Classical Sicily

Over half term, GCSE and A Level Classics students toured the sites of Sicily.

34 students of Latin, Ancient Greek and Classical Civilisation in Year 10 and above enjoyed a successful Sicilian Expedition – unlike the 5th century BC Athenian disaster! Accompanied by Miss Williams, Miss Turnor and Miss Bolland from the Classics Department, as well as special guests Dr Etheridge and Miss Webber, the first stop for the ‘happy travellers’ (a nickname coined by our fantastic local guide, Salvatore) was Monreale. Here we took in the stunning golden mosaics of the Duomo – the biggest medieval mosaic in the world – with scenes from the Old and New testaments alongside Islamic palm tree patterns and porphyry tombs of Norman monarchs, as well as the Benedictine Cloister. In the afternoon, we had free time to explore the city of Palermo, in particular to try its world-famous street food and gelato, as well as to follow Mr Prance’s excellent guidebook around the Cathedral, Oratorio di Santa Cita and the gallery at the Palazzo Abatellis.

The remainder of the week took on a distinctly Classical theme as we visited the best-preserved Greek temples in the world at the archaeological parks at Segesta, Selinunte and the world-famous Valley of the Temples, as well as the world’s biggest Roman mosaic programme at the Villa Romana del Casale at Piazza Armerina, where the Emperor Maximian is rumoured to have stayed. We had lots of fun choosing our favourite mosaics, with a hot competition between the exotic animals and ladies doing exercise in the palaestra. Other highlights of the trip included a disco in our hotel in Agrigento, a competition to eat the most arancini over the course of the week (congratulations to the winner, Lottie), and a bonus afternoon in the beautiful town of Taormina after a rather windy morning excursion up Mount Etna.