Day 8, April 10th – Today is Pasquetta (day after Easter) and a national holiday in Sicily where families meet to barbecue and drink together. We were able to visit Villa Romana del Casale, before the crowds, and enjoyed a wine tasting with lunch in the countryside.
The very old structure had a furnace area to heat the water for the sauna and baths. This house dates to the 4th century AD, and was inhabited by very wealthy Romans. We are told they were bathed by their slaves every afternoon for several hours, in a mixed group of family and friends.
Almost every room of this ruin has intricate mosaics and each tells a different story. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa_Romana_del_Casale
The villa has large hallways with an animal theme. The mosaics were very intricate and many were exceptionally well preserved considering they were covered by mudslides for centuries.
One scene depicts the wild animals being loaded on a ship to be sent to Rome for use in the Colosseum events.
One room, Mary’s favorite, was designed to depict women athletes at a time when women were not allow to do anything. The woman in the center on the bottom row is depicted as the winner as she has and olive branch and a crown of roses.
The owner’s family had a private latrine. If you look closely you will see five slots or seats! There was plenty of water flowing throughout the Villa that was brought in via aqueducts.
One the way out we could see typical highways (Auto Strada)in Sicily, most are elevated due to the hilly terrain.
We saw fields of prickly pear, which we are told is used for jelly, jam and alcohol.
We had lunch and wine tasting at Tenute Senia Winery, a women owned family business.
All food and drink is farm-to-table food at this winery,
We took a quick photo in the vineyard. The vines are just starting
We traveled onto the city of Ragusa for the night approaching on a narrow winding road. We took a quick walk around Ragusa at night and took a few photos.