{"id":67793,"date":"2015-03-03T19:16:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-03T18:16:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/?p=67793"},"modified":"2026-10-12T21:51:41","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T20:51:41","slug":"solunto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sicile-sicilia.net\/en\/solunto","title":{"rendered":"Solunto"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n

On the south-eastern slopes of Mount Catalfano<\/strong><\/a>, which rises to 376 metres, and a few kilometres from the centre of Bagheria<\/a>, the ancient remains of Solunto<\/strong> occupy a panoramic position facing the sea and Cape Zafferano, about 20 kilometres east of Palermo.<\/p>\n

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Phoenician Kafara<\/h2>\n

In the time of Thucydides, Kafara<\/strong> (meaning village<\/em> in Phoenician) was one of the three main Phoenician cities – together with Panormus (present-day Palermo<\/a>) and Motya<\/a> – founded around the 8th century BC. It stood further south of the remains of Solunto, towards the promontory of S\u00f2lanto. Very few remains have been found there because of recent urbanisation, along with scattered traces in the surroundings, such as kilns and dwellings near the station and an underground necropolis in the Olivella district.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Archaeological site of Solunto<\/h2>\n
\"House<\/a>

House of the Gymnasium<\/p><\/div>\n

The town plan has a rectangular layout of Hellenistic type, crossed by streets that intersect at right angles, with a wide avenue leading to the agora, the public square and the theatre, passing by the “ginnasio”, one of the most sumptuous houses in the city, 15 metres high.
North-east of the agora is a large cistern, facing a thermal complex with mosaic floors. The theatre could hold nearly 1200 spectators. A sacred area dates back to the Punic period, with a sacrificial space, its altar and a reservoir to collect the blood of the animals.<\/p>\n

The rectangular residential blocks (insulae<\/em>) are laid out in a grid of perpendicular streets, occupying terraces on the slope, connected by stairways. The houses had several storeys. In the central district the house blocks have peristyles (central courtyards with colonnaded porticoes), whereas other, less wealthy districts had only a simple central courtyard. The Casa di Leda deserves attention for its size and its mosaic floors.
Between the terraces, conduits (ambitus<\/em>) channelled rainwater, notably for the water supply.
A thermal district lies to the south of the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n