technique of selling the abbanniata, the typical call to attract passers-by.
"GEMMELLARO" PALEONTOLOGICAL&GEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
It was founded in 1861 by Gaetano Giorgio Gemmellaro. It contains collections that can be compared to the British Museum ones. The Enzo Burgio Hall hosts collections illustrating the geological history of Sicily, including very rare samples of rocks from the island of Ferdinandea, during the brief period of surfacing in 1831. The Man's Room contains the testimonies of the first human presence in Sicily such as the fossil remains of Thea, a woman who lived in the Upper Paleolithic, whose skeleton was found in San Teodoro Grotto, in Acquedolci. The Hall of the Elephants contains numerous artifacts related to the dwarf elephants that populated Sicily during the Middle-upper Pleistocene, including a complete specimen of Palaeoloxodon mnaidriensis. In the Hall of the crystals there are notable examples of calcite, aragonite, celestine, gypsum, rock salt and sulfur crystals, most of them dredged to the Messinian (so-called chalky-sulfifera series), when the connections between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean were interrupted and the latter became a large salt lake.
DAY 2 - A JOURNEY THROUGH NATURE RESERVES
THE NORTH-WESTERN COAST OF PALERMO
The north-western coast of Palermo is characterized by characteristic seaside villages: Acquasanta and Arenella, rich in production facilities, art nouveau villas and stories related to the therapeutic use of water and sea air and the Florio family; Vergine Maria dominated by the Tonnara; Mondello, with its beach, prehistoric remains in the caves and Art Nouveau architecture; Sferracavallo.
SFERRACAVALLO
Questa borgata marinara di Palermo era un villaggio di pescatori sorto attorno a la Calandria, tonnara di impianto 400entesco, attorno ad un'insenatura dal mare azzurro cristallino, nel tratto di costa tra Punta Matese e Punta di Barcarello. Nei pressi, un tempo sorgevano delle torri di guardia, una del XV ed una del XVI secolo, che facevano parte del sistema di avviso delle Torri costiere della Sicilia.
Il toponimo Sferracavallo trae origine dall'asperità della strada che collegava la borgata a Palermo e che per le sue scabre selci e la sua pessima qualità costringeva a far «sferrare i cavalli» che trainavano i barconi usati nelle tonnare, per tirarli a secco e ricoverarli nei magazzini adiacenti.
Su questo litorale, caratterizzato da affascinanti grotte e profondi fondali, è ancora viva l’antica cultura dei pescatori.
La borgata è rinomata per i suoi locali dove gustare ottime portate a base di pesce fresco.
SFERRACAVALLO
This seaside village of Palermo was a fisherman village rose around the Calandria, a tonnara of 400-year-old plant, around a crystalline blue sea inlet, in the stretch of coast between Punta Matese and Punta di Barcarello. Nearby, once stood guard towers, one of the 15th and one of the 16th century, which were part of the warning system of the coastal towers of Sicily. Sferracavallo toponym (unleash the horses) originates from the roughness of the road that connected the village to Palermo. Due to its rough flints and its poor quality it forced to "unleash the horses" that pulled the boats used in the tuna fishery, to pull them dry and admit in adjacent warehouses. On this coast, characterized by fascinating caves and deep waters, the ancient culture of fishermen is still alive. The village is renowned for its premises where you can taste excellent fresh fish-filled dishes.
SUNDAY, JULY 7, 2019
-
Light trekking in the Oriented Reserve of Capo Gallo: from Punta Barcarello to the megalithic site of Pietra Tara. Beach.
-
Typical Sicilian fish-filled lunch in the characteristic sea village of Sferracavallo.
- Visit to the Cave-Sanctuary of St. Rosalia on the Oriented Nature Reserve of Pellegrino Mount and route on the Goethe Path.
Optional:
-
Visit to the St. Rosalia Gorgo (in 1952 the American professor Hutchinson theorized the concept of biodiversity) and / or the contemporary installation of the Cretan unicursal Labyrinth.
-
Visit to the extraordinary North Belvedere with its archaeological findings and to the World War II anti-aircraft posts.
