Art and History of Sicily [antikvár]

HISTORY A ncient rock engravings have been found which /W seem to support the theory that the island of Sifjm cily was joined, in the remote past, to the European continent. There are traces of Neolithic settlements, villages built of stone or on palafittes. The early inhabitants of the island included the Sicanians, who were of Ibérián origin; they were followed by the Sicels, who came from various regions in southern Italy. When the first Phoenician colony was founded, there were already permanently settled areas on the island; new centres were created at Motye, Trapani, Mazara, Lilybaeum, Palermo and Solunto, and a fertile cultural and commercial interchange started up. We have information on Greek colonies founded in Sicily as early as the eighth century B.C. This region was the most prolific in settlements in the whole territory of Magna Grecia. Greek colonies rose in rapid succession at Naxos, Catania, Leontini, Himera, Messina, Mylae, Syracuse, Megara, Gela and Agrigentum, to mention the largest and most important. In the first half of the fifth century B.C. the first large-scale war in the Mediterranean basin pitted the Syracusans against the Carthaginians, whom they defeated at Himera. The Carthaginians won back and subjected large portions of the island at the end of that century and the beginning of the next. Sicily was finally colonized by the Romans at the end of their recurring wars with Carthage, after a long and tiring campaign. Not until the time of Augustus was the city granted the status of civitas romana, too late to remedy the depredations of his predecessors. The fali of the Román Empire was followed by a rapidly changing succession of barbarian peoples (Vandals, Heruli, Goths), until the coming of the Byzantines led by Belisarius. From the ninth to the eleventh century, under the Arabs, Sicily became a Muslim territory; the Arabs left their mark on the way of life, dialectal expressions, placenames and agriculture of the island, turning it into a rich and flourishing land and making Palermo one of the most important cities in Europe. In the second half of the eleventh century the Arabs were replaced by the Normans, who brought brilliance and luxury to the court of Palermo, promoting the artistic, economic and social development of the city. This period of prosperity continued into the reign of Frederick II of Swabia (first half of the thirteenth century), but came to an end under his successors (his son Manfréd was defeated by the Angevins at Benevento in 1266). This was the starting point for the events leading up to the Sicilian Vespers, which chased the French out of the island in 1282. The Aragonese came next, as a prelude to Sicily becoming a Spanish satellite; it became a colony of the Spanish crown until the first half of the eighteenth century. After that time, as a pawn in the tense game being played out on the chessboard of Europe, Sicily belonged first to the house of Savoy, then to the Austrians and finally (1815) feli into the hands of the Bourbons. Repeated attempts at rebellion culminated in Garibaldi's campaign of 1860 and led to the annexation of Sicily to the new Kingdom of Italy (1861). Problems with their roots far back in the past, backwardness and centuries-old obsessions motivated recurrent insurrections against the great estates and the exploitation of the people by the barons, while lack of confidence in the state, alienation, unemployment and emigration increased. The Fascist government was unable to satisfy the just aspirations of the Sicilians, and after suffering devastation during the war, they felt betrayed and began to threaten partition; their protests were backed by increasing bandit activity (the name of Salvatore Giuliano is known to all). The central government responded by granting Sicily a special 'Statute', which today is still far from having solved the problems of Sicilian society, racked by the recurring spectre of Mafia terrorism and by unassuaged hopes for independence. ART HISTORY rhe first works of art produced in Sicily go back to prehistoric times. Graffiti and rock paintings have been found at the Grotte dell'Addaura (Palermo), in the Grotta di S. Teodoro (Messina) and in caves at Cala dei Genovese (Levanzo). During the Neolithic period, while the first indigenous cultures (Stentinello, Lipari), of which many vestiges remain in ceramic and terracotta objects, were developing, relationships with the earliest forms of Aegean culture emerging in the Mediterranean basin were alsó increasing. The arrival of the Sicels, who imposed their culture on those already existing, was a prelude to the first infiux of Phoenicians , around the eleventh century B.C., when the first colonies were founded at Palermo, Solunto and Motye. From the eighth century B.C. on it was the turn of the Greeks, who settled on the island in several waves, leaving splendid examples of their art, which have come down to us today partly destroyed but still expressive and magnificent. As far as architecture is concerned, we have only to think of the Theatre of Syracuse, certainly the most important of the many in Sicily, the majestic Temples of Agrigento and Selinunte, the Temple of Segesta, the Euryalus Castle in Syracuse and numberless remains of ancient residences, necropolises and burial grounds. The island's museums offer rich glimpses of the painting (painted ceramics and amphoras) and sculpture; we have only to recall the marble Ephebus in the Agrigento Museum, the sculptures and metopes of the temples of Selinunte and bronzes and other carved ornaments of temple buildings. There are examples of the architectural heritage of the Román colony at Catania (Theatre, Amphitheatre), Syracuse (Amphitheatre), Palermo (remains of houses at Villa Bonanno) and Taormina (reconstruction of the Greek Theatre and Naumachia). The exceptional series of mosaics in the Villa Casale (Piazza Armerina) is the most important work of decorative art, while Román sculptures mostly inspired by Classical Greek models can be seen in the museums. In the Norman period we find an extraordinary flowering of art, uniting and carrying to their highest level of splendour the trends of separate styles previously used by the Byzantines (to transform temples into Christian basilicas) and Arabs (to construct palaces, residences and religious buildings with typically Orientál stylistic characteristics.) Within this sphere we find, in Palermo, the splendid Cathedral, the churches of the Martorana and San Giovanni degli Eremiti (which shows marked Arab influence), the palaces of La Cuba and La Zisa, and the Norman Palace with the Palatine Chapel. In the Palatine Chapel and in the Cathedrals of Cefalú and Monreale, the fantastic, glowing tissue of mosaics achieves an incomparable virtuosity of style. The buildings of the Gothic period in Sicily are principally defensive. We will mention only the Castello Ursino at Catania and the Castello Maniace at Syracuse. Catalan influences pentrated from Spain and left an indelible imprint in the Flamboyant Gothic elements commonly found in the decora3