June 7, 2024
Today I have a beautiful nature reserve for my morning walk! The view is spectacular, the birds are singing and the weather is cool. A nice break from the chaos of the city!
After breakfast outside we boarded the coach for a short drive to the ruins of Villa Romana del Casale. Constructed in the middle of the fourth century AD as a hunting lodge, the villa was covered by a landslide in the twelfth century. Nearly 800 years later, 20th-century excavations began to reveal some of the finest examples of Roman mosaics in all of Europe—scenes range from Homeric escapades to insightful depictions of daily life. I really loved the one with the women exercising. The hall in the entry is the size of two football fields! There was a spa, tow master suites and three outdoor toilets with multiple seats…no waiting. With over 36,000 feet of living space, those Roman’s really knew how to live!! The villa is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Next we visited Tenute Senia Winery, a family-run estate. There, we’ll meet the Mortilla sisters, who inherited the business from their father and are now the 7th generation of their family to operate the business. Winemaking is a male-dominated industry in Sicily, and the winery’s future was uncertain after their father’s retirement. But since the sisters took over, the winery has won numerous awards and recognitions, and they have successfully guided it into a new era.
We enjoyed a wine tasting and lunch at the winery! The wines and food were perfect pairings!
Late in the day we arrived at Ragusa. Tomorrow we will explore Ragusa.
