28 March, 2016

Marsala, Sicily

Today we left the hotel early heading for a busy day in Marsala on the west coast of Sicily. Our itinerary covered a winery, salt flat, and an island in the Marsala lagoon where excavations have revealed a Phoenician city.

Not having much interest in alcohol, I paid little attention to the tour and lingered at the back of the group taking pictures of the various parts of the facility. Being the day after Easter, it was a holiday and everything, including the winery, was closed. This meant that there were no people other than our small group in the facility. The variety of shapes and dim lighting provided a splendid opportunity to study through the lens my favorite subject – composition of light and line.

On our way to the island of Mozya, we stopped at the salt flat museum where the boats are docked and learned about the traditional method of extracting salt from the Mediterranean water. Using a combination of sun and wind, the water progresses through a series of ponds that increase the concentration of the brine until the last stage precipitates the salt crystals into a six inch layer in the pan.

The lagoon at Marsala is just under two meters depth, and in ancient times there was a road on a causeway allowing access. Today, due to rising sea level, it is 40-50 cm under water. In the early 20^th century, a local salt merchant suspecting that there was something to be found began private excavations after purchasing the island. His teams made the first discoveries of the ancient Phoenician city. Today there is a growing collection of found artifacts in a museum that was once his house. The centerpiece is the marble statue called the Youth of Mozya It is somewhat out of place in a Punic province, as it is Hellenistic period of ancient Greece. It shows the exquisite understanding of the human form and controposto – carrying it’s weight in a realistic and pleasing manner – as well as handling the draping of the cloth tunic. These are aspects of sculpture that were lost in the dark ages following the fall of the Roman Empire. There are many gravestones – stele – and artifacts from the necropolis, as well as pottery and other ceramic items found in the various temples and industrial sites around the 45 acre island. Following a very nice picnic lunch (four star, as the majority of meals on this tour have been) we walked to view an excavation at the south-east of the island. Once thought to have been a shipbuilding center with a dry dock, it has recently been discovered that it was a holy site with a large temple of Ba’al and the square basin (constructed to the proportions of the golden ratio – 1:1.618) was actually a spring fed sacred pool.

The winter has passed here in Sicilia, and all around flowers are starting to bloom, the hillsides covered in an ever growing explosion of yellow, with purples and reds interspersed here and there.

The bus is nearing today’s destination, the ancient Greek temples of Agrigento. So, I will leave you until next time.

Arrivederci!