DAY 4: Sep 10 Agrigento to Enna via Piazza Armerina

Another gorgeous morning - and we were able to appreciate fully the hotel’s garden, with the ginormous cacti and views of the temples. 

This is probably the best time of day - with vivid colours, and before it gets really hot and a little hazy.

We decided to fast forward 7 centuries and drove across country 100 km to Piazza Armerina.

Another town dominated by the cathedral perched on high.

The roads were pretty challenging again and a few times Sarah screamed to a halt on a tarmac ledge overhang. Mud was thick enough to warrant Sarah requesting Jo to leap out to test the depth with crutch (declined)

We would have had a lot of fun hiking through this on our road bikes. More than once we wondered how we might have coped on 2 wheels when it was tough going in the Fiat Panda. Built for tough conditions, these Sicilian rental Fiats!

Our first Roman Villa visit (Villa Del Casale) was really interesting.  The ruins date from 3-4 AD and although there was not a lot left of the villa. 

The mosaics on the floors of the villa are in excellent condition as they were buried in mud from the 12th century to the 19th. 

Evidence of hunting, fishing, collecting animals from Africa, slavery, sex, games and myths.

Now the whole structure is undercover with plastic /wooden domed roofing to try to preserve it.

Jo’s favourite was The Bikini Girls - female Roman athletes including perhaps the first game of rugby (see top left)  Sarah was more interested in the original floor (also top left)- pre-dating the Girls by about 100 years…

Lots of fair, curly haired Romans in evidence with every conceivable type of animal (and human position) represented.

We then drove on to Enna. Arguably the most spectacular town in Sicily, built on a towering and precipitous crag and visible for miles around. 931m above sea level and one of the highest major settlements in Italy. 

Enna was first Greek, then Carthaginian ands finally Roman. It has a cathedral, many churches, and an impressive Norman castle.

Our first glimpse of Mt Etna. 

Shrouded in cloud in the photo. 

In Enna, all the tourist attractions are free - except for the toilets!!

Our hotel looks Stalinesque from the square, but inside it is full of marble and has wonderful views. 

Tomorrow we head to Etna early as the weather forecast for Sunday (when we were supposed to be up there) is poor. So we hope to bag a peak tomorrow afternoon.