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9 Dicembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 3 minuto di lettura

ARCHAEOLOGY | Nora, the fascination of an ancient Sardinian town

Nora stands on the peninsula that closes the Gulf of Cagliari to the south-west and was one of the major centers of Sardinia in Phoenician, Punic and Roman times; apart from the enchantment evoked by nature and the surrounding landscape, what is surprising is the sight of archaeological finds that testify to three thousand years of Sardinian history.

From the flowering to the decline

Thanks to its privileged geographical position within the commercial network of the ancient Mediterranean, it was inhabited since the Phoenician age (7th-6th century BC) and experienced a considerable development during the Punic phase (5th-2nd century BC). During the sixth century B.C., thanks to the domination of the Carthaginians, the city experienced a period of economic wealth due to the trade with Africa.

Sardinia becomes Roman in 238 B.C. After having entered in Rome’s political sphere, the city of Nora had a first phase of flowering in the second half of the I century B.C., when it became a municipium; the moment of maximum vitality was between the end of the II century A.D. and the following century. From the Severan age the town assumed its definitive urban structure, with the construction of a good part of the monuments that we still see today.

The slow and progressive abandonment occurred from the fifth century AD, probably due to the invasion of the Vandals, which led the population to move to safer areas of the hinterland, until complete abandonment in medieval times.

Currently, in the ancient Phoenician, Punic and then Roman commercial center we can observe the Phoenician necropolis, the housing complex and the Punic tophet.

Among the ancient paved streets in andesite, you can still admire one of the best preserved buildings of Nora, the beautiful theatre, built in the early first century BC. Impressive are the thermal baths, often decorated with magnificent mosaics dating from the 2nd to 4th century AD.

Various are the religious structures, such as the Punic Temple of Tanit, located on the hill which bears the same name, and the II-III century AD sanctuary of Aesculapius.

There are also numerous private houses, often equipped with water cisterns, built with walls in opus caementicium and africanum (a building technique invented by the Romans), sometimes particularly prestigious, such as the house with the tetrastyle atrium, with the III-IV century AD suggestive mosaics. Near the sea there is the forum, with its regular shape, which preserves bases of honorary statues of famous people.

The Stele of Nora

The Phoenician presence is testified by the discovery of the Stele of Nora, the most important and, in many ways, enigmatic epigraphic document in Phoenician characters found in Sardinia, among the oldest in the western Mediterranean.

It is a document of exceptional importance: if after 244 years of studies the content of the eight lines engraved in porous sandstone is still debated, it is evident that, behind those signs, the stele still hides its intimate truth. Exhibited in the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari, it can be dated around the 8th century B.C. and bears an inscription in the Phoenician alphabet, on the interpretation of which scholars are still debating.

For some researchers the characters of the alphabet would not be only and purely Phoenician, but it would be a mixed Phoenician-Sardinian alphabet; however the data are still not completely reliable. In the stele, moreover, it is likely that there is the oldest attestation of the name of Sardinia.

We inform the kind readers that the column Archaeology in Italy will be published in the new bimonthly magazine ArcheoMe starting from February 2021… See you soon…

Tradotto da: https://archeome.it/archeologia-nora-lincanto-di-unantica-citta-sarda/

English Version

9 Dicembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 4 minuto di lettura

THEATRE | The Andromeda Theatre, mirror of the sky

In Santo Stefano Quisquina, in the province of Agrigento, there is a special place, suspended between the earth and the stars: it is the Andromeda Theatre, a mirror of the sky, still not very well known to most people, which offers a unique sight.

The history of the Andromeda Theatre

The story is that of a sheperd, Lorenzo Reina, and his love for art and the stars. As a boy he took his flock of sheep to pasture and carved alabasters to pass the time. At night he would go out to breathe under the stars and, during one of these nights, in the moonlight, he asked the sky to “make him insatiable, never sick of his art”. So it was that the sky listened to him. Lorenzo Reina, the shepherd-sculptor laid the first stones to create his masterpiece. He intimately nurtured the desire to create something great. He recounts that on those lands, on the Sicilian mountains, in the late seventies he brought his flock to graze and that the sheep, as if under a spell, remained ruminating like white stones. Inspired by this image, in the early nineties he began to realize his work starting from the stones.

