It was the year that Australia made it to the final sixteen of the World Cup. We watched the qualifying rounds at an outdoor bar in St. Vito La Cappo on the far north west corner of Sicily. It was extremely hot - 100 degrees in the shade type of weather, except that there was no shade. We were the only English speaking people in the town and certainly the only people barracking (loudly) for Australia in an outdoor bar with a big screen television. We spent the days basking and swimming on acres of pristine white beach and in the late afternoons and evenings, in the waterside cafes and bars. Ahhh, memories!
This trip we have decided to do the historical sites rather than just the beaches and coastal magnificence. That is how we found our way to Segesta - an ancient Greek settlement in Sicily. And as history goes ... after the Greeks it was the Romans and then the Turks and so on.
In 260 BC the original Greek city surrendered to the Romans. Little is known about the city under Roman rule, but it is probable that the population gradually moved to the port city of Castellammare del Golfo due to better trading opportunities.
The ruins of the city are located on the top of Monte Bàrbaro at 305 m above sea level. The city was protected by steep slopes on several sides and by walls on the more gentle slope.
The hilltop offers a view over the valley towards the Gulf of Castellamare. The city controlled several major roads between the coast to the north and the hinterland.
Very little is known about the city plan. Aerial photography indicates a regular city plan, built in part on terraces to overcome the natural sloping terrain. The city appears to have been finally abandoned by the second half of the 13th century.
This is the view from the amphitheatre at the highest point, to the temple (rectangular shape, top centre) lower down the terrain.
And so we walk down ....
On a hill just outside the site of the ancient city of Segesta lies an unusually well preserved Greek Doric temple. It is thought to have been built in the 420's BC with six by fourteen columns on a base measuring 21 by 56 meters, on a platform three steps high.
Several elements suggest that the temple was never actually finished. The columns have not been fluted as they normally would have been in a Doric temple and there are still tabs present in the blocks of the base (used for lifting the blocks into place but then normally removed). It also lacks a cella and was never roofed over.
The temple is also unusual as the city was not mainly populated by Greeks and it lacks any painted or sculptured ornamentation, altar, and deity dedication. But it is still awe inspiring.
amazing pics
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