TINDARI
Along the Northern coast
of Sicily, not to far from Milazzo and Messina, one can
visit the archaeological digs of Tindari (Tyndaris), last
of the Greek colonies.
It was founded by Dionysius I (Dionysius the Elder) of Syracuse
in 396 BC, and became the native land of mercenaries who
had fought against Carthage.
During the First Punic War, it had to accept the appropriation
of Carthaginian troops, called by the Mamertini of Messina.
For this reason, it was the stage for a naval battle between
Rome and Carthage, the Battle of Tindari (Tyndaris) in 257
BC, in which the Romans prevailed.
Passed over to Roman hands, Tyndaris became the base of
the fleet of Sesto Pompeo (Sextus Pompeius), son of Pompeo
Magno (Pompeius Magnus), which fought in Sicily against
Augustus and were defeated in the naval Battle of Nauloco
(36BC).
Tyndaris meanwhile prospered and became nobilissima civitas,
until the end of the first century AD, when a landslide
caused part of the City to fall into the sea. It became
an Episcopal seat and was hit by earthquakes in the 4th
Century.
After the Barbaric invasion era and the dominion of the
Goths, the City was integrated into the Byzantine dominion
in 535. Its destruction came about by the Arabs in 836.
Tyndaris was re-discovered in the 19th Century and its enlargement
explored during the course of the 20th Century. Statues
and mosaics were discovered and are now preserved in the
local Museum or the Regional Archaeological Museum of Palermo.
On the site, one can still admire the defensive walls which
are well preserved and date back to the III Century BC,
the Basilica from late Imperial times, with its intact columns
and vaults preserved on the first floor, a thermal building
with precious flooring and mosaics.
Every year since 1956, a theatre which was constructed at
the end of the 4th Century BC, hosts a dance, music and
theatrical festival.
|
