DOCSLIB.ORG

The Experience of Battle in the Sicilian Expedition: from the Great Harbour to the River Assinarus

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Experience of Battle in the Sicilian Expedition: from the Great Harbour to the River Assinarus Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-22-2013 12:00 AM The Experience of Battle in the Sicilian Expedition: From the Great Harbour to the River Assinarus Frank D. D'Earmo The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Bernd Steinbock The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Classics A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Master of Arts © Frank D. D'Earmo 2013 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons Recommended Citation D'Earmo, Frank D., "The Experience of Battle in the Sicilian Expedition: From the Great Harbour to the River Assinarus" (2013). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 1231. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/1231 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE EXPERIENCE OF BATTLE IN THE SICILIAN EXPEDITION: FROM THE GREAT HARBOUR TO THE RIVER ASSINARUS Monograph by Frank D’Earmo Graduate Program in Classical Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Frank D’Earmo 2013 Abstract Drawing on John Keegan’s Face of Battle approach, this MA thesis reconstructs the soldiers’ experience during the final phase of the Athenians’ Sicilian Expedition (415- 413 BC). By integrating a thorough analysis of the extant historiographical sources (Thucydides, Diodorus Siculus, Plutarch’s Life of Nicias) with the intrinsic aspects of ancient Greek naval and land warfare, the topography around Syracuse, and the Athenian soldiers’ psychological condition, I seek to improve our understanding of how and why the Athenians and their allies lost the decisive naval engagement in the Great Harbour and failed to escape the Syracusans during their final retreat overland. I make the case that the Athenian defeat is largely caused by factors outside of their control such as access to resources, geography, and Syracusan preparedness. However, the Athenians also suffered owing to their own inaction caused by demoralization. Keywords Athens; Syracuse; Peloponnesian War; Sicilian Expedition; Greek Military History; Experience of Battle; John Keegan; Naval Warfare; Hoplite Warfare; Thucydides i Acknowledgments I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Bernd Steinbock, for his constant encouragement and dedication during this lengthy project. I would also like to express my gratitude to the entire Department of Classical Studies at the University of Western Ontario for providing an intellectually stimulating environment which allowed me to flourish. In particular, I give thanks to my mentor, Dr. Christopher G. Brown, who has been a source of inspiration for me. I thank my thesis examiners, Dr. Christopher G. Brown, Dr. Alexander Meyer, and Dr. Jonathan Vance, for their astute observations and criticisms. I thank my family for their unending support. Finally, I would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for their generous support to undertake this project. ii Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... ii Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iii List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi List of Appendices ........................................................................................................... viii Chapter 1: Objectives, Methods, and Sources .................................................................... 1 Objectives ....................................................................................................................... 1 Methodology .................................................................................................................. 5 Sources ........................................................................................................................... 9 Thucydides ............................................................................................................ 10 Thucydides as Literary Artist and as Historian ..................................................... 10 Philistus ................................................................................................................. 20 Ephorus ................................................................................................................. 21 Timaeus ................................................................................................................. 22 Diodorus ................................................................................................................ 23 Plutarch ................................................................................................................. 23 Other Literary Sources .......................................................................................... 24 Non-Literary Sources ............................................................................................ 25 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 2: The Battle in the Great Harbour ...................................................................... 28 Essentials of Naval Battle ............................................................................................ 28 Ramming ............................................................................................................... 31 iii Boarding ................................................................................................................ 35 Forced Beaching ................................................................................................... 38 Before the Battle .......................................................................................................... 38 Preparations........................................................................................................... 40 Nicias’ Tactical Decisions .................................................................................... 46 The Will to Combat .............................................................................................. 49 The Battle ..................................................................................................................... 53 Initial Charge ........................................................................................................ 54 Missile Infantry ..................................................................................................... 58 Hoplites ................................................................................................................. 61 The Din of Battle .................................................................................................. 66 Generals ................................................................................................................ 68 Troops on the Shore .............................................................................................. 69 Unanswered Questions.......................................................................................... 70 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 71 Chapter 3: The Athenian Retreat ...................................................................................... 73 Aftermath of the Naval Defeat ..................................................................................... 73 Athenian Troop Numbers ............................................................................................. 79 Logistics of the March ................................................................................................. 85 Syracusan Strategy ....................................................................................................... 90 Essentials of Land Combat........................................................................................... 91 Hoplites ................................................................................................................. 91 Cavalry .................................................................................................................. 97 Peltasts ................................................................................................................ 102 iv Archers ................................................................................................................ 104 Slingers ............................................................................................................... 105 Non-Military Forces of the Athenians ................................................................ 106 The Athenian March .................................................................................................
