The very old city of Piazza
Armerina in Enna Province sits
in a landscape of densely treed
hills called the Erei
Mountains, at an elevation
of nearly 700 meters giving it a
spectacular view of the
surrounding countryside.
Truth be told, travelers visit
the city largely because it is
the nearest center to the
Villa Romana del Casale, a
few kilometers south. But,
Piazza Armerina has its own
charms.
The city is dominated by the
formidable Spinelli Castle,
an Aragonese castle built from
1392-1396 and a
Baroque
style cathedral whose dome can
be seen for miles around.
However, there are a number of
other notable churches to visit,
and the centro storico -
the historical center - offers
pleasant strolls and piazzas
fronted by an assortment of
Renaissance and Baroque era
palazzi and other buildings.
There are also a number of good
cafes, trattorias and
restaurants, particularly along
via Cavour, where you one can
while away the hours.
The area of the town has been
settled since pre-historic times
by one of the tribes that
inhabited Sicily before the
arrival of the Greeks.
There was probably a Greek
community here, though not much
is left of their habitation.
It seems to have been a
flourishing town during Roman
times, and it is obvious from
surviving buildings, monuments
and artifacts that Piazza (as it
was simply known until 1862) was
an important center after the
Norman
conquest of Sicily in the 11th
Century.
The massive Baroque style
Cathedral, which incorporates
both Norman
Gothic
and Catalan Gothic features, was
built over a long period of
time. The upper part dates
from the 16th century, the lower
was built during the late 17th
and early 18th centuries on the
foundations of an existing
church. The dome was
completed in 1768.
The adjacent Diocesan Museum
contains much of the old
treasure of the cathedral
including silveware,
reliquaries, sculpture, art
works and so on. Aslo
facing into the capacious Piazza
Duomo is the Palazzo Trigona,
built by the wealthy Trigona
family who commissioned much of
the building of the Duomo.
The Palazzo di Citta
(1700s) - home of the city
administration has some
interesting fresco work.
Other churches and religious
buildings of interest include
Chiesa di Santo Martino di Tours
(1163), the Hermitage of St.
Andrews dating to the 12th
century, Chiesa San
Giovanni Evangelista (14th
century) with very good interior
frescoes by Gugliemo
Borremans, Chiesa Santa
Maria del Gesu (16th
century) and the Chiesa di
Fundro (1613), dedicated to
Saint Roch, which has a
portal carved out of tufa.
Chiesa Sant'Anna has a curiously
concave portal. Just
outside town, one finds the
Priorato di Sant'Andrea, a
monastery founded by a nephew of
the first Norman King of Sicily,
Roger I.
On via Cavour behind the Duomo
is a hospital built originally
by the Franciscans in the 17th
century. It's bell tower
has a conical spire covered in
majolica tiles and its south
facing facade is graced with a
balcony, elegantly supported
with Baroque style brackets.
Villa Romana del Casale
The principal tourist attraction
in the area - about 7 km south
of Piazza Armerina - are the
ruins of a villa built by a
wealthy Roman patrician between
330 and 360 AD. It is one of the
largest and most lavish of such
villas to have survived the
ravages of time.
The villa, which is surprisingly
large, has been enclosed within
a glass and steel framework to
protect it from the elements and
to facilitate ongoing
archaeological work. Most
of the original foundations,
most of its walls and many of
its columns remain intact.
Archaeological evidence suggests
that the villa was built upon
the remains of an ancient
village dating to 100 or 200 AD.
There are many rooms, interior
courtyards, a lavatory system
and thermal bath (with various
pipes still intact) and other
areas that would have been
kitchens, pantries, servant
quarters and so on.
The mosaic floors and wall
decorations (covering an amazing
3500 square meters) show an
astounding range of imagery
depicting a certain kind of
Roman life - certainly not one
open to the middle or lower
classes. There are, for
instance, hunting scenes, and
scenes of scantily clothed,
nubile young women exercising
with dumbbells and other Roman
era gym equipment.