Central Sicily
Villa Romana del Casale is sumptuous, even by decadent Roman standards, and is thought to have been the country retreat of Marcus Aurelius Maximianus,…
Andrew Montgomery
Central Sicily
Sicily's wild and empty interior is a beautiful, uncompromising land; a timeless landscape of silent, sunburnt peaks, grey stone villages and forgotten valleys. Traditions live on and life is lived at a gentle, rural pace. It's an area that encourages simple pleasures – long lunches of earthy country food, meanders through hilltop towns, quiet contemplation over undulating vistas. It’s also an area of surprising natural diversity – one minute you’re driving through rolling hills reminiscent of Tuscany, the next through pockets of eucalypt bush akin to Australia.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
Scalinata di Santa Maria del Monte
Central Sicily
Caltagirone's most evocative sight is this monumental staircase, which rises from Piazza Municipio to Chiesa di Santa Maria del Monte. Built in the early…
Central Sicily
One of a series of apartments on one side of the Ambulacro, the triclinium boasts a splendid floor illustration of the labours of Hercules, where the…
Central Sicily
A 16km drive northeast of Piazza Armerina (and a 4km downhill drive from the town of Aidone) lie the noteworthy remains of Morgantina, an ancient Greek…
Central Sicily
Of the rooms on the northern side of the peristyle, the most interesting is a dining room featuring a hunting mosaic called the Little Hunt – 'little'…
Central Sicily
Just off the southern end of the Ambulacro della Grande Caccia, in the Sala delle Dieci Ragazze, is the villa's most famous mosaic. It depicts nine …
Central Sicily
The main part of the villa is centred on the peristyle, a vast covered courtyard lined with amusing animal heads. This is where guests would have been…
Central Sicily
The palaestra wows with a splendid, sweeping mosaic depicting a chariot race at the Circus Maximus in Rome (the room is also known as the Salone del Circo…
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