Rete Civica di San Cipirello (PA)

The archeological zone of Monte Jato

The Monte lato, 852 metres high, rises at about thirty Kilometres to the west of Palermo. lt is bounded on three sides by rocky steep siopes; this is the reason why it is fit as a safe area of installation. lt was inhabited since the beginning of the first millennium B.C., notwithstanding the altitude and the difficuit climatic conditions. lt is one of rhe most interesting historical piaces and prehistoric ones in the west Sicily, either because of its long life. For these reasons it is fit especially for archaeological research. Since 1971 the lnstitute of Archaeology of Zurich University makes reguiar excavations. The aim of the archaeological research is the rebuilding of the history of the piace.lt is about the evocation and understanding of everyday life in the course of the miliennia, starting from the recoveries of the excavation, the architectonical monuments and manifactures also of common use such as ceramics, even if fragmentary. The name of the installation on Monte Jato was IAITAS in Greek, IETAS in Latin and Giato in the Middie Age. ]t is seidom cited in the written sources and usually with regard to its important strategic positon.in the Roman lmperial Age it was among the 45 Sicilian tributary towns of Rome. Under the Norman King WilliamiL, it was handed over to the Church and the Monastery of Monreale. In Xiil century, medieval Glato became the stage of the last Mussuiman revolt in Sicily against the emperor Frederick li. At last the town was conquered and razed to the ground in 1246. The survivers were transported, as aiready other Arab groups, Lucera in Apulia. The high side of Monte Jato is a large piain sioping down to the south. The urban area, partially surrounded by waiis, measured about 4Ohectares, and there was a drop of more than 100 metres. The excavation have been, up to now, concentrateci in the centre of the Greek town and in an area set at 150 metres to the west.

The First Centuries
The installation in Monte Jato trances back to the beginning of the first miliennium b. C..It is not known jet if the inhabitants have to be calied Elim or Sicani. The oidest evidence of Monte Jato consists of handmade ceramics either painted or carved. The oidest remains of buildings have been noticed behind tempie of Afrodite. A structure of stones, whith a curvilinear border, has to be interpreted as the basement of a hut of circular or ovai piain. we can take it for granted that the first installation in Monte Jato did not extend itself over the whole surface, covered, following upon, the Greek town. the tempie of Afrodite, built c.550 b.C., or a littie later, is the oldest public building. The name of the God Afrodite is conserved, incised on a fragmentary vase. Compared whith the primitive huts of thenatives, the tempie constitues a new extraneous element: the architect must have been a Greek , the workmen practised the Greek pertaining to building techniques. the religious observances show that also the participants in the worship were Greek. In the latter half of IV century b.C. natives and Greek cohabited in Monte Jato pacifically. In the south side of the one that wili be the main sqare, a buiding of about 20 metres by 7 is set. lt might be a Punic sanctuary. This building dating back to [V century b. C. covers another which is anterior and dates back to the mid-5th century b.C.; the last one is only partially uncovered. One of the most interseting interrogatives concerning the prehistoric installatio is the transition from a native viliage of huts to a Grek town: which was the impact between the local native culture and the Greek culture, technologically and intellectually much more advanced; in which age it happened and which repercussion it hand. The first Greek importations reached Monte Jato by way of Selinunte; in the mid-6th century b. C.. The tempie of Afrodite has also revealed to be a pureiy Greek building. The Hellenic civilization of the native peopies starts, therefore, from the arrivai of a group of Greek at Monte Jato in the mid-6th century b. C..