The structure of the Andromeda Theatre

108 white stones stand out on the very black sand of the cavea and look as if they were touching the sky, at an altitude of 1000 meters. But why exactly 108? In those years Reina became aware of the discovery that the Galaxy M31 of the Andromeda Constellation will collide with our galaxy in about two and a half billion years.

The position of the stones and their number follow the map of the 108 stars of the Constellation of Andromeda. He claimed it to be a simple idea; what is certain is that it turned out to be brilliant and of great visual and emotional impact.

The location of the Andromeda Theatre

The place chosen to build this theatre offers a great emotional impact per se, because it blends with the human artwork and provides suggestive scenery. There is no artificial backdrop: in fact, behind the stage there is a natural panorama of the uncontaminated valleys of Santo Stefano and breathtaking sunsets.

The structure enjoys natural lighting, there is no trace of artifice or electrical aid; everything has been designed to blend with nature. Going up the stone steps that lead to the narrow entrance passage, you can see the expanse of white seats and the opening, behind the stage, to the sky. It seems that time is suspended in an indefinite period between present, past and future and only the position of the sun defines the time, giving iridescent shades during the day. An almost religious silence reigns: it is no coincidence that many people go to the place to meditate. The suspension between sky and earth gives the impression of a landscape that does not seem to be of this planet: in fact, the Andromeda Theatre is a mirror of the celestial vault.

This fusion between heaven and earth makes the theater itself the show, the work of art. On particular days of the year events are organized that attract dozens of visitors. The day of the summer solstice, for example, is celebrated as a rite, in line with the first traditions of human history, which recognized the sacredness of the lunar cycle and the changing seasons. The atmosphere is permeated by the connection between man and nature, the true protagonist of the scene.

A work in progress

If you talk to Lorenzo Reina, he himself calls his theatre a “work in progress”. Around the actual structure of the theatre, he has created numerous sculptures and artistic installations. Some recall classical mythology – such as the “Dying Icarus” plunged to the ground, granted by Giuseppe Agnello in 2007 – hiding a message addressed to contemporary man. Others are more conceptual and abstract, leaving room for personal interpretation. Reina’s work is not yet finished and the area is in evolution. It is to all intents and purposes an artistic path, along which events and theatrical performances are organized and promoted by Reina himself.

The “Teatro” column will move to the bimonthly magazine ArcheoMe, which for next year will have a whole new look, with exclusive and interesting contents. Thanks to all readers, see you on the next issue of ArcheoMe magazine to continue to explore together, with passionate eyes, the theatrical universe.

English Version

8 Dicembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 3 minuto di lettura

ARCHAEOLOGY | The expression of the power of Akràgas, the Temple of Concordia

The expression of power of Akràgas, the Temple of Concordia, is the most famous Greek temple in Sicily. The inhabitants of ancient Agrigento built as many as 10 temples during the fifth century BC, in a fierce challenge to the last capital against Syracuse. The so-called Temple of Concordia, in particular, was built in 430 BC and today is located inside the famous Valley of the Temples of Agrigento. The monument owes the name Concordia to the interpretation that the historian Tommaso Fazello made of a Latin epigraph found nearby, but which, in fact, has nothing to do with the temple.

Map of the Temple of Concordia

It is a hexastyle peripterus in Doric style: a quadrilateral with six columns on the front and thirteen on the long sides (it follows the classical canon, therefore, which has the columns on the long sides being double plus one compared to those on the front). The perfectly preserved peristasis rests directly on a crepidoma composed of four steps and consists only of Doric columns: the shaft is not particularly slender and ends in a capital with a simple shape. Each column has twenty grooves and, towards two thirds of the height, presents a harmonious entasis. The peristasis supports an entablature composed of a lintel, a frieze decorated with metopes and triglyphs and an unsculpted tympanum.

