Things to see in Piazza Armerina

Piazza Armerina is a historic town in the heart of Sicily, best known for the nearby Villa Romana del Casale, a UNESCO World Heritage Site famed for its extensive Roman mosaics. The town itself offers a blend of Baroque architecture, medieval streets, and lively festivals, making it a great inland stop for travellers exploring Sicily beyond the coast.

The old town contains several interesting buildings.

Villa Romana del Casale. One of the highlights of Sicily, with the remains of a large number of rooms covered by a huge canopy to protect the numerous elaborate mosaics which are much more impressive than those at Pompeii. In fact you can tell what the room was by the mosaic. For instance, there is a mosaic with a rather rotund man getting a massage, then being washed down to enter the baths. After the baths the room shows the man drying off with a big fluffy towel. With that you know the first room was to get relaxed before entering the baths and so on. Also very interesting is the mosaic of the "Girls in Bikinis" depicting women working out in a gym. Piazza Armerina Cathedral (Cattedrale di Maria Santissima delle Vittorie. The massive Baroque cathedral (17th and 18th centuries), built on the 15th-century foundations of a former church, from which the bell tower was taken and reused. Also original to the 15th-century church are the Catalan-Gothic style windows on the left side. The dome dates from 1768. The façade has a notable portal with spiral columns by Leonardo De Luca.