PANTALICA RULES!!!!!!!

Okay, in honor of July-- Sicily Month-- here's a post about the rockinest ancient in all of Sicily. PANTALICA is in eastern Sicily, not too far inland from Syracuse, on the limestone plateau that rises up from the sea. It's most famous, of course, for having inspired the names of the bands Pantera and Metallica (though some rogue metalologists claim Matelica, in le Marche, as the origin of the name). And it ROCKS, DUDE!

Literally, as it turns out. The archaeological site is an isolated canyon with really dramatic limestone cliffs, into which are carved thousands of tombs:



This isn't such a great picture, but trust me, it's one of the most beautiful sites in Sicily. And one of the oldest: the oldest tombs date from the Bronze Age. As in, pre-Greek, pre-Roman, pre-just-about everything. I know basically nothing about Sicily at that period. Fortunately, I'm in good company: there's a structure there (not a tomb, a building) that either dates from the Bronze Age or the Byzantine period. Which gives you a good idea of the mystery that is Pantalica.

But even at that early date, the Pantalicans had a good idea of the majesty that is Pantalica, and the majesty that IS. ROCK. AND. ROLL. And to those who were about to rock, we salute you!

arrivederci, Roma

I've been putting off this post for two weeks- the two weeks since I got back from Rome. The year's over, and I'll end it as I've mostly spent it: as the man said, no hugging, no learning. Italy won the World Cup, I've eaten some good Vietnamese food, and there you go.

I'll keep the blog up for a while; heck, I've still got several thousand photos to sort through, and maybe I can write something semi-coherent about Italy, for at least the rest of the summer. Rock!