*Map, elevation and photo of the Temple of Concordia*

The inner naos (the cell), accessible through a step, is preceded by a pronaos in antis (framed between two columns) and is followed by another vestibule. This second space, called opisthodomos, was usually used for the custody of the treasure, the donations and the archives of the temple. Of great interest is the presence, on the sides of the pronaos, of pylons with stairs leading to the roof. Likewise, on the top of the walls of the cell and in the blocks of the trabeation of the peristasis, the recesses for the wooden roof truss are clearly visible. Studies have shown that the exterior and interior of the temple were covered with polychrome stucco. The chromatic hypothesis made by the experts suggested a white stucco covering for the whole structure, with the exception of the frieze and the tympanum which, instead, had to be colored red and blue.

From Temple to Church

At the end of the sixth century AD, the Temple of Concordia was transformed into a Christian basilica by Bishop Gregory II and dedicated to Saint Peter and Paul. This metamorphosis brought about a series of changes, which contributed to the survival of the structure to the present day: the overthrow of the ancient orientation, the demolition of the wall of the opisthodomos, the closure of the intercolumni and the construction of twelve arched openings in the walls of the cell; all this allowed the three canonical naves to be built. The pits, instead, which are located inside and outside the church, refer to high-medieval burials. In 1748 the temple returned to its ancient forms, with the reopening of the colonnade, and stopped being used for worship.

With one of the symbols of the classical art of Sicily we close the first phase of life of this column with a Sicilian flavor. From 2021, in fact, the column Archaeology in Sicily will change “location” and will be published in ArcheoMe’s magazine. We certainly could not limit the history of our land to a few lines: Sicilian archaeology still has so much to tell and I will continue to be its humble spokesperson.

See you soon!

Tradotto da: https://archeome.it/archeologia-lespressione-della-potenza-di-akragas-il-tempio-della-concordia/

English Version

7 Dicembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 3 minuto di lettura

EMINENT FIGURES | Timaeus from Taormina, the historian who aroused the envy of Polibius

A Sicilian Greek historian, Timaeus was probably born in 356 BC from Andromacus, tyrant founder of Tauromenio, ancient name of Taormina. In 316 BC, when the city was conquered by Agatocles, tyrant of Syracuse, Timaeus was exiled and lived first in Agrigento and then in Athens, where he stayed for about fifty years and where he followed the rhetoric lessons of a student of Isocrates. Despite the scarce biographical information, most likely Timaeus returned to Syracuse after the death of Agatocles (269 BC) and spent the last years of his long life (about 96 years) under the tyrant Hiero II: he died in Syracuse around 260 BC.

He was the first to develop and use a universal chronology based on the comparison between Olympic chronology, lists of eponymous magistrates and other local lists.

Timaeus, despite the distance from his native land, never forgot it and always tried to be kept up to date with events, so much so that he was the author of a historiographical work that had Sicilian and Italian protagonists. The work, entitled Sicilian Histories or Sikelikà, of which there remain about 160 fragments, was divided into 38 books and dealt with the Greek West, outlining a story from the mythical origins to the death of his enemy Agatocle, which occurred in 289 BC.

From the study of the remaining fragments we can deduce that the work was composed of a general introduction of 5 books, in which Timaeus offers a geographical description of the island and introduces the complex mythological history of the foundations of the city at the hands of famous heroes, such as the Argonauts, Heracles or the warriors of the Trojan enterprise. These were followed by books narrating Sicilian history until 406 BC, the year of the ascent to power of Dionysus I of Syracuse, and then continued until the death of Agatocles. Only later, Timaeus added an appendix of 5 other books, in which he narrates the historical events from the wars of Pyrrhus against Rome until 264 BC, date of the beginning of the first Punic war.

The accuracy of the news earned the Sicilian historian a great popularity, which lasted until the 3rd century AD; in fact, although the work dealt with the Greeks who had colonized Italy, it gained more interest among the Romans than among the Greeks, thanks to the news it offered about Rome and all the other cities of Italy, as well as about the Carthaginians and the barbarian West.

The Sicilian historian was considered the continuer of the political-rhetorical historiography begun by Isocrates and his work was widely used by other writers, including the famous Diodorus Siculus and Polibius. The latter, who also claimed wanting to continue the work of Timaeus, did not miss the opportunity to criticize the ethnographic interest of his predecessor; in his controversy, however, one must also recognize reasons of jealousy towards another historian, whose echo resounded in Rome even long after his death.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES:

Timeo di Tauromenio, Testimonianze e Frammenti, a cura di Ignazio Concordia, Storiografia Siceliota Frammentaria IV, Youcanprint, Tricase (Lecce) 2017.

