Sicily's strategic position in the centre of the Mediterranean made it a vitally important conquest for numerous civilizations and cultures, each of whom contributed to the island's extremely rich and varied art and architecture. This course will start with the arrival of Greek colonists from the eight century BCE and continue through to the death of the King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, in 1250. En-route we will also study the cultural legacies of the Greeks, Romans, Muslims from the Near Middle East and the Maghreb, and the Normans.
This short introductory course will highlight some of the key works produced during this fascinating period of Sicilian history, including: the monumental Doric temples and superbly-sited theatres of the Greek colonists, and a profusion of their notable bronzes, coins, and pottery; the beauty of Archimedean maths and its multiple applications; the vast late Roman villa near Piazza Armerina with its extraordinarily well-preserved floor mosaics; followed by the resplendent Byzantine mosaics of the sublime Christ Pantocrator at Cefalù, and Norman Palermo's exquisite Palatine Chapel, to the magnificent Monreale cathedral; the fascinating and architecturally advanced Siculo-Arabic Zisa Palace; finishing with the remarkable proto-Renaissance court culture of Frederick II, known by many as Stupor Mundi or Wonder of the World, while also being reviled by successive popes and excommunicated on three occasions.