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Demosthenes, Chaeronea, and the Rhetoric of Defeat
    CHAPTER 6 Demosthenes, Chaeronea, and the Rhetoric of Defeat Max L. Goldman Introduction For years Demosthenes urged the Athenians to oppose the rising power of Macedon, which had come to prominence in the second half of the fourth century through the diplomatic and military efforts of its king, Philip II.1 Demosthenes finally convinced the Athenians and the Thebans to form an al- liance, which faced Philip at Chaeronea in the late summer of 338 BCE. Philip’s decisive victory in that battle had immediate consequences for the political landscape of the Greek world and modern historical narratives tend to treat Chaeronea as a turning point, as the moment when mainland Greece ceased to engage in independent foreign policy actions.2 Although this turned out to be the case, it was not immediately clear at Athens that the new order established by Philip after the battle was irrevocable. When Demosthenes was selected to deliver the funeral oration (logos epitaphios) for the Athenians who died at the battle of Chaeronea, he faced a particularly challenging task because the soldiers, whose deaths he needed to praise, had died fighting a losing battle, a battle he had vigorously advocated for. In his funeral oration, Demosthenes needed to discuss the defeat and his role in it in a way that created a sense of continuity with the past, that minimized the potential disruption such a defeat can inflict on a community, and that gave the Athenians a way to understand their defeat and his role in it. There can be no doubt that Demosthenes delivered the oration for the dead of Chaeronea.
    [Show full text]
  • The Fleet of Syracuse (480-413 BCE)
    ANDREAS MORAKIS The Fleet of Syracuse (480-413 BCE) The Deinomenids The ancient sources make no reference to the fleet of Syracuse until the be- ginning of the 5th century BCE. In particular, Thucydides, when considering the Greek maritime powers at the time of the rise of the Athenian empire, includes among them the tyrants of Sicily1. Other sources refer more precisely to Gelon’s fleet, during the Carthaginian invasion in Sicily. Herodotus, when the Greeks en- voys asked for Gelon’s help to face Xerxes’ attack, mentions the lord of Syracuse promising to provide, amongst other things, 200 triremes in return of the com- mand of the Greek forces2. The same number of ships is also mentioned by Ti- maeus3 and Ephorus4. It is very odd, though, that we hear nothing of this fleet during the Carthaginian campaign and the Battle of Himera in either the narration of Diodorus, or the briefer one of Herodotus5. Nevertheless, other sources imply some kind of naval fighting in Himera. Pausanias saw offerings from Gelon and the Syracusans taken from the Phoenicians in either a sea or a land battle6. In addition, the Scholiast to the first Pythian of Pindar, in two different situations – the second one being from Ephorus – says that Gelon destroyed the Carthaginians in a sea battle when they attacked Sicily7. 1 Thuc. I 14, 2: ὀλίγον τε πρὸ τῶν Μηδικῶν καὶ τοῦ ∆αρείου θανάτου … τριήρεις περί τε Σικελίαν τοῖς τυράννοις ἐς πλῆθος ἐγένοντο καὶ Κερκυραίοις. 2 Hdt. VII 158. 3 Timae. FGrHist 566 F94= Polyb. XII 26b, 1-5, but the set is not the court of Gelon, but the conference of the mainland Greeks in Corinth.