Bertini, G. 1829, “Giudizi degli Antichi intorno alle opere di Timeo da Taormina, storico del III secolo innanzi l’Era Volgare colle Notizie biografiche e i frammenti della Storia del medesimo“, in Giornale di Scienze, Lettere e Arti per la Sicilia, VII/t. 27.

Pearson, L. 1987,The Greek Historians of the West. Timaeus and His Predecessors, Atlanta.

Tradotto da: https://archeome.it/illustri-siciliani-timeo-da-taormina-lo-storico-che-suscito-linvidia-di-polibio/

English Version

5 Dicembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 4 minuto di lettura

ANCIENT EGYPT | Senenmut, the Queen’s shadow

The life of Senenmut is inextricably linked to that of Queen Hatshepsut. Just mentioning her name inevitably evokes the name of the queen he served. But who was this man? How did a queen with the title of king give him absolute control of the country?

The rise of Senenmut

Senenmut, according to recent studies, was the son of ordinary people, as shown by the title of the parents found in their tomb, not far from the TT71, their son’s tomb, in 1927: his father Ramose is in fact remembered as ‘Worthy’, while his mother Hatneferu is indicated as ‘Housewife’.

They were originally from the South, beyond the first cataract. The family, since the time of Thutmosis I, had settled in Ermant, near Luxor. The young Senenmut had participated in military expeditions in Nubia and had been rewarded with the bracelet “menefert” (“he who beautifies”). When his mother died shortly after Hatshepsut’s coronation, the son moved his father close to his mother.

Senenmut’s influence is demonstrated by his mother’s grave goods, which also included a golden mask and a beetle on the heart, made with serpentine and set in a golden square.

Not far from the Djeser-Djeseru, the funeral chapel of Senenmut, which began two months after the death of the parents, was brought to light. In this chapel are inscribed, in red and black ink, the titles of which he was a proud holder.

An exceptional fact for an Egyptian, Senenmut doesn’t seem to have ever married, so much so that his funerary cult was entrusted to his older brother, Minhotep.

The magnificent wall paintings, unfortunately badly preserved, allow to see six bearers of offerings, probably Aegeans; in fact, in their appearance they remind the Knossos’ bearers of offerings.

The sarcophagus, probably of red quartzite (royal stone par excellence), was adorned with funerary divinities, flanked by Isis and Nephthys and contained the entire chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead (the one with the negative justifications).

In spite of these origins, Senenmut made a brilliant career as an official of the kingdom and, quickly covering all the cursus honorum, he reached the highest offices of the State. Among the many positions he had, we remember that of “intendant of the temple of Amon, director of the fields, gardens and flocks of the double granary of Karnak”. This position allowed him to control the great wealth of Karnak.

He was very intimate with the Queen, so much so that he gave voice to the hypothesis of a love affair with her, of which, however, there is no documentation. Hatshepsut also chose him as architect for the great temple of Deir el-Bahari, whose design, outside the typical Egyptian canons, demonstrates the genius of both the architect and the Queen. However, recent studies seem to diminish the importance of Senenmut in the construction of the temple of the Queen.

Tomb TT 353

Senenmut ordered the excavation of the TT 353 tomb of Deir el-Bahari around the 7th year of his queen’s reign, at the same time as the excavation work on the temple began.

It was excavated deep in the rock, so that the whole funerary complex of Senenmut remained integrated within the complex of the sovereign, i.e. in the subsoil of the first terrace.

falsa-porta — *Panel of the false-door in which Senenmut is represented with his father Ramose and his mother Hatnefer*

The long and steep descending gallery, fifty-three meters long, ends in a very small room, brilliantly decorated with the Book of the Dead, a false-door stele and crowned by an exceptional astronomical ceiling, unique and splendid, magnificently preserved today. This astronomical ceiling is the oldest known in the history of ancient Egypt.

On it are reproduced the twelve months of the lunar calendar, as well as the stars and constellations of the northern hemisphere. Another descending gallery leads us to a second chamber without decoration and from this to the third with a well, also without decoration.

