Noah builds the ark

          

It was dusk as we touched down in Palermo on Tuesday, and on the drive to Monreale, we saw steep mountain silhouettes in every direction. We all had traditional Sicilian dishes for dinner: caponata appetizers, swordfish, shellfish, sardines, and various pastas.

The Sicilian morning sun, warm and clear, foretold another beautiful day for sightseeing.

              Exterior of the apse

The Cathedral of Monreale, built in 1172, is the pinnacle of Arab-Norman archicture and magnificent interior gold mosaics. Although the mosaic of Noah building the ark isn't the most ornate, it gives you an idea of the myriad Biblical stories depicted.

            Noah building the ark. Apart from the Christ Pantocrator, there are depictions of Adam and Eve (several, including the creation, Eve's so-called sin of temptation of acquiring knowledge, and the expulsion).

             

            Christ Pantocrator

A Benedictine Monastery is next to the Cathedral with pointed Arab arches and geometric motifs. 

                

         The Benedictine Monastery

          

     David & Virginia in the cloisters

Next stop: Segesta, where a largely intact Doric order 5th century B. C. temple stands. 

            

       5th century B.C. Greek Temple 

                    at Segesta

Since we had bought everything needed for a picnic, we had our bread , cheese, salami, prosciutto, plums, & tomatoes in the shadow of the Greek temple (since it seems to have been a work in progress, it is not attributed to any god in the pantheon). The local bees invited themselves to our picnic lunch, and they seemed to favor the prosciutto and salami. What can you say? Sicilian bees have good taste.

Sicily was the bread basket of the Roman Empire, and although we saw wheat fields in the cultivated areas, olive groves and vineyards were in abundance. Our final site visit was at Selinunte, an arch rival of Segesta. Even though both were settled by Greeks in the 6th century B.C.,by around 400 B.C. these and other Greek settlements were defeated by the Carthiginians, then in 212 B.C., the Romans conquered all of Sicily.

Alas, the eight Doric temples, some dating to about 580 B.C ., are largely in ruins, partly due to an esrthquake in the 7th century A.D. These temples were dedicated to Apollo, Athena, Hercules, and  Leto. Several of the Selinunte temples are on an acropolis with a view of the sea.