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THE DANCING SATYR
Thanks to its geographical position, which placed it since ancient times at the center of the Mediterranean Sea routes, Sicily boasts extremely rich sea floor of archaeological finds, to date largely unknown. And the Mazara del Vallo area is no less important in terms of strategic position.
This is demonstrated by the fortuitous discovery of an ancient bronze statue, an original product of Greek art from the Classical period, possibly dating back to the 4th century BC, and belonging to the school of Praxiteles, nicknamed ” Dancing Satyr “.
The work represents a satyr, according to the mythology of ancient Greece, a mythological creature following the procession of Dionysus.
The discovery of the statue dates back the spring of 1997,
when the fishing boat “Captan Ciccio” casually recovers a bronze sculpture’s leg from the sea floor
of Mazara del Vallo.
In the night between March 4th and 5th 1998 the same fishing boat brings afloat the body without the other leg and arms.
The discovery causes such a stir that the statue, after restoration, is exhibited in Rome at the Chamber of Deputies, and in 2005 represents Italy at the Aichi Universal Expo in Japan.
According to the Sicilian Authority of the Sea, it could have come from the wreck of a Hellenic ship that sank in the Sicilian Channel, between Pantelleria and Capo Bon in Tunisia, between the 3rd and 2nd century BC
The work of about 2,5 meters high has been housed since 2005 at the Museum of the Dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo, since the end of the restoration carried out by the Central Institute for the Restoration of Rome.
THE MUSEUM OF THE DANCING SATYR IS APPROXIMATELY 18 MINUTES FROM GORGHI TONDI ESTATE, AN EXCELLENT OPPORTUNITY TO COMBINE A VISIT TO THE SATYR WITH OUR WINE TOURISM OPTIONS AND WITH A TASTING AT THE WINERY
The museum also showcases other finds from the waters of the Sicilian channel, including the bronze fragment of an elephant paw from the Punic-Hellenistic period, a bronze cauldron from the Medieval period, a selection of shipping amphorae from the Archaic, Classical, Hellenistic, Punic, Roman and Medieval eras. Two iron cannons from Torretta Granitola are also displayed, and some Corinthian and Ionic capitals coming from the same area.