Finally, he became guardian of Hatshepsut’s daughter, Neferu-Ra, who was the second heir to the throne after Thutmosis III, thus demonstrating the great consideration in which he was held at court.

Senenmut e Neferure — *Senenmut was the royal guardian and the monument of him holding a small Neferu-Re shows it (British Museum / CC BY-SA 3.0).*

Suddenly, however, Senenmut, as often happens, fell into disgrace, was relieved of his duties and disappeared from Egyptian history.

Tradotta: https://archeome.it/antico-egitto-senenmut-lombra-della-regina/

English Version

3 Dicembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 4 minuto di lettura

BEHIND FASCISM | The Defense of the Race, a propaganda tool

Interlandi’s magazine

La Difesa della Razza (“The Defense of the Race”) was a fortnightly magazine, published on August 6, 1938 and directed by Telesio Interlandi. A man who had always adhered to the extreme positions of Fascism, he was considered the Duce’s trusted journalist, remembered for his ferocity in anti-Semitic and racist campaigns. The cover of the first issue had the date of the previous day, August 5^th, 1938. On that day, the Minister of National Education, Giuseppe Bottai, issued four newsletters regarding the circulation of the magazine, addressed to the rectors and directors of higher institutes, the presidents of art institutes, the president of the Central Council for Historical Studies and the presidents of academies and cultural associations. On August 8^th, the Ministerial Commission for the purchase of publications launched the purchase and distribution of one thousand copies.

The magazine’s supporters

The magazine was not only supported by Bottai but also by Dino Alfieri, Minister of Popular Culture and Achille Starace, Secretary of the National Fascist Party. The magazine was aimed at the middle classes and was conceived as a showcase of Italian racism, which was supposed to promote the superiority of the Italian race at a focal point in the history of Fascism, considering that on July 14^th, 1938 the Manifesto of Racist Scientists had been published.

The editorial office

Initially the editorial office of the magazine was located in Largo Cavalleggeri in Rome, and then, in November 1938, it found its definitive home in Palazzo Wedekind in Piazza Colonna. This location was an important point, as it was a crossroads of different symbolisms. It was found in the heart of the Rome of the Antonines and near the column of Marcus Aurelius. In addition, the columns of the portico came from the archaeological excavations of Veio. From this, it is very clear that the location alone already evoked the ancient splendor of the Romanity.

Cutting-edge graphics

The magazine had a well-kept and avant-garde graphic design, with an initial print run of about 150,000 copies, distributed in almost all cases free of charge with a low cover price of just one lira. Fundamental was the organicity of the magazine, as part of the racial campaign carried out by Fascism. Soon, however, the high cost of the print run, the low sales price and the prestigious location brought production costs to exorbitant rates, producing passive balances covered by the Ministry of Popular Culture. In the second half of 1940 the print run was reduced to about 20,000 copies, but the passive balance remained high. Thus, from December 1, 1940, Mussolini charged the Ministry to reduce expenses and, with the new agreements, the management of the magazine was directly taken over by the Tumminelli Institute of Graphic Arts and the number of pages was reduced.

*Some covers of The Defense of the Race*

The instrument of the regime

The Defense of the Race remained alive during the war years, representing an important and strategic aid for the regime’s propaganda. It stopped publishing with the fall of Fascism in June-July 1943. The most important members of the editorial board were Guido Landra, Lidio Cipriani, Lino Businco, Leone Franzì and Marcello Ricci, who exalted the close link between the genesis of the magazine and the events of the Racial Manifesto of 14 July 1938.

Science, Documentation and Politics

The Defense of the Race was characterized by the unscrupulous use of images, always aimed at contrasting the Aryan race with the “bastardized” ones. It was divided into three sections, the first of which focused on Science: “We will show that science is with us; because we are with life and science is but the arrangement of concepts and notions arising from the perennial flow of man’s life”. Science was followed by Documentation, aimed at demonstrating “what are the forces that oppose the affirmation of an Italian racism, why they are opposed, by whom they are moved, what they are worth, how they can be destroyed and how they will be destroyed”. Finally, the Debate, or rather the battle “against the lies, insinuations, distortions, falsehoods, stupidities that will accompany this fascist statement of racial pride”.

