Salvatore Lauricella Archaeological Museum in Ravanusa

Il Salvatore Lauricella Archaeological Museum hosts several archaeological finds which trace the history of indigenous and ancient Greek civilizations Mount Saracen. The exhibition presents objects of daily life and grave goods that tell the story of the development of the local populations. In fact, the primitive inhabitants of prehistoric villages have become witnesses of the culture of Magna Graecia over time.

The Salvatore Lauricella Archaeological Museum and the history of the inhabitants of Monte Saraceno

The Salvatore Lauricella Archaeological Museum in Ravanusa in the province of Agrigento houses i finds of the western side of the valley of the river Salso on Monte Saraceno. The works are exhibited on the initiative of the Municipal Administration of Ravanusa, in agreement with the Superintendency for Cultural and Environmental Heritage of Agrigento. The museum presents to the public the artifacts found following various excavation campaigns from the XNUMXs to the XNUMXs.

The oldest objects date back to the XNUMXth century and belong to the prehistoric population who lived in villages with circular huts. In the XNUMXth century the Greek colonists settled in Sicily for economic and commercial reasons and the encounter between the two peoples gave rise to the culture of Magna Graecia. The city becomes lively and prosperous and achieves considerable progress also from an artistic point of view. In fact, previously only functional objects become refined, enriched with mythological figures and enlivened with the red color typical of Attica.

The itinerary of the Salvatore Lauricella Archaeological Museum

The museum, divided into two rooms, can also be visited virtually.

Showcase 1 houses the finds of the iron civilization such as various engraved indigenous vases and a globular vase with relief ribs.
In the following showcases 2 and 3 there are the finds that tell the story of a more stable and larger settlement with areas dedicated to religious worship.

Case 4 displays the polychrome terracottas that adorned the temples and the most valuable piece is the Gorgon - in Greek gorgoneion - associated with both Zeus and Athena. The work is a clear testimony of the relationship of the local populations with the Greek divinities.

In case 5 there are some arule - small altars - in terracotta painted with religious motifs while cases 6 to 12 present objects that tell the story of the daily life of the inhabitants of the area such as kitchen pottery, loom parts and pots.

Showcases 13 and 14 exhibit more recent household finds dating back to the second half of the 15th century, while showcases 18 to XNUMX contain imported Corinthian, Attic and Eastern Greek vases, witnesses of the dense commercial network that linked the south-western area of ​​Sicily with Greece.

The showcases from 19 to 24 house funerary objects and two sarcophagi decorated with semi-columns that reproduce a Doric temple. The most interesting piece in the museum collection is a vase without lid of Attic production depicting a donkey and a satyr in an erotic attitude. The work dated between 123 and 453 BC, was part of the equipment of a small sarcophagus that probably belonged to a child.

The visit itinerary ends with the remains of a funerary aedicule partly incorporated in a fortified tower. In fact, the building of a sacred nature was abandoned in the past and some elements of its construction were reused for the defense of the city.

What to see in Ravanusa and its surroundings

A few steps from the Archaeological Museum you can visit the Sanctuary of Maria SS. Assumed built in 1884. The church in a single nave is rich in white stucco and decorative elements that represent the liberation from Muslim rule by Ruggero d'Altavilla. In fact, the building collects the legacy of a first Christian temple built around the year one thousand to commemorate the victory of the Christians over the Saracens and later abandoned due to landslides.

Outside the town is the Archaeological site of Monte Saraceno. On the site there are traces of a city built on three terraces of which the upper one houses the remains of an acropolis. The central area has two successive urban systems and the oldest dates back to the times of the Hellenization of Gela in the XNUMXth century BC, while the lower part has settlements from the XNUMXth century.

About 40 km from Ravanusa is the Archaeological Park of the Valley of the Temples with the remains of 11 Doric temples, several civil buildings and two agoras. The archaeological area also houses the Regional Archaeological Museum of Agrigento with Sicilian and Hellenic finds of great interest.

How to reach the Salvatore Lauricella Archaeological Museum

The Salvatore Lauricella Archaeological Museum is located in the historic center of Ravanusa at number 27 of Corso della Repubblica and can be reached by car from Agrigento in about 40 minutes with the SS640 which leads from the coast to the inland area.