A lighter day today – a drive through the countryside of central Sicily to a roman villa at Casale outside Piazza Amerina – a modern town broadly two hours from Petralia Soprana.

It was well worth it – the villa was built in the 4th century and abandoned in the 12th.  At some point it was covered in a landslide and excavations only started in the 1930s so the mosaics in the villa are amazingly well preserved.  It’s a UNESCO site and has the largest collection of roman mosaics anywhere.

We were taken around by a guide, which was helpful for interpreting some of the symbolism of the mosaics.  The villa has numerous rooms and the designs in the mosaics are a guide to the use of the room and the intended users – public, private, the family or slaves.  

After that it was off to Enna – the major town in the centre of Sicily for lunch.  Still sorting out photos but there will be some!