For Interlandi the controversy will be the “salt in the bread of science, fortnightly broken”.

Tradotto da: https://archeome.it/dietro-al-fascismo-la-difesa-della-razza-uno-strumento-di-propaganda/

English Version

3 Dicembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 3 minuto di lettura

ARCHAEOLOGY | Stabiae, the forgotten Vesuvian city

The ancient Stabiae, ancient name of Castellammare di Stabia, is little known to most people, overshadowed by the fame of Pompeii and Herculaneum, yet it is a very important city for the Vesuvian area. It was the exception to the eruption in 79 AD: unlike other cities in the area, it rose from the ashes and continued to be an important port and commercial landmark in that area.

Stabiae played an important strategic and commercial role already in the archaic age (VIII century B.C.) before becoming in the IV century B.C. a center of interest for the Greeks, given its position on the sea.

The Greeks transformed the pre-existing town into their emporion, a commercial colony. Later the Samnites took over from the 5th century onwards, having influence over the whole area until the clash with the Romans, who were victorious.

The center, already important for the port and trade, then became, like the nearby Vesuvian cities, one of the favorite places of the Romans for the otium.

The villas of the otium

The largest residential concentration is to be placed between the destruction of the city by Sulla (89 BC) and the eruption of Vesuvius (79 AD). In this period, on the northern edge of the hillock of Varano, there are many villas in a panoramic position, designed primarily for residential purposes, with large domestic quarters, spa facilities, colonnades and nymphaea beautifully decorated.

The urban layout of the ancient center is still recognizable; there are visible traces of the streets and the division into districts. There was a very developed agricultural area, of which traces of some rustic villas remain: the largest two are Villa Arianna and Villa San Marco.

Some of the most famous frescoes in Pompeian style come from Villa Arianna, such as the Flora and the Seller of Cupids. The very name of the villa derives from a large fresco representing the myth of Ariadne; mythological subjects, particularly female figures, are the predominant subjects in this villa, in an educated and refined decoration. In addition to these, then, there are mosaics on the floors, with geometric patterns in black and white, in contrast with the bright colors of the frescoes.

Villa San Marco, on the other hand, is characterized primarily by the incredibly well preserved structure, in its interior and open porches. There is no lack of fresco decorations – with a lesser chromatic variety, mainly in red tones, and a greater simplicity of the subjects – and mosaics, also here in black and white.

The structure has the typical characteristics of Roman villas: the atrium is occupied by the so-called impluvium, a pool used to collect rainwater; from here you can access the various rooms of the villa, including, of course, the spa area and the gym.

In the fortified part of the city one can recognize the forum, some of the public buildings, including the remains of a temple with a high podium, and the tabernae.

A good part of the excavations were carried out in the Bourbon period, while the more recent ones have brought to light other environments, such as the kitchen and the peristyle, a sort of internal garden, surrounded by colonnades.

villa san marco — Peristyle of Villa San Marco

Tradotto da: https://archeome.it/archeologia-stabiae-la-citta-vesuviana-dimenticata/

English Version

2 Dicembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 2 minuto di lettura

THEATRE | The Politeama of Palermo, prestigious “theatre of the people”

In Palermo, Piazza Ruggero Settimo has been renamed by citizens as Piazza Politeama. Here, halfway between the old and the new city, there’s the Politeama Garibaldi Theatre, one of the most beloved monuments of the city. A walk in Palermo can certainly start from this square, dominated by the imposing structure inspired by Rome’s Colosseum.

The construction works of the Politeama of Palermo

The initial project included the construction of a large outdoor daytime amphitheater; therefore, in 1865 a contract was signed with the Galland company and work began two years later. In 1868 there came the idea of creating a roof, so as to transform it into a theater hall to expand the offer with music and prose performances.

On June 7, 1874 the Politeama was inaugurated, although it still lacked the covering, staging I Capuleti e i Montecchi by Vincenzo Bellini. In November 1877 the metal roofing was finally made by the Oretea Foundry.

In 1882, after Garibaldi’s death, the theatre changed its name to Politeama Garibaldi. The term “politeama” indicated a theatre that offered a varied programming, ranging from various types of shows. Finally, in 1891 it was enriched with further shows, realized on the occasion of the great “National Exhibition” held in Palermo. In that year there was the official opening at the presence of King Umberto and Queen Margherita, who were able to attend Verdi’s “Otello”.