    [Show full text]
  • The Real Spirit of Eastern Sicily
    Drive & Hike, Walk & Discover The Real Spirit of Eastern Sicily Exploring a mythical island: Mount Etna, ancient civilizations, Greek, Roman and Baroque treasures TRIP NOTES 2021 © Genius Loci Travel. All rights reserved. booking@genius -loci.it | www.genius -loci.it *** GENIUS LOCI TRAVEL - The Real Spirit Of Italy *** Drive & Hike, Walk & Discover INTRODUCTION Everybody knows Sicily. And most of us could even name a few famous places such as Taormina, Mt. Etna, and Syracuse. All places which definitely deserve a visit! But this tour will also show you life in Sicily as the real Sicilians live it. You’ll fully explore the south-eastern part of Sicily, home to the eight baroque towns, listed by UNESCO as ‘world heritage sites’. Both Noto and Ragusa are a must! Of course you will visit Syracuse, once the most powerful Greek city in the world, where 3000 years of history are still alive. Visit its amazing Greek ‘Neapolis’ - and perhaps attend a show - and explore this intriguing city carefully. You will of course make a few nice walks, to explore the amazing landscape of the Iblei Mountains. Discover the inland villages, yet to be discovered by mass tourism. Sit in the shade of the orange trees and have a nice country lunch with local specialties. Have a delicious almond or strawberry ‘granita’ for breakfast, swim in the little pools of the wonderful Pantalica Gorge and handpick some fresh oranges. You will be part of the different civilizations that have chosen Sicily as their base: you’ll walk past prehistoric caves, Byzantine churches and baroque buildings.
    [Show full text]
  • The Roles of Solon in Plato's Dialogues
    The Roles of Solon in Plato’s Dialogues Dissertation Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Samuel Ortencio Flores, M.A. Graduate Program in Greek and Latin The Ohio State University 2013 Dissertation Committee: Bruce Heiden, Advisor Anthony Kaldellis Richard Fletcher Greg Anderson Copyrighy by Samuel Ortencio Flores 2013 Abstract This dissertation is a study of Plato’s use and adaptation of an earlier model and tradition of wisdom based on the thought and legacy of the sixth-century archon, legislator, and poet Solon. Solon is cited and/or quoted thirty-four times in Plato’s dialogues, and alluded to many more times. My study shows that these references and allusions have deeper meaning when contextualized within the reception of Solon in the classical period. For Plato, Solon is a rhetorically powerful figure in advancing the relatively new practice of philosophy in Athens. While Solon himself did not adequately establish justice in the city, his legacy provided a model upon which Platonic philosophy could improve. Chapter One surveys the passing references to Solon in the dialogues as an introduction to my chapters on the dialogues in which Solon is a very prominent figure, Timaeus- Critias, Republic, and Laws. Chapter Two examines Critias’ use of his ancestor Solon to establish his own philosophic credentials. Chapter Three suggests that Socrates re- appropriates the aims and themes of Solon’s political poetry for Socratic philosophy. Chapter Four suggests that Solon provides a legislative model which Plato reconstructs in the Laws for the philosopher to supplant the role of legislator in Greek thought.
    [Show full text]
  • Demetrius Poliorcetes and the Hellenic League
    DEMETRIUSPOLIORCETES AND THE HELLENIC LEAGUE (PLATE 33) 1. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND D JURING the six years, 307/6-302/1 B.C., issues were raised and settled which shaped the course of western history for a long time to come. The epoch was alike critical for Athens, Hellas, and the Macedonians. The Macedonians faced squarely during this period the decision whether their world was to be one world or an aggregate of separate kingdoms with conflicting interests, and ill-defined boundaries, preserved by a precarious balance of power and incapable of common action against uprisings of Greek and oriental subjects and the plundering appetites of surrounding barbarians. The champion of unity was King Antigonus the One- Eyed, and his chief lieutenant his brilliant but unstatesmanlike son, King Demetrius the Taker of Cities, a master of siege operations and of naval construction and tactics, more skilled in organizing the land-instruments of warfare than in using them on the battle field. The final campaign between the champions of Macedonian unity and disunity opened in 307 with the liberation of Athens by Demetrius and ended in 301 B.C. with the Battle of the Kings, when Antigonus died in a hail of javelins and Demetrius' cavalry failed to penetrate a corps of 500 Indian elephants in a vain effort to rescue hinm. Of his four adversaries King Lysimachus and King Kassander left no successors; the other two, Kings Ptolemy of Egypt and Seleucus of Syria, were more fortunate, and they and Demetrius' able son, Antigonus Gonatas, planted the three dynasties with whom the Romans dealt and whom they successively destroyed in wars spread over 44 years.