-
At sunset, tasting of the bitter Santuzza, delicious liqueur made with the herbs that grow on the path of Santa Rosalia between the Sanctuary of Monte Pellegrino and the hermitage of Quisquina.
PIETRA TARA
The site with megaliths of Pietra Tara was discovered in 2004, opening up horizons never known to Sicilian historiography. Located on the northern slopes of Capo Gallo, in the last strip of land on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is set on the western sea routes (Iberian and Maghreb),and shows till intact constructions. Divided into two zones (High and Low, for a size of about 6000 square meters), it presents a proto-urban structure divided into sectors. The proto-urban structure winds around the great megaliths/menhirs with huts, anthropomorphic monoliths, cultuals areas, funerary hypogea.
CAPO GALLO RESERVE
The reserve covers almost 586 hectares and consists essentially of Monte Gallo, a carbonate massif, formed tens of millions of years ago between the Mesozoic and the Middle Eocene. Monte Gallo ends in a promontory, called Capo Gallo, marked by its characteristic lighthouse.
PELLEGRINO MOUNT
“The most beautiful promontory in the world", as Goethe called it, is part of a reserve of over 1000 hectares. The mountain is a carbonatic massif with sheer cliffs, interrupted by the splendid Porco valley and by the numerous caves of marine origin, places of ancient human settlements. An authentic kingdom of biodiversity inhabited by about 1000 species of plants (25 orchids), many of which are endemic, half of the species of mammals present in Sicily, reptiles, arthropods, nesting and migratory birds of exceptional importance in Sicily.
DAY 3 - AMONG TEMPLES, ISLES AND SALINE
MUSEO GIUSEPPE WHITAKER
Nel 1902, “Pip Whitaker” acquistò l’Isola, riconoscendone lo straordinario valore ambientale ed archeologico. “Pip” esplorò Mozia portando alla luce ampi tratti di mura, le porte urbiche e diverse parti dei monumenti maggiori che costellavano l’isola, dal Kothon al Santuario del Cappiddazzu, al Tofet. 45 ettari di resti archeologici testimoni della presenza dei Fenici nella Sicilia occidentale, al centro del Mediterraneo, sepolti sotto una basso strato di terreno agricolo formatosi in secoli di abbandono. Raccolse nella Palazzina sull’isola una ricchissima collezione di reperti, alcuni provenienti dalla vicina Lilibeo o dalla prospiciente Birgi, sulla terraferma con cui Mozia era collegata da una strada, oggi sommersa. Il piccolo, ma prezioso Museo, ampliato nel 2001, contiene la statua dell’Auriga di Mozia, opera di stile arcaico-ionico, risalente al V° sec. a.C., che domina, in solitudine, la sala con il lucernario, proprio di fronte l’ingresso, che era il cortile di casa Whitaker.
GIUSEPPE WHITAKER MUSEUM
In 1902, "Pip Whitaker" bought the island recognizing its extraordinary environmental and archaeological value. "Pip" explored Mozia revealing large tracts of walls, urban gates and several parts of the major monuments that dotted the island, from the Kothon to the Sanctuary of Cappiddazzu, to the Tofet. 45 hectares of archaeological remains testify the presence of the Phoenicians in western Sicily, in the middle of the Mediterranean, whose traces are buried under a low layer of agricultural land formed in centuries of neglect. In the Palazzina on the island, Joseph kept a very rich collection of findings, some coming from Lilibeo or from the facing Birgi, on the mainland with which Mozia was connected by a now submerged road. The small but precious Museum, enlarged in 2001, contains the statue of Auriga di Mozia, an archaic-Ionic style sculpture dating back to the 5th century BC, which dominates in solitude the hall with the skylight, just opposite the entrance, that was the backyard of the Whitaker house.
LILIBEO REGIONAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM OF BAGLIO ANSELMI, MARSALA
The Museum is located in Capo Boeo, Marsala and houses a specimen of Punic ship and, since December 2015, the Roman ship has been brought into the small port of Marausa.
MONDAY, JULY 8, 2019
-
Visit to the Segesta Archaeological Park.