In 2000, for the G8 held in the city, the polychrome Pompeian decorations of the loggias were restored. Since 2001 the Politeama can boast to be the seat of the Sicilian Symphonic Orchestra.

The structure of the Politeama

The entrance to the Politeama consists of a triumphal arch in neoclassical style and a colonnade on a double floor, reminiscent of the appearance of the Colosseum. Above the arch stands the “Triumph of Apollo and Euterpe”, a bronze quadriga flanked by a pair of horses and riders representing the Olympic Games. The entire sculptural group is made of bronze.

trionfo di apollo ed euterpe — Triumph of Apollo and Euterpe

Unlike the Teatro Massimo, characterized by an elegant and majestic style, as well as intended for a more aristocratic audience and mainly for the representation of operas, the Politeama has a less lavish style. In fact, it was designed for a more popular audience, which does not disdain operettas, concerts of contemporary music, pop music and comic shows. In this regard, the hall has a horseshoe shape, which originally had a capacity of 5,000 spectators, such a large number to enhance the social function of “theatre of the people” with which it was conceived.

After admiring the outside, all you have to do is attend one of the many shows in season or, alternatively, admire the interiors of the halls and the audience through one of the many guided tours organized and proposed throughout the year.

Tradotto da: https://archeome.it/teatro-il-politeama-di-palermo-prestigioso-teatro-del-popolo/

English Version

1 Dicembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 2 minuto di lettura

ARCHEOLOGY | The Sant’Angelo Cave, the tomb infested by the devil

The Sant’Angelo Cave is the largest early historic tholos tomb in Sicily. In 1931 Paolo Orsi discovered a group of large tholos tombs located on the slopes of the hill of Sant’Angelo Muxaro, in the valley of Platani, in the Province of Agrigento. The rich grave goods set the site, from the beginning, as one of the most important and worthy of attention in early historic Sicily. Among them, the largest is the so-called “Tomba del Principe” or Grotta Sant’Angelo. The second name comes from the patron saint who would have chosen the cave for his hermitage after having freed it from the devil. According to tradition, in fact, the cave was abandoned because of the strong dampness of the walls and because it was infested by many evil spirits. One day, from the sea came a holy man, Angelo, who, invoking an earthquake from God, drove out the spirits and settled there.

The structure of St. Angelo Cave

Sant’Angelo Cave consists of two large, almost circular and communicating rooms. The largest has a diameter of 8.8 meters and a height of 3.5 meters and is equipped with a quay that runs all around the walls. The inner chamber, however, although smaller in size, has a dome shaped like a spherical cap. The entrance, not in axis with the previous one, leads into a space, in the center of which there is a funeral bed carved into the rock. Inside the tomb there is a series of petroglyphs that Paolo Orsi mistakenly attributes to the Byzantine period. In reality, they are of Sikan origin and testify that the entire group of tombs is to be attributed to the Sikan world.

The interpretation

This tomb was called by Paolo Orsi “Tomb of the Prince” because it was supposed to be the “mausoleum of the prince of the anonymous Sicilian town of Muxaro”. According to the scholar, the inner cell was reserved for the prince, his wife and relatives, while in the outer one, on the quay that goes around the walls, “were originally arranged to banquet the employees and servants of the prince’s house.”

English Version

29 Novembre 2020 Redazione ArcheoMe 5 minuto di lettura

EMINENTFIGURES | Fernanda Wittgens. An Italian “monument-woman”

Fernanda Wittgens was an art historian and the first female director of the Pinacoteca di Brera: we owe to her the rescue of most of the paintings in Milan’s museums during the Second World War.

Childhood and youth

Fernanda was born in Milan on April 3, 1903 from Margherita Righini and Adolfo Wittgens. On Sundat her father used to take her and her brothers and sisters to the museums of the city: this habit, almost certainly, instilled in Fernanda the interest and love for art.