    [Show full text]
  • The Herodotos Project (OSU-Ugent): Studies in Ancient Ethnography
    Faculty of Literature and Philosophy Julie Boeten The Herodotos Project (OSU-UGent): Studies in Ancient Ethnography Barbarians in Strabo’s ‘Geography’ (Abii-Ionians) With a case-study: the Cappadocians Master thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Linguistics and Literature, Greek and Latin. 2015 Promotor: Prof. Dr. Mark Janse UGent Department of Greek Linguistics Co-Promotores: Prof. Brian Joseph Ohio State University Dr. Christopher Brown Ohio State University ACKNOWLEDGMENT In this acknowledgment I would like to thank everybody who has in some way been a part of this master thesis. First and foremost I want to thank my promotor Prof. Janse for giving me the opportunity to write my thesis in the context of the Herodotos Project, and for giving me suggestions and answering my questions. I am also grateful to Prof. Joseph and Dr. Brown, who have given Anke and me the chance to be a part of the Herodotos Project and who have consented into being our co- promotores. On a whole other level I wish to express my thanks to my parents, without whom I would not have been able to study at all. They have also supported me throughout the writing process and have read parts of the draft. Finally, I would also like to thank Kenneth, for being there for me and for correcting some passages of the thesis. Julie Boeten NEDERLANDSE SAMENVATTING Deze scriptie is geschreven in het kader van het Herodotos Project, een onderneming van de Ohio State University in samenwerking met UGent. De doelstelling van het project is het aanleggen van een databank met alle volkeren die gekend waren in de oudheid.
    [Show full text]
  • Ancient History Sourcebook: 11Th Brittanica: Sparta SPARTA an Ancient City in Greece, the Capital of Laconia and the Most Powerful State of the Peloponnese
    Ancient History Sourcebook: 11th Brittanica: Sparta SPARTA AN ancient city in Greece, the capital of Laconia and the most powerful state of the Peloponnese. The city lay at the northern end of the central Laconian plain, on the right bank of the river Eurotas, a little south of the point where it is joined by its largest tributary, the Oenus (mount Kelefina). The site is admirably fitted by nature to guard the only routes by which an army can penetrate Laconia from the land side, the Oenus and Eurotas valleys leading from Arcadia, its northern neighbour, and the Langada Pass over Mt Taygetus connecting Laconia and Messenia. At the same time its distance from the sea-Sparta is 27 m. from its seaport, Gythium, made it invulnerable to a maritime attack. I.-HISTORY Prehistoric Period.-Tradition relates that Sparta was founded by Lacedaemon, son of Zeus and Taygete, who called the city after the name of his wife, the daughter of Eurotas. But Amyclae and Therapne (Therapnae) seem to have been in early times of greater importance than Sparta, the former a Minyan foundation a few miles to the south of Sparta, the latter probably the Achaean capital of Laconia and the seat of Menelaus, Agamemnon's younger brother. Eighty years after the Trojan War, according to the traditional chronology, the Dorian migration took place. A band of Dorians united with a body of Aetolians to cross the Corinthian Gulf and invade the Peloponnese from the northwest. The Aetolians settled in Elis, the Dorians pushed up to the headwaters of the Alpheus, where they divided into two forces, one of which under Cresphontes invaded and later subdued Messenia, while the other, led by Aristodemus or, according to another version, by his twin sons Eurysthenes and Procles, made its way down the Eurotas were new settlements were formed and gained Sparta, which became the Dorian capital of Laconia.