The Greek town
In c. 300 the installation of laitas was wholly rebuilt according to the Greek urban ruies. The fortifications, the roadways and the worthy of remark public building, such as the theatre, the main square whit the annexed buildings, are parts of the new urban pian. The residential quarters were also rebuilt. The way of the new main axes was not rectilinear: it is to be excluded therefore a reguiar urban pian. The stage of the new town, in total 68 metres wide, hand 35 balconies a capacity of 4400 seats. The ambit of the audience, with the balconies disposed in a semicircie, largeiy based on the naturai siope, lying below the summit of the Monte lato. The three inferior balconies, the third of which backs,served as seats of honour.Nowadays the lacking seats can be found above ali reused in the medieval buildings which occupied the zone of the old theatre. The soil of the orchestra, the circular area used for the dances of the corus, was in beaten earth. The rain-water ran through a stone manhole cover, into the channel which goes under the stage. The theatrical building, with its typical lateral (parasceni) enciosed the stage which was a littie raised compared with the orchestra. The main square or agora' of the town is a 50 metres by 40 open area, paved with sandstone siabs analogous to the ones of the main road. The square was surrounded, on the east, north and west sides, by arcades with two aisies. The westside of the main square contains three buildings erected on a unitary plan: the arcade,the lying behind council room or buleuterion of laitas and a tempie annexed to the south side. The west side was effected in the latter haif of li century b.C.,two centuries after ali the rest of the square. In the west of the arcade, some tiles with a Latin seal have been uncovered; the purchaser must have been therefore a Roman magistrate. The excavation of the residential quarters of the new town has been hitherto concentrateci on a noble dweiling having a row of piliars round the courtyard; for this reason it is calied peristyie house. The building covers 800 metres in the ground floor and was endowed with an upper floor covering most of its surface. In the pian of the house, 25 rooms can be counted in total, including the courtyards. A good suppiy of potabie water was assured by at least 4 cisterns of rain water, partiy coverei with arches. The colonnade of the courtyard was on two floors.The architectonic elements, made of local limestone, are in dorie and ionic order. The drawing rooms were on the north side of the courtyard. The characteristc pian, showing decentralized doors and windows, lets understand that the lateral rooms were banquet rooms. On the upper floor can be found rooms whose pians are identical to the ones of the ground floor.ln the 4 banquet rooms on the floors, one couid give hospitality to 72 peopie comfortably. The bathroom (room 21) is composed of a wash basin and an incorporateci bath-tub. In the west side of the courtyard one can find the admittance stairs to the upper floors as weil as, on the north-west corner, the oven, used for baking bread. The peristyle house was built c.300 b.C.. The wing with the bath was added a littie later, in the mid-3th century b.C..The definitive destruetion occured c,50 a.D. under the emperor Claudio.

The lmperial Roman age
In the first imperial age, the apogee of the town ¨s henceforth over.The peristyle house and the tempie of Afrodite have gone to ruin. The buildings in the main square are neglegted. In the theatre, the last eniargement remained unfinished.The ceramics, more than other things, heip us delineate the history of letas in the imperial age.The sealed aretine ceramics and also the african ones are representative of thi age.

The Medieval age
The Medieval ruins hitherto uncovered, date back,nearly ali of them, to the last decades of the life of Giato,when the town,before and during the great insurrection against the christian emperor Frederick li, had become the last refuge for the Mussuimans. The houses, hastily erected with stones taken away from old walls, built up rather bad.

The civic museum of San Cipirello
The civic museum of San Cipireliois situated in the centrai via Roma in San Cipirello.lt shows a choice (necessarily very limited because of the smali availabie room) of evidence coming from the excavation of Monte lato.in the entrance area one can see some piane geometries and graphic reconstructions of the most important historic building hitherto excavated. No doubt the most considerabie evidence is composed of four limestone statues bigger than in reality. Ali of them follow the same typology. The women wear, both of them, an ivy crown:therefore they are maenads accompanying Dioniso,the God of the theatre.The male figures are satyrs, belonging to Dioniso's circie. Their chest is encircied with a gariand and they wear a furskirt, the actors'dress. At the bottom of the room, one can see a reconstructed part of the roof of the scenic building of the theatre.lt is about big very heavy tiles which are almost a metre long.The Greek inscriptions sealed on them are a peculiarit… of the aforesaid tiles. In the posterior part of the museum different sorts of materia] are shown in some show-cases:in the parietal show-cases I (on the right)and Il (on the left), some complexes important for the history of the town, are shown; the show-cases lli (second on the left) and IV (at the bottom)exhibit old ceramics and medieval ones according to typological criteria. A placard on the wall next to show-cases 1, illustrates the main kinds of ceramics tastified in Monte lato;it can serve therefore as a guide to visitors. The low show-case in the centre of the room groups a cboice of non-ceramie materials.