Isola Mozia - Phoenicians!!!
Trip Start
Oct 03, 2006
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13
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Trip End
Oct 18, 2006
Mozia, Italy
Thursday, October 12, 2006
In the 1900s a Brit bought the island (he made his fortune in Marsala wine) and archeological digs began. They unearthed some real treasures, not to mention the Phoenician city! It doesn't look as impressive as Greek or other sites in Sicily, but what they found was impressive. A statue of a "young man" was unearthed near the Necropoli. Lots of nearly intact vases and urns also were found. The museum looks small but it is substantial with objects.
The "young man of Mozia" may be a charioteer or a statue of the mythical figure Dedalaus who landed in the region after his son Icarus flew too close to the sun. Either way, the fact that he was found in a trench and is nearly intact is amazing. Other interesting items were the sea stone mosaics found in the ruins of a house facing he sea. The Necropoli was not at interesting as we had hoped. It was mostly a series of fenced off, weedy trenches. The inhabitants had a great view of the sea however!
Walking to and from the Necropolis was interesting. One walked through the vineyards and olive grove (terrible for my allergies) but the butterflies!!!! They were everywhere. I managed to coax one to stay still long enough for a shot....turns out, he was such a ham he kept flying forward and wanting his picture taken for the rest of the walk.
Back to the docks where we caught our boat and then to the bus. As the evening overtook us we headed back into Palermo. It was a good day and we were exhausted!
