Dog with a Blog in a Roman Villa

Buonasera! 

Today was not as eventful as some of our previous days in regards to historical visits. However, it was a major travel day and we did pass by many beautiful landscapes and eat some incredible food.

We started our day off by checking out of the hotel Alla Giudecca at 7:30 AM. While riding in taxis back to the bus lot, we had to say goodbye to our favorite view.

  

We were happily reunited with our fantastic bus driver Nicola as our day long journey (with fun stops) to Agrigento began. Our sleep deprivation had nothing on us. Today was about to be a great day.

After a two hour bus ride where we were prefaced with the history of Roman villas, we arrived at the stunning Villa Romana del Casale. 

Before we could enter the villa, we were greeted with the friendliest dog in Italy. He was just so cute, and he revived our spirits for the villa ahead. In particular, he bonded with Christina. We almost left her there!

A quick note on Roman villas:

The villa is the quintessential Roman structure, embodying typical Roman values along with an ambivalence in both style and function. The purpose of the villa was as a getaway from the urban life and a reconnection to the Roman roots, also tying in to a power dynamic between the wealthy, political elites and the general populous. The ambivalence focuses on whether the village should be rural or posh in nature, with the option of representing both sides. 

The Villa Romana del Casale contains water features, columns, mosaics, and fresco paintings. Villa Romana del Casale is one of the largest collections of Roman mosaics in the world.

I want to feature an influential mosaic which we analyzed in depth. The mosaic, roughly translated to “Girls in Bikinis,” depicts young women participating in physical activity and standing as victors of athletic events. This is significant due to the male dominance surrounding Roman athletics, largely caused by the hyper-masculine values held in this culture. A mosaic that depicts women not only participating in the athletic practices but also winning in sports competitions is rare and represents a new perspective on Roman culture that has not been discussed enough. Imagery such as a scar on the leg of the second woman in the bottom row signifies the strength and resilience of women perceived by the artist. Nike, the goddess of victory, was also represented in the bottom left, following the same theme of honoring women’s achievements in typically male-dominated activities.

Up next on our agenda was a visit to Agriturismo II Gigliotto. Our flavorful meal consisted of organic olives from the estate, Sicilian caponata, organic pearl wheat salad, warm ricotta, oven baked chicken with potatoes, and cassatelles (ricotta filled pastry dusted with powdered sugar). The view from the olive grove was stunning as we learned from sophomore Nicole McGinty on the impacts of organic farming in Italy.

Our last stretch of the journey today was a one and a half hour bus ride to our hotel in Agrigento. We then went our separate ways to shop at local grocery stores and find dinner. As always, the landscapes from our bus ride and hotel rooms were beautiful.

Overall, it was a travel-packed day with fun stops along the way. We can’t wait to continue on tomorrow and we miss olive you!

Ciao!

Coral Clark