Graduated from the classical high school, in 1925 the young girl obtained her master degree in art history at the Scientific-literary Academy in Milan, under the guidance of Paolo D’Ancona. After a period as a teacher at the Parini High School and the Regio Liceo Manzoni, in 1928 Fernanda Wittgens, thanks to her friend Mario Salmi, inspector at the Brera art gallery, was hired as an “adventitious worker” in Brera. The great culture and artistic sensibility allowed Fernanda to have an impressive career progression: in 1931, she become assistant to Ettore Modigliani, director of the Pinacoteca.

Emilio Sommariva, Ritratto di Fernanda Wittgens, 1936. Milano, Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Fondo Emilio Sommariva — Emilio Sommariva, Portrait of Fernanda Wittgens (1936)

Racial laws and war

Fernanda worked side by side with Modigliani until 1935, when the director was dismissed from his office because he was anti-fascist (following the racial laws of 1938, Modigliani was sentenced to confinement in the Marche region. Anyway Fernanda Wittgens continued to update him punctually on the events in Milan and the direction of the gallery).

In 1940 Fernanda Wittgens won the competition as director of the Pinacoteca di Brera becoming the first woman in Italy leading a museum (in 1941 she was followed by Palma Bucarelli PERSONAGGI | Palma Bucarelli, la Regina di Quadri).

When the war began to threat Milan, the first thought of the director was to secure the masterpieces of Brera and other Milanese museums. In spite of the reduced staff, Wittgens managed to save all the masterpieces of Brera and numerous works of the Museo dell’Ospedale Maggiore and the Museo Poldi Pezzoli, transporting them to safe places and air-raid shelters. She worked on the transfer of the paintings until June 1943. On August, 7^th and 8^th the Pinacoteca di Brera was bombed by the Allies and 24 rooms out of 36 were destroyed, but, thanks to Fernanda, they were empty.

Pinacoteca courtyard — The courtyard of the Pinacoteca di Brera in 1942, with trucks loading the works of art

The trial of the ladies

During the war years, Fernanda Wittgens had worked tirelessly to help friends, family and people of Jewish descent to cross the italian border in order to escape racial persecution. In 1944, however, a young German Jew, whose expatriation Fernanda was organizing, denounced the woman to the Nazis. The famous art historian was jailed first in Como and then in Milan, in San Vittore. Together with Adele Cappelli, Zina and Mariarosa Tresoldi, who were also involved in helping Jews and anti-fascists, she was tried and sentenced to 4 years imprisonment in what the newspapers of the time called “the trial of the ladies”.

From the prison Fernanda Wittgens wrote to her relatives some letters full of pride and bravery. Trough her letters we can see a strong woman, not afraid at all because of the harsh prison conditions. Despite the dramatic situation she continued to firmly believe in her ideals and actions.

The Great Brera, Michelangelo and Leonardo

Released at the dawn of the liberation of Italy, a few months later Fernanda Wittgens is back in Brera, in her place as director, engaged in the reconstruction. Together with Modigliani, returned from confinement, she planned the idea of the “Great Brera”: a museum connected with the other great artistic institutions of Milan, such as the Academy of Fine Arts and the Observatory of Astronomy. The art gallery, enlarged and restored, was finally inaugurated in 1950. Dr. Wittgens inaugurates a new concept of art gallery, a “living” museum with events, concerts, fashion shows, vernissage, a true cultural heart of the city.

In 1950 the director of Brera was appointed Superintendent of the Lombardy Galleries. Two years later she managed to get the city of Milan to buy Michelangelo’s Pietà Rondanini, recently on the art market.

Among Fernanda Wittgens’ successes is the rescue of Leonardo’s Last Supper. In the early 1950s, when no one believed that the grandiose mural could be saved from its state of decay (already deteriorated by time, it had suffered enormous damage during the war), the Superintendent nevertheless wanted to try and entrust its restoration to Mario Pelliccioli. The painting was finally reopened to the public on May 30, 1954.

Righteous among the Nations

Fernanda Wittgens died prematurely in 1957, only 54 years old.

A street in Milan, in the central San Lorenzo neighborhood, is dedicated to her. In 2014, for her aid to the Jews, she was named “Righteous Among the Nations”, a tree was planted in her name and a memorial stone was erected in the Garden of the Righteous in Milan.

Tradotto da: https://archeome.it/personaggi-fernanda-wittgens-una-monument-woman-italiana/