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The ancient city of Morgantion
( soprien.area@regione.sicilia.it)
Cited from authoritative ancient sources like Sicilian Diodoro, celebre the erudite Strabone, Tucidide and the historian Tito Livio, the ancient city of Morgantion only came identified with certainty around to the half of years fifty, as a result of regular campaigns of digging carried out from the archaeological mission of the University of Princeton (USA), guided from and. Sjoqvist and R. Stillwell.
Situated the ancient one of Morgantina offers to the visitor the picture of beyond thousand history years, from the foundation of the city in preistorica age until its decline, happened in the roman imperial age. In the inner Sicily, Morgantina is without a doubt the ancient city better known in all its vicissitudes, is in the periods of the increase and of its well-being, it is in the moments of the unravelled one and the abandonment. Such acquaintance of the history, the city system and monuments of Morgantina is the fruit of approximately thirties years of digging campaigns, that they have carried to the light nearly the totality of the city center, beyond that a part of the residential quarters, for total a thirty for hundreds of the total that still lies underground. Based on the archaeological diggings, we know hour that Morgantina possessed one of the more ancient orthogonal plants of the inner Sicily and that, in the moment of greater splendor in sec. the III a.C., the city was one of the great coastal extra centers of the Island. Moreover to Morgantina we endure the fascination of a monument complex of great interest, in a landscape of extraordinary beauty, that they make of situated one of most evocative and meant you of the Island.
To Morgantina two areas very distinguished are individualistic, that they correspond to the two is made main of the history of the City: the 1) hellenistic takeover ancient and that - roman to Saddleback Bordering, 2) the more ancient takeover, on the cocuzzolo called “the Citadel”, has its origins in the late age of the b ings, when a nucleus of coming from e'migre's from southern Italy you deep one city. The nucleus inhabited on the Citadel survived for approximately five hundred years. To it several huts of the age of the iron belong, like pure other buildings publics (the bouleuterion; the ekklesiasterion; the theatre and monumental Fontana) let alone the lussuose private dwellings fate on the hill orients them and western greater and ambitiouses than more recent age; to the same age laughed them moreover the foundation of the numerous sanctuaries dedicates you to the cult of the dività ctonie. These last buildings demonstrate the presence of the Greek culture, arrived to Morgantina with Greeks who came from the coastal colonial cities. The diggings on the pianoro of Saddleback Bordering have carried to the light buildings and datable archaeological material to the same period, in sufficient amount in order to indicate that the second city of Morgantina, on new the situated one, has been founded in the same period in which was abandoned the Citadel, that is towards the goal of sec. the V a.C. In the third century the number of the inhabitants caught up approximately the 10,000 joined. The last period of the city life corresponds to i centuries II and I a.C.; there are clear signs, which the abandonment or the landslide of many buildings, the raising of the plan of stamping in the agora, had to a uncontrolled erosion, and the abandonment of walls defensives.
At last, probably punished from Ottaviano in order to have parteggiato for Sixth Pompeo during the civil wars in years Thirty of sec. the a.C., Morgantina only survived like small and insignificant center inhabited until to the half of sec. the d.C., when the situated one definitively was abandoned. Therefore the ancient city area became area for the cultivation and the name was forgotten also about the old city. In modern age, the first one to describe the still visible monumental rests has been the Fazello in 1558; but 1884 for the first archaeological diggings had to be waited for, execute from the engineer nisseno Luigi Pappalardo. Later the situated one attracted the attention of the archaeologist Paul Bears, Supervising of Siracusa, than in 1912 it made one campaign of diggings. In 1955 an American mission, guided from Erik Sjoqvist and Richard Stillwell, began a series of campaigns, annually, that they are still in course. These have carried to the light great par you of the agorà one and the residential quarters limitrofi, beyond to situated the archaic one on the Citadel. The publication of turns out you of the diggings and in the necklace” Morgantina Studies” of the Princeton University Press, of which two volumes on the terracotte and on the coins they are already published, and others six volumes are in course of press or preparation.
NEW DIGGINGS TO MORGANTINA
In the within of the plans it starts to you from the Soprintendenza on the Cultural Assets and Acclimatizes them of Enna with the financings of POR 2000-2006, in 2004 has been carried out one long campaign of diggings to Morgantina. The searches carried out from the archaeological Mission of the Virginia University of America have regarded vary fields of the ancient city. On the Citadel the digging of a rectangular hut of the Age of the Iron has been completed, that it is for its dimensions, approximately 25 meters of length, than for its location centers them is thought is one of the main buildings of the protostorica phase, when Morgantina was inhabited from people of italica origin. To Greenhouse Bordering the main jobs have been realize to you near c.d the house of the treasure of Eupolemos, in the area of the hellenistic agorà one, in the residential quarters to the west of the agorà one, where it has been put in light a feature very conserved of the ancient paving of the plateia To, the main road of the city. A digging of remarkable extension has been lead near the thermal building in contiguous contrada the Agnese, datable to III the century a.C., already partially inquired in years seventy, the resumption of the digging has allowed to determine the dimensions of the building and to identify of all the atmospheres, of which the main ones they are two knows them rectangular with times to botte and one round covered from one hemispheric cupola. The elements of the cover with time to botte have been find again to you collapse to you in situ, are the times that the cupola are constituted from arch contiguous parallels and, realize to you with great fittili tubes inserted one within the other, whose superficial, it is inside that outside, they were covered from intonaco also colored. The last participation has interested contrada the Saint Francisco Bisconti, center of an important sanctuary ctonio, dedicated to Demetra and Kore, characterized in 1979. The sacred area is unfolded on terraces orients to you to east, towards the Citadel, every terrazzo (four those identifies to you, to different quotas) accommodates a series of sacred buildings of several tipologie and dimensions, between which some sacelli it equips you of niches and docks for rituali depositions. The sanctuary was attended between the archaic age and that hellenistic one, that is between the end of YOU and III the century a.C. searches of the Soprintendenza put into effect Them them have lead to the discovery of an immense field of the consecrated median plan to carried out ceremonies in the open air.