-
Light trekking in the Oriented Reserve of Salt Pans of Trapani and Paceco (RAMSAR area of international relevance).
- Visit to the archaeological site of Motya and Giuseppe Whitaker Archaeological Museum.
- Visit to the Lilibeo Regional Archaeological Museum of Baglio Anselmi in Marsala
- At sunset dinner overlooking the Stagnone Lagoon.
PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DI SEGESTA
Il sito (Elimo/Sikano) fu edificato sul fianco del Monte Barbaro, nel Bronzo medio. La visita al tempio dorico (V sec. a.C.) e al teatro, posizionato in cima ad un colle che guarda il tramonto, in ottime condizioni di conservazione, si estende alla zona medievale col vecchio quartiere e le mura di cinta, al castello, alla chiesa normanna e alla moschea, sino al sistema fortificato di Porta di Valle.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK OF SEGESTA
The site (Elimo/Sikano) was set on the side of Mount Barbaro, in the Middle Bronze Age. The visit to the Doric temple (5th century BC) and to the theater, in excellent conditions of conservation and set on top of a hill overlooking the sunset, will be followed by the visit to the medieval quarter with the castle, to the remains of the Norman church, to the mosque, and to the fortified defensive system of Porta di Valle.
ORIENTED RESERVE OF SALT PANS OF TRAPANI AND PACECO
The salt pans between Trapani and Marsala are a rare testimony of a humid, productive environment in the strict respect of nature. The architecture of the salt pans covers the pre-reserve area of the Oriented Nature Reserve of the Islands of Stagnone. It consists of various orders of tanks with their own specific function, connected by wooden gates and canals. They constitute one of the most original and fascinating landscapes of the Sicilian land. The salt pans can produce up to ten thousand tons of whole sea salt every year. This area is strongly linked to the migratory flows of African birds, with rare halophytes plants such as the Cynomorium coccineum.
MOZIA
From the end of the 12th century BC, Mozia was an emporium for Phoenician merchants-navigators. The Phoenician name was Mtw or Hmtw, as shown by the monetary legends; whereas the Greek name, Motye, Μοτύη, is cited by Thucydides. After the battle of Himera, fought between the Greeks and the Punics in 480 BC, it represented the most western bulwark of the Punic people along with Solunto and Panormus. The site is testified by a settlement of the end of the 8th century BC, preceded by a sporadic and rather modest protohistoric phase. After the battle of the Egadi Islands in 241 BC, the whole Sicily passed under the dominion of Rome, with the exception of Syracuse; Mozia was abandoned, there are very few traces of new acquaintance, with individual Roman villas.
DAY 4 - GREEK COLONIES IN THE SOUTH WEST
KOLYMBETHRA GARDEN
It is an archaeological site of great naturalistic and landscape importance, in a small valley in the heart of the Valley of the Temples in Agrigento, managed by the Italian Environment Fund (FAI website). It is characterized by the citrus grove area, that of the almond-olive grove, a third area rich in plants typical of the Mediterranean scrub, an area with riparian vegetation, hydrophilous plants such as common reed or castor and an area with rock vegetation such as the dwarf palm, the common gorse and the caper. Inside the Garden there are the "Feaci Aqueducts" dating back to the fifth century. B.C. (the only hypogea to be visited in the Valley of the Temples, along a path that develops underground for about 185 metres)
TUESDAY, JULY 9, 2019
-
Light trekking to the ZSC of the Cusa Quarries (part of the Archaeological Parck of Selinunte and Cusa Quarries).
-
Visit to the Valle dei Templi, UNESCO site, and of the Kolhymbethra Garden.
-
Dinner at the Lake in the Special Reserve of Pergusa.
