Motya
Motya (Mothia/ Mozia in Italian; Mozzia in Sicilian) is the name of an ancient city that gradually grew into a flourishing settlement. Dating from the 8th century BCE, this town is another creation of the Phoenicians who wisely manipulated their resources and turned the town into a notorious center. The names’ etymology sights a rather strange Phoenician concept, “mtw”, that supposedly means “wool-spinning center”. The position of the town sums up a number of crucial advantages that were subsequently exploited by the Carthaginians who are responsible for the creating one of the main commercial cities of those times. Its proximity to Africa and all the other natural perks attracted a considerable amount of interest which led to the developing of a massive commercial force.
About 1 km away from mainland Sicily, the island of San Pantaleo delightfully resides in a lagoon from the western part of Sicily. Remnants of the ancient city may still be observed on the small island of San Pantaleo. The island is sprinkled with fragments of ancient gateways, of walls that used to belong to millennia-old edifices, coins and pottery that make up the legacy of a variety of civilizations that inhabited and gradually developed the area. More accurate depictions can be read in literary works of historians.
Access to the island was brilliantly created through the construction of a paved road at the bottom of the lagoon. The town offers an outlook over the various past, by displaying cross-cultural objