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Italy Villa Romana del Casale

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  • Italia 2024
    6
    2153222
    Day 28

    Caltagirone (Sicily)

    September 9, 2024 in Italy ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

    Today we arrived in Caltagirone, one of the eight late Baroque UNESCO Towns of the Val di Noto in south-eastern Sicily. Caltagirone is a very charming town, set in the mountains and is known particularly for ceramic production as it has done for millennia as you will see in the photos. The town centres around the Santa Maria del Monte Stairway detailed with ceramics and around which many ceramic stores exist. The Bell tower we went up is at the top of the stairs.Read more

  • TravelerEuropa Reise
    1111
    Day 29

    Fahrt dür Sizilie und no meh Mosaik

    May 1, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Hüt heimer eh Fahrt-Tag gmacht und si dürs Land gfahre. Hei are Quelle üse Wassertank gefüllt u zum Abschluss heimer no eh römische Villa bsuecht, so Mosaik si eifach wük beihdruckend.
    U ijz düemer no luege wo mer de d'Nacht vrbringe.Read more

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  • TravelerSicily 2024, Italy
    Day 1

    Butera

    January 13, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C

    Today I drove with two girls from the house to Butera. This is a place on the mountain that is definitely busy in summer.

    Now in winter there are no tourists to be seen anywhere and we were able to stroll through the streets unmolested.

    It's really a nice little town with a great atmosphere and a great view. Well, there was also a great corretto and great arrancini, but more on that later 😋.    Read more

  • TravelerItaly to Turkey 2025
    1
    Day 11

    Dinner in Mazzarino

    May 5 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We have become locals! A week ago we were commenting on how close to the road everyone is sitting. Found this friendly little local bar and watched the world go by. Farmer parked up on his tractor and went in for a coffee shot! Very few helmets or safety gear. Babies in the front on laps. Constant mobile phone use but very little seatbelt use. From the bar to local restaurant recommended by our host. Milton had a feast!Read more

  • PaDa on TourSizilien & Ital. Adriaküste
    21
    Day 13

    Piazza Armerina, Aidone, Caltagirone

    February 16 in Italy ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    Das Wetter ist gut, die Sonne scheint und es ist Sonntag! Gestern Abend haben wir die Planung für heute gemacht, es soll in die Berge gehen. Wir fahren nicht wie alle nach Enna, sondern zuerst in ein kleines Bergdorf mit Namen Piazza Armerina. Das Dorf liegt malerisch auf drei Hügeln. Nebst der malerischen Altstadt gibt es die grosse Cattedrale Santissima Assunta. Wir sind gerade da, als die Messe kurz vor Ende ist.

    Weiter geht es nach Aidone, auch das ein kleines Bergdorf. Unser Navi führt uns zuerst um das Dorf, um anschliessend direkt in die Altstadt zu fahren, was durch die engen Gassen mit dem 7 Meter Mobil einfach nicht möglich ist. Also zurück setzen, irgendwie umkehren und die Sache von der anderen Seite her probieren. Wir haben es geschafft und sogar auf dem grössten Platz der Gemeinde, sämtliche Parkplätze für uns. Niemand ist unterwegs nicht mal Einheimische. Das archäologische Museum ist natürlich geschlossen und auch sonst hat uns dieses Städtchen jetzt nicht grad vom Hocker gerissen.

    Also weiter nach Caltagirone, durch wirklich schöne Berglandschaften, immer wieder durch Kaktusplantagen und viel grün. Es ist hier sehr landwirtschaftlich geprägt.
    Caltagirone ist bekannt als die sizilianische Hauptstadt der Keramik und als Teil des Welterbes Val di Noto. Viele schöne Kirchen und vor allem die 142 stufige Treppe, die zur Kirche Santa Maria del Monte führt und mit Keramikplatten belegt ist, sieht wirklich beeindruckend aus. Ansonsten sind viele alte Gebäude leider in einem schlechten Zustand, es fehlt wie überall das Geld für die dringend nötigen Renovationen.

    Heute Abend beschliessen wir auf einem Camper von Agriturismo zu übernachten. Das sind Bauern die einen Teil ihres Landes als Camperplätze zur Verfügung stellen. Irgendwo im grünen wunderschön gelegen, abseits von allem, wunderschön! Tania stellt sogar ihr Gemüse (zum selber pflücken) und die Eier ihrer Hühner zur Verfügung.
    Nachdem ich heute auch noch eine Gasflasche gefunden habe, kann unserem Grillen nichts mehr im Wege stehen! Heute gibt es eine Gemüsetajine (Erinnerungen an Marokko werden wach) sehr fein und gesund! Wir freuen uns auf eine total ruhige Nacht, mal ohne Meeresrauschen.    Read more

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  • TravelerEngland and Europe 2024
    1
    Day 57

    Palermo

    August 12, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    We hired a car and spent a day getting from the bottom of Sicily to the top. Initially it was quite flat with lots of orange trees, then the landscape became rugged and dry with what looked like wheat being grown.

    Our drive took us to Villa Romana del Casale, a UNESCO world heritage site. The villa is very large and there are stunning mosaics everywhere, all very well preserved.