ZONA SPECIALE DI CONSERVAZIONE DELLE CAVE DI CUSA
In the territory of Campobello di Mazara (TP), sstands the archaeological area of the Cave di Cusa: unique in the archaeological panorama of the Mediterranean, evidence of the ancient Greek-Megalese civilization of the 7th century BC The calcarenitic stone quarries, formerly known as Ramuxara or Damus-ara (hot quarry), still present themselves today as open-air quarries, totally immersed in the green of intensive cultivation and are an integral part of the Archaeological Park of Selinunte and Cave di Cusa, (the largest archaeological area in Europe). The large blocks of sandstone tuff extracted in the Cusa Quarries were used to build the Selinuntian temples, a notable example of the ancient Doric architectural order. The blocks, already marked and carved to become part of columns and architraves, suggest to visitors the whole work process that, centuries ago, engaged slaves and craftsmen in a hard work of extraction and transport.
VALLEY OF THE TEMPLES
It is one of the largest, representative and best preserved archaeological sites of classical Greek civilization, inserted in 1998 in the list of World Heritage Sites by UNESCO. The polis, who gave to the city the same name of Ἀκράγας (Akragas) of the river of bathing the territory (i.e. Ἀκράγας, Akragas), was founded in 581 BC by some inhabitants of Gela, originating from the islands of Rhodes and Crete. It was one of the main cities of the ancient world, an important urban center both economically and politically. The settlement was protected in the sixth century by a defensive system, consisting of a circuit of walls based on the topographical features of the place, consisting of the plateau on the side of hills that dominated the coast, of which the "valley of the temples" occupied the margin south.
PERGUSA LAKE
The only natural lake now present in Sicily, a few kilometers from Enna, is of modest dimensions but of great geological, faunal and cultural importance. The first Special Nature Reserve of the Sicilian Region was established here, while the European Union classified it as SIC (Site of Community Interest).
DAY 5 - A JOURNEY THROUGH THE LAND OF CERERE
AIDONE AND ITS ARCHAEOLOGICAL MUSEUM
Aidone is located in one of the most interesting cultural and naturalistic areas of central Sicily, covered of natural and artificial forests. The Museum, located in the 17th century convent of the Capuchin Fathers with the church dedicated to St. Francis, illustrates the history of the archaeological site of Morgantina, from the Bronze Age to the Roman-Republican age, whose excavations were carried out from the '50s. The collections, exhibited in 11 rooms in accordance to chronological and thematic criteria, consist of ceramics, silver, acroliths of the goddesses, architectural elements and thermal baths of Morgantina. It hosts the Venus of Morgantina, a statue of a treacherous limestone school with an acrolithic technique: maybe the goddess Demeter.
WEDNESDAY, JULY10, 2019
-
Visit to the Enna Geo Park: the Hennaion, the Castle of Lombardia and the Fortress of Cerere.
-
Easy trekking down the “Via Sacra”.
-
Visit to the Archaological Park of Morgantina.
-
Visit to the Aidone Archaeological Museum.
-
Visit to the Villa Romana del Casale (UNESCO site) in Piazza Armerina.
-
Dinner in Scoglitti, on the coast near the archaeological area of Kamarina.
ROCCA DI CERERE UNESCO GLOBAL GEO PARK
The Rocca di Cerere Geopark, which became Geoparco in 2008 and UNESCO Global Geopark in 2015, is characterized by the extraordinary nature of its geological heritage, its high geodiversity, the presence of a sustainable development strategy implemented through the principles of sharing and collaboration with the other local actors and an intense geotourism activity that integrates and completes the environmental education proposals.
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK OF MORGANTINA
The oldest traces of frequentation of the site belong to the early Bronze Age (2100 -1600 BC). The village belonged to the culture of Castelluccio and to the subsequent culture of Thapsos. Mycenaean and Sub mycenaean ceramics have also been found on the site. From the 14th century BC until the 11th century BC the Siculian population coming from central Italy reached Sicily in successive waves, hunting the natives, the Sikani, in the western part of the island. In the 8th century BC Sicily was affected by the Greek colonization. The Chalcidian settlers, assimilating the religiosity of the natives, transformed the Mother Goddess into their Greek divinities Demeter and Persephone; in 450 BC, the territory of Morgantina passed into the orbit of Syracuse and was later sold to Camarina in 424 BC in exchange for a sum of money. In 392 BC hosted the Punic army led by Magone. After the Roman conquest, the walls were demolished and the town was considerably reduced, but the city continued to live as an important commercial hub for the production of pottery in the kilns and especially for the production of cereals (wheat, barley), oil and wine.
VILLA ROMANA DEL CASALE
The Roman Villa del Casale in Piazza Armerina is the supreme example of late Roman Imperial luxury villa and symbolizes the use of the territory by the Romans as the centre of the great property on which the rural economy of the West Roman Empire was based. Famous for the richness and the quality of its mosaics (4th century AD), which are recognized as the most beautiful Roman mosaics in situ, it testifies in its mosaic treasure the life habits of the dominant Roman class and shows the mutual influences between cultures and exchanges in the ancient Mediterranean - between the Roman world and the North African area. The villa is developed in 48 rooms (about 3500 square metres of surface) covered with mosaics in perfect condition, perhaps executed by African masters, with scenes of everyday life, depictions of heroes and deities, hunting and games scenes, allowing retracing the history of the greatest Empires. Since 1997 it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
DAY 6 - IN THE KINGDOM OF SYRACUSEUS
CATANIA, JEWEL OF THE UNESCO BAROQUE ARCHITECTURE
Catania is a rich example of Baroque architecture, since 2002 in the list of UNESCO heritage sites of the Val di Noto. Its peculiarity is the use of lava black stone, recognizable in the black and white facades of the Baroque palaces and churches. The scenic and straight streets of the historic center, rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693, flow into the main street of the city, via Etnea. Unique the Giardino Bellini, full of tree-lined avenues and fountains, and the fish market.
KAMARINA
The polis of Kamarina was founded at the beginning of the VI century BC. (598 BC - 597 BC) by the ancient Doric Greek gods, on the fertile promontory bordered by the Ippari rivers to the north and Oanis to the south. Having become an important agricultural center for the flourishing commercial traffic of the Hyblaean hinterland, the colony soon came into conflict with the mother city. Kamarina was later defeated by the Syracusans and their allies in 552 BC. The sources attest that the population was exiled; however, the excavation of the settlement witnesses a continuity of uninterrupted life throughout the sixth century BC.
THURSDAY, JULY 11, 2019
-
Visit to the Camarina Archaeological Parka
-
Easy trekking in the Archaeological Park of Cava Ispica and the Necropolis of Pantalica (Oriented Pantalica Nature Reserve)
-
Farewell dinner in Catania, UNESCO Baroque city
ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARK OF CAVA ISPICA
Cava Ispica is a river valley that for 13 km cuts the Ibleo plateau, between the cities of Modica and Ispica. The valley, immersed in the typical Mediterranean vegetation, contains prehistoric necropolis, Christian catacombs, rock oratories, monastic hermitages and various types of housing that have been continuously running since Prehistory (Early Bronze Age) until at least the fourteenth century.
NECROPOLIS OF PANTALICA
The site is one of the most important Sicilian protohistoric places, from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age on the island. In 2005 the site was awarded, together with the city of Syracuse, the UNESCO World Heritage title for the high profile of history, archaeology, speleology and landscape. The town of Pantalica has given the name to a famous story by Vincenzo Consolo, "The stones of Pantalica", in which the plateau becomes a metaphor of man's journey.
TOUR EXTENSION
DAYS 7-8-9 GIORNO - UNESCO ARAB NORMAN
CATACOMBS OF PORTA D'OSSUNA
The Paleochristian catacomb of Porta d'Ossuna certainly represents the most monumental testimony of the first Christianity in Sicily, as well as of the city of Palermo in the late antique age. It is a vast hypogean cemetery, located in the natural depression of Palireto, to the north-west of the city. The complex was discovered in 1739 during the construction of the Cappuccinelle convent and explored by the Prince of Torremuzza, while in 1907 it was studied for the first time by Joseph Führer and Victor Schultze. During the Second World War the catacombs were used as shelter by the population to take shelter from the bombings.
CASTLE OF MAREDOLCE OR FAWARAH
Built in the Arab period between 998 and 1019 as a suburban dwelling, it was one of the "solatii regii", places of delight of the Norman sovereigns, characterized by gardens and fishponds fed by an existing source at the foot of the Mount (the source of the Fawwarah).
