Day 8 - Saturday November 1, 2025 - Traveling to Siracusa
One of the amazing mosaic floors from 440 AD We left at 8:45 am this morning and had a two hour bus ride to the Villa Romana del Casale with a toilet and cappuccino break. Why can’t we have stops like this along US highways. It was actually a run of the mill gas station with toilets but a counter to order espresso and cappuccino. We had another 30 minute drive to the Villa for our tour. This 4th century AD, 37,000 square foot villa, young by Sicilian standards, was discovered in the 1800’s. It has the largest and most varied collection of Roman mosaics that still remains. This villa was also designated as a UNESCO world heritage site in 1997. It was occupied from the 4th to the 12th century and abandoned due to landslides and floods and over time it was forgotten. The first real excavations started in 1929 and major finds were discovered in 1950-1960 and excavation continues today. Locals made archeologists aware of its existence and all...