Temple of Hera at Selinunte, built in 470 BC but destroyed by the Carthaginians in 409 BC. It was restored, termed Anastylosis in 1959 AD
Temple of Hera, referred to as Temple E
Temple of Concord at the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento, Built in 450 BC
Temple of Juno, Hera for the ancient Greeks, in the Valley of the Temples at Agrigento.
Shepherds in front of the Temple of Concord in the early 20 th .century.
Tourists in front of the Temple of Concord with the new concrete box city of Agrigento in the distance. Very much in the style of the photographer Martin Parr.The ruins were visited by the architect John Soane when young according to Christopher Woodward in his book 'In Ruins".
Columns of the Temple at Segesta
Columns of the Greek Temple of Athena [450 BC] recycled to form the inner wall of the Baroque Duomo in Ortiga, Syracuse. Possibly one of the oldest sites of continuous worship, a shrine to goddesses and saints, in this case Saint Lucia. See article at the end of this post.
This metope is from the Temple in Selinunte, [460BC] discovered in the mid 19 th. century and now in the Museum in Palermo
, It features Actaeon being devoured by his dogs at the instigation of the Goddess Artemis. A slightly "MeToo" story, the virgin Goddess Artemis, Diana, was bathing naked in her sacred spring when the hunter Actaeon stumbled across her. He stopped and stared, amazed at her ravishing beauty. In one version he attempts to force himself upon her. She resists and to protect herself changed him into a stag who was killed by his own hunting dogs
The same myth painted by Titian in 1559 AD, "The Death of Action". Now in the national gallery in London.
One of the small Metopes from an earlier temple at Selinunte [560-550 BC]"The Rape of Europa by Zeus"
The same myth painted by Frans Wouters in 1650.
A metope of the sacred nuptuals of the two major Olympian divinities; Zeus and Hera. Heraq, the jealous wife of Zeus was originally the Great Goddess figure of the pre Greek Minoan pantheon. . She lost out to Aphrodite in the Judgement of Paris,
Unknown painting of Zeus and Hera. Peter Paul Rubens painted one which is now in the Louvre.
Zeus, his mother was Rhea, mother of the Gods. Statue from the Museum of Palermo
Christ, whose mother was Mary, Mother of God. Mosaic from the Norman church of La Martorana in Palermo
Arab Norman Churches in Palermo; Santa Maria dell' Ammiraglio "La Martorana". [1143] The church has a frieze of a Byzantine Hymn in Arabic to Admiral George of Antioch, and a dedication in Greek script of Latin words to Count Roger "Rogerios Rex" , truly cosmopolitan.
The Cappella Palatina in Palermo [1132] fusing Latin, Byzantine and Islamic traditions, Latin layout, Byzantine decoration, Islamic ceiling with early Arabic painting.
Byzantine Mosaic of Adam and Eve in the Cappella Palatina in the Palazzo Reale in Palermo. Note that both Adam and Eve are eating the apples, thus equally responsible. Built by Roger II [1132-40]
Mosaic of Adam and Eve from the Monreale Church outside Palermo. Built by King William II in 1172. He was the grandson of Roger II. He married Joanna daughter of King Henry II of England and his wife Eleanor of Aquitain.
Adam and Eve on a capital from the Norman style cloisters of Monreale, again dating from King William II
A twin capital from Monreale cloister with twin tailed mermaid
Birth of Eve from Adam's rib, from the Monreale church
From the Cappella Palatina in Palermo, featuring the immaculate conception
Sicilian Baroque, post major earthquack of 1693.
Chiesa di San Dominico by Rosaria Gagliardi ot Noto
Duomo in Ortigia, Syracuse , by Andrea Palma.
Punta Secca, "home" of Commissario Montalbano, the famous fictitious Sicilian detective. Now a tourist attraction with coach loads from all over the world.
Postcard of "La Vigata del Commissario Montalbano" superimposed in front of the town hall of the town of Scicli
Famous mosaic from Palermo as used by the upmarket brand "Ortigia". Echoes of the Tree of Life
Entrance mosaic to Peter Jones Department Store on Sloane Square, built in 1930's. Not similarity
The Harbour at Ortigia by the English artist and illustrator Paul Hogarth [1917-2002}
Same view taken in October 2018
View over Palermo with Mount Pellegrona in the distance by Carl Rottmann [1797-1850], painted in 1828
Similar view from the port of Palermo, badly damaged during the 2WW
View of Mount Etna from the town of Taormina by John Brett [1831-1902]
View of the ancient Greeco-Roman theatre by Archille Michallon [1796-18822] from the town of Taormina with Mount Etna in the distance
Same view in September 2017
Same view in September 2017
Postcard of Mount Etna erupting
Print of Mount Etna by L.F. Cassas in 1783
"You see, it worked" The solution, cork from a nice bottle of Nero d'Avola red wine from Sicily
Famous painting by the Antonello da Messina [1430-1479] of the "Annunciation " in the Palazzo Abatellis Galleria in Palermo.
Image used in advertisement for a local wine
"the Triumph of Death" in the Palazzo Abatellis Galleria in Palermo
Detail, with strong echoes of the horse in The Guernica by Pablo Picasso.
Market in Palermo
View of Modica
a Selfie of the Wife and the author in Sicily
Lunch on the beach at Selinunte
Bar in Palermo
Hotel balcony in Syracuse
A Carnet de Voyage, a collage of ephemera from our visits to Sicily.
Syracuse Cathedral
Detail from the painting in the Gallery in Palermo
Detail from Picasso's Guernica of the horse, Similar ?