FRIDAY - SATURDAY - SUNDAY , JULY 12-13-14 2019
-
Visit to Cefalù and the Cathedral Church (UNESCO)
-
Visit to Monreale and the Cathedral Church (UNESCO)
-
Visit of the Arab-Norman UNESCO route in Palermo (Royal Palace or Norman Palace, Palatine Chapel, Cathedral, Church of San Giovanni degli Eremiti, Church of Santa Maria dell'Ammiraglio or Martorana, Church of San Cataldo, Castello della Zisa, Ponte dell'Ammiraglio).
-
Visit to the Castle of Maredolce, of Qanat and of the Catacombs of Porta d'Ossuna in Palermo
KAMARINA
La polis di Kamarina venne fondata agli inizi del VI secolo a.C. (598 a.C. - 597 a.C.) dagli antichi greci dorici siracusani, sul fertile promontorio delimitato dai fiumi Ippari a nord e Oanis a sud. Divenuta un importante centro agricolo per i fiorenti traffici commerciali dell'entroterra ibleo, la colonia entrò presto in conflitto con la città-madre. Kamarina venne in seguito sconfitta dai siracusani e i loro alleati nel 552 a.C. Le fonti attestano che la popolazione fu esiliata; tuttavia, lo scavo dell'insediamento attesta una continuità di vita ininterrotta nell'arco dell'intero VI secolo a.C.
QANAT
The Qanat of Palermo are a huge hydraulic engineering work built under the city, starting from the Arab era: channels that, following the particular conformations of the ground and the friable morphology of the rock, were built to bring water to the surface, intercepting the natural ground layers. This technique, of Persian origin, performed by particular professionals, called muqanni gave rise to various qanat made in Palermo between the Arab domination and the end of the Norman domination. Their peculiarity compared to the oriental qanat is the absence of a real feed well, replaced by an extensive tunnel located upstream. Besides being a primary source of water, many qanat were also used to cool the rooms during the hot days of the sirocco. Thanks to the particular air flows, suitably conveyed, a lower temperature could be obtained in them than the external environment.
VIDEO GALLERY
COSTS AND TECHNICAL-ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS
COSTS
The fee for the 7 days (July 6-12, 2019) is equal to:
-
€ 900,00 (one-way flight Milan-Palermo included for bookings by March 31, 2019).
Price for bookings after March 31, 2019:
-
€ 950,00 (flight not included)
-
€ 850,00 (flight not included; price reserved only for the participants to the 10th IALE World Congress and for students).
The cost includes:
- Full week itinerant excursion with the main transfers by GT coach, tourist insurance and licensed tour guide and/or accompanying service.
- 6 overnights in a double room at the hotel (minimum 3 stars) or B&B. Single room accommodations, upon request and subject to availability, can be arranged at an additional charge.
- Half board (breakfast plus restaurant lunch or dinner). Outdoor packed lunches will be provided on sites without food places.
Deadline for reservation: May 31, 2019.
FURTHER DETAILS
It will be possible to book the tour by May 31, 2019 by contacting the organization and paying a deposit of € 285.00 (reduced to € 255.00 for participants to the 10th IALE World Congress and for students).
Payments can be made:
1) by bank transfer to the corrent account held by:
Kòrai - Territorio, Sviluppo e Cultura - Scarl i.s. ETS
IBAN: IT76N0503404600000000004048
SWIFT: BAPPIT21P80
2) by PayPal using this link: https://www.paypal.me/koraicultura
A certificate of participation will be issued to those who request it for academic or student portfolio reasons.
For detailed information and booking of the tour and its possible extension, please contact the organization by filling in the form below or mailing at korai@korai.it
Ask us for the detailed program!
Further details will be sent to you by email at your request.
We are waiting for you in Sicily!
BOOKING
RECEIVE OUR NEWSLETTER!
FOLLOW US!
FEEL FREE TO WRITE TO US
Korai - Territorio, Sviluppo e Cultura
Via Mariano Stabile, 221 - 90141 - Palermo, Italia
Tel +39 091 334625 - www.korai.it