    Then onto Palermo, the Mafia centre of Italy. On our first morning we did a tour run by an anti-mafia organisation. I’m not sure how this organisation is still running! The mafia is everywhere in Palermo with the majority of business being forced to pay money to them throughout the year. It was a fascinating tour and we learnt how the face of the mafia has changed. They are no longer uneducated thugs; now they have University degrees and are embedded in government and big business throughout Italy.

    We are staying in the historic part of Palermo with small winding streets, graffiti everywhere and dirty buildings. Many historic buildings, including the huge opera house, are just falling apart. Corruption and the Mafia work at all government levels and there is little money for restoration. Churches and the Royal Palace (where the Sicilian government sits) are spectacular, but the rest of the city is faded and in decline.

    Food has been amazing! Lots of delicious seafood 😋 Starting the journey home on Saturday. Looking forward to some cooler weather! 🥵    Read more

  • TravelerOn the road again
    Day 125–130

    Bio Villagerace (Enna)

    July 15, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☀️ 36 °C

    ok/ 20.07.. wir haben uns ins Inland verzogen auf einen Agriturismo. Der Ort war sehr schön. Statt Meer hatten wir einen Pool, gutes Essen und nette Bekanntschaften. Caro und Sascha waren wirklich toll und wir hoffen, uns nochmal zu treffen. Es war nur sehr sehr heiß! Bei fast 40 Grad wurden wir gebraten. Morgens gab es frische Maulbeeren und Pflaumen. Super lecker. Dennis musste noch zum Zahnarzt und wir haben beim Ausparken den Fahrradträger kaputt gemacht. Jetzt brauchen wir eine Werkstatt. Läuft! Jetzt geht es aber erstmal weiter zum Fuß des Etnas. Wir holen Emily und beziehen ein Airbnb am Meer.Read more

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  • TravelerSicily 2024, Italy
    Day 28

    Arrancini

    February 9, 2024 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    I found really delicious arrancini. They were extremely fresh and especially the ones with spinach were very tasty. I've eaten arrancini many times and there were a lot of them that didn't taste particularly good, but I can highly recommend this one from the Rusticante Panineria in Butera.

    Arancini, also arancine, are rice balls that are stuffed, coated with breadcrumbs and deep-fried. They are a staple of Sicilian cuisine. The most common arancini fillings are: al ragù or al sugo, filled with ragù (meat or mince, slow-cooked at low temperature with tomato sauce and spices), mozzarella or caciocavallo cheese, and often peas, and al burro or ô burru, filled with ham and mozzarella or besciamella.

    A number of regional variants exist which differ in their fillings and shape. Arancini al ragù produced in eastern Sicily particularly cities such as Catania & Messina have a conical shape inspired by the volcano Etna.

    They are said to have originated in 10th-century Sicily, at a time when the island was under Arab rule. Its origins may therefore be possibly the same as Levantine kibbeh.

    In the cities of Palermo, Siracusa, and Trapani in Sicily, arancini are a traditional food for the feast of Santa Lucia on 13 December, when bread and pasta are not eaten. This commemorates the arrival of a grain supply ship on Santa Lucia's day in 1646, relieving a severe famine.

    Today, with the increasing popularity of this finger food in modern Italian food culture, arancini are found all year round at most Sicilian food outlets, particularly in Palermo, Messina and Catania. The dish was traditionally created to provide a full meal to Federico II di Svevia during his hunting activities.

    So it you are around, try theses ones!    Read more

  • TravelerSICILY/UK/FRANCE 2023
    Day 17

    Piazza Amerina - good and bad!

    May 30, 2023 in Italy ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

    Our final breakfast with Duke (or Don) Diego was once again lovely and we really valued his helpful, friendly assistance.
    However, this morning when we set out the little roads totally stuffed us around again! Eventually, we got onto the bigger roads BUT around very hilly, winding Ragusa the GPS which is not coping well, took us on the coastal road to Gela instead of northwards to Piazza Armerina. Never mind we did get the better road ultimately and with a little bit of Italian help and a wonderful Italian speaker called Lina 😉, we did find our place for the night called B&B Giucalem. After a quick turnaround, leaving our bags we next went to the brilliant Villa Romana del Casale which is the reason we came here. This is a large and elaborate Roman villa or palace. Excavations have revealed one of the richest, largest, and most varied collections of Roman mosaics in the world, for which the site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The villa and artwork contained within, date to the early 4th century AD.
    The mosaics cover some 3,500 m2 and are almost unique in their excellent state of preservation due to the landslide and floods that covered the remains. An extraordinary collection of frescoes covered not only the interior rooms, but also the exterior walls. Anyway, we all agreed it was worth all the driving hassle and THEN A MASSIVE STORM HIT. Craig and I just made it to the car and waited a long time for Janet and Sinclair to eventually make it also. Getting back to our accommodation was also tricky. No power, no internet, no hot water because of the storm. It did all eventually come back but then the owner told us that the meal they were going to provide was not possible but eventually he said he would take us to a restaurant. Lots of painful things today but the mosaics were certainly worth it.    Read more

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