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The Morgantina treasures
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As for repeating itself of the history also in modern times Morgantina it has been defrauded of its treasures. In fact from its discovery many have been the thefts to discapito of the situated one, but the thing that places a sure embarrassment is that the greater part of these trafugati treasures regularly is exposed in museums Americans. In particular between the many works of art of inestimabile value that find indebtedness in America there are:
The acroliti
Draft of two marble witness of natural largeness, with eyes to almond lacking in pupille, triangular forehead, labbra carnose and cutting supported to an enigmatic smile. To the witness braces of hands and feet of the same material were bound together. Malcom university professor Bell of the university of the Virginia, than from years directs the archaeological diggings to Morgantina, has defined them “only exemplary of archaic age known the world, deprives of comparison and therefore a lot meant you for the history of the Greek art “. The statues were trafugate to Morgantina from the tombaroli. In the years an eighty rich American, Maurice Tempelsman, acquired them to London and he on loan gave to Paul Getty to them Museum so that he exposed them in its display windows. Currently the statues more are not exposed to the museum and are in course from years one negotiation for their restitution.
The silver treasure
Draft of 15 silver pieces is found again to you in years' 80, during one illicit digging in one modest house in the western zone of the city. Also for these reperti the value is inestimabile and also for these, as for the acroliti ones, the origin from Morgantina is sure. Currently they conserved to the MET of New York, than have them acquire between 1981 and 1984 to you. The silver treasure is of particular historical and artistic interest because these 15 coming from pieces constitute with of manufatti of silvervare from the hellenistic Sicily. Also for they negotiation for their restitution is in course from years one. This inestimabile treasure, not ago that to confirm the importance of Morgantina (defined sicilian a Pompei novel) in the context of the archaeological patrimony of the Sicily, a Region that represents in numerical terms 40% of national the archaeological patrimony.
In order to comprise the importance of this inestimabile treasure of Morgantina the members list themselves several:
1) deep goblet to concave profile diameter cm.22, 8 weight gr.407;
2) deep goblet to concave profile diameter cm.22 weight gr.418;
3) pisside with decorated sheet to jolt ect. diameter cm.10, 5 weight gr.81 (with the raffigurazione of Demetra with one great cornucopia and embraced Ploutos of forehead);
4) semispherical goblet diameter cm.14-13 weight gr.151;
5) skyphos to ovoide goblet diameter cm.13, 3 weight gr.299;
6) kyathos diameter cm.5, 5 height cm.24, 7 weight gr.119;
7) log-conical container in order to stir the wine of the symposia with three forged supports to teatrali masks (ndr. representing Demetra - Persefone - Dionisio=satiro) height cm.19, 6 diameter cm.26 weight gr. 891;
8) deep goblet to conical profile height cm.6, 8 diameter 21 cm.peso gr.479;
9) olpe to ovoidale body height cm.9, 1 diameter cm.8 weight gr. 178;
10) Phiale mesomphalos height cm.2, 3 diameter cm.14, 8 weight gr.104;
11) Pisside with medaglione height cm.5, 5 diameter cm.8, 3 weight gr.148 (with working to gold leaf and the raffigurazione of the marine monster Squill in existence launch a masso of lavica stone, but could be be a matter of Goddess SIKELIA);
12) cylindrical Altar on square base height cm.11 base 10,6 weight gr.368;
13) Brace of corna - ognuna of length cm.15, 5, weight gr.74;
14) log-conical Container with three supports forged with teatrali masks Height cm.18, 5 diameter cm.26, 8 weight gr.820. (ditto to the nr.7)
Venere of morgantina
It is a high statue 2,20 meters, that it represents the goddess Aphrodite. The hats and the veil of the head lack and also the left foot and the arm, that they have been replaces to you from shapes in marble. The draped body is of limestone. The dress of the figure with the style of the bathed drapery joins to the inferior limbs putting of in evidence the below shapes. Its erected attitude, its expression of the serene ace and the increspato dressed one, represent the classic idea of the feminine beauty, while the largeness of the statue, the quality of the sculpture and the rifiniture leave to think that it was an exposed sacred image in a tempio dedicated to the goddess of the love. The trafugata Venere to Morgantina was broken in three parts in order to hide it and trafugarla clandestinely outside from the Sicily in pieces it separates to you. Arrived in Switzerland, it was reconstructed, restored and joined; sent to London it was sold in the course of a public auction and in 1988 acquired from the foundation Paul Getty and envoy to Los Angeles where it was exposed in the museum of Malibù. For a long time it is in existence a litigation between the Italian Authority and the Getty Museum on the right of the same one to stop and to expose illegally reperti trafugati, between which the Venere di Morgantina.
Recently the regarding litigation has been reopened the Venere, is of it has spoken a lot also on national newspapers. The national and regional authorities are “interesting to the problem”.
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The refund
Beyond to the Venere and the silver treasure of Morgantina there are at least from recovering the braces in witness marble, hands and feet, so-called acroliti, coming from anch'essi from the extraordinary “archaeological giacimento” of Morgantina. “E' a long job - the competent authorities say -, made of persuasions and diplomatic pressures. By now to last the decisive ones we are struck of this distance and the Sicily will come to behind the great testimonies of its ancient history”.
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