    [Show full text]
  • Marathon 2,500 Years Edited by Christopher Carey & Michael Edwards
    MARATHON 2,500 YEARS EDITED BY CHRISTOPHER CAREY & MICHAEL EDWARDS INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES SCHOOL OF ADVANCED STUDY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON MARATHON – 2,500 YEARS BULLETIN OF THE INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES SUPPLEMENT 124 DIRECTOR & GENERAL EDITOR: JOHN NORTH DIRECTOR OF PUBLICATIONS: RICHARD SIMPSON MARATHON – 2,500 YEARS PROCEEDINGS OF THE MARATHON CONFERENCE 2010 EDITED BY CHRISTOPHER CAREY & MICHAEL EDWARDS INSTITUTE OF CLASSICAL STUDIES SCHOOL OF ADVANCED STUDY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON 2013 The cover image shows Persian warriors at Ishtar Gate, from before the fourth century BC. Pergamon Museum/Vorderasiatisches Museum, Berlin. Photo Mohammed Shamma (2003). Used under CC‐BY terms. All rights reserved. This PDF edition published in 2019 First published in print in 2013 This book is published under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives (CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0) license. More information regarding CC licenses is available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ Available to download free at http://www.humanities-digital-library.org ISBN: 978-1-905670-81-9 (2019 PDF edition) DOI: 10.14296/1019.9781905670819 ISBN: 978-1-905670-52-9 (2013 paperback edition) ©2013 Institute of Classical Studies, University of London The right of contributors to be identified as the authors of the work published here has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Designed and typeset at the Institute of Classical Studies TABLE OF CONTENTS Introductory note 1 P. J. Rhodes The battle of Marathon and modern scholarship 3 Christopher Pelling Herodotus’ Marathon 23 Peter Krentz Marathon and the development of the exclusive hoplite phalanx 35 Andrej Petrovic The battle of Marathon in pre-Herodotean sources: on Marathon verse-inscriptions (IG I3 503/504; Seg Lvi 430) 45 V.
    [Show full text]
  • The Philistine Emergence and Its Possible Bearing on The
    STEPHANOS VOGAZIANOS THE PHILISTINE EMERGENCE AND ITS POSSIBLE BEARING ON THE APPEARANCE AND ACTIVITIES OF AEGEAN INVADERS IN THE EAST MEDITERRANEAN AREA AT THE END OF THE MYCENAEAN PERIOD INTRODUCTION This paper has been undertaken with a view to tracing the connection between the Old Testament Philistines - plst or prst in the Ramessid inscriptions - and the Aegean people during the time of the social and political unrest in the Aegean sea, with special reference to the tribe which is referred to as «Dorians» in the writings of later Greek historians - that is, the «Northern intruders* of Greek written and oral tradition who are credited with having wiped out the Mycenaean palace civilization. Much emphasis has been laid so far on the many common aspects of Philistine and Minoan/ Mycenaean cultures; these aspects have been considered by quite a number of scholars to be so numerous that any resemblance between the Philistine culture and any culture other than those quoted above would require neither to be investigated as remarkable nor even to be thought of as likely. However, there seems to be evidence in favour of a connection between the Philistines and the so-called «Dorians» of the Greek tradition and this paper sets out to render this connection clear and also to put forward the theory that by virtue of this relationship the ties linking the Philistines with the Dorians may well be stronger than those connecting them with either the Minoans or the Mycenaeans. Relevant archaeological and literary records will both be drawn upon extensively throughout the text in an attempt, by supplementing one another, to draw a picture of what the various developments could have been like.
    [Show full text]
  • Seeing Oursel Es in the Xenoi – Plato's Warning to the Greeks
    Akropolis 3 (2019) 129-149 Marina Marren* Seeing Ourseles in the Xenoi – Plato’s Warning to the Greeks Abstract: In this essay about the story of Atlantis in Plato’s Timaeus, we focus on the crucial political message that the Atlantis tale contains. More precisely, we seek to respond to a question that may evade a completely satisfactory answer. The question is: Could Plato’s story of the rise and fall of Atlantis, in the Timaeus, be a warning tale to the Greeks of his own time? In order to root the inves- tigation prompted by this question in solid textual ground, we pay close attention to the framing of the Atlantis tale. In what follows, we analyze the series of substitutions (between mythical, ancient, and historical cities, i.e., Atlantis, Athens, and Sais) that Plato uses as he seeks to bring his readers to a point from which we can assess the politics of ancient Athens – a city that in Plato’s time stands on the brink of repeating the political blunders of the formerly glorious empire of the East. Introduction In the spirit of the tradition that takes Plato’s dialogues to be both works of literary genius and of philosophy, we pay careful attention to Plato’s narrative frames and to his choice of interlocutors in order to tease out the philosoph- ical and political recommendations that Plato has for his ancient readers and that his dialogues offer to us. To that end, in Section II, we focus on providing philosophically pertinent details related to the identity and ambitions of Critias IV who, on our interpretation, is the narrator of the Atlantis story.
    [Show full text]
  • 10. Rood, Thucydides and His Predecessors 230-267
    Histos () - THUCYDIDES AND HIS PREDECESSORS Thucydides’ response to his literary predecessors has been explored with some frequency in recent years. Several articles have appeared even since Simon Hornblower recently wrote that ‘two areas needing more work are Thucydides’ detailed intertextual relation to Homer and to Herodotus’. In these discussions, Thucydides tends to be seen as inheriting a wide range of specific narrative techniques from Homer, and as alluding to particular pas- sages in epic through the use of epic terms and through the broader struc- turing of his story. It has also been stressed that Thucydides’ relationship with Homer should be studied in the light of the pervasive Homeric charge found in the work of Herodotus, the greatest historian before Thucydides. Nor is Thucydides’ debt to Herodotus merely a matter of his taking over Herodotus’ Homeric features: it is seen, for instance, in his modelling of his Sicilian narrative after Herodotus’ account of the Persian Wars, and in his assuming knowledge of events described by Herodotus. Nonetheless, no apology is needed for making another contribution to this topic: by drawing together and examining some of the recent explora- tions of Thucydidean intertextuality, I hope to establish more firmly how Thucydides alluded to his predecessors; and by looking beyond the worlds of epic and Herodotus that have dominated recent discussions, I hope to present a more rounded image of the literary milieu of the early Greek his- torians. OCD (the conclusion to a survey, published in , of work on Thucydides since , when the second edition of the OCD was published). For an excellent general account of the importance of Homer for historiography, see H.
    [Show full text]
  • Photo Ragusa
    foto Municipalities (link 3) Modica Modica [ˈmɔːdika] (Sicilian: Muòrica, Greek: Μότουκα, Motouka, Latin: Mutyca or Motyca) is a city and comune of 54.456 inhabitants in the Province of Ragusa, Sicily, southern Italy. The city is situated in the Hyblaean Mountains. Modica has neolithic origins and it represents the historical capital of the area which today almost corresponds to the Province of Ragusa. Until the 19th century it was the capital of a County that exercised such a wide political, economical and cultural influence to be counted among the most powerful feuds of the Mezzogiorno. Rebuilt following the devastating earthquake of 1693, its architecture has been recognised as providing outstanding testimony to the exuberant genius and final flowering of Baroque art in Europe and, along with other towns in the Val di Noto, is part of UNESCO Heritage Sites in Italy. Saint George’s Church in Modica Historical chocolate’s art in Modica The Cioccolato di Modica ("Chocolate of Modica", also known as cioccolata modicana) is an Italian P.G.I. specialty chocolate,[1] typical of the municipality of Modica in Sicily, characterized by an ancient and original recipe using manual grinding (rather than conching) which gives the chocolate a peculiar grainy texture and aromatic flavor.[2][3][4] The specialty, inspired by the Aztec original recipe for Xocolatl, was introduced in the County of Modica by the Spaniards, during their domination in southern Italy.[5][6] Since 2009 a festival named "Chocobarocco" is held every year in the city. Late Baroque Towns of the Val di Noto (South-Eastern Sicily) The eight towns in south-eastern Sicily: Caltagirone, Militello Val di Catania, Catania, Modica, Noto, Palazzolo, Ragusa and Scicli, were all rebuilt after 1693 on or beside towns existing at the time of the earthquake which took place in that year.
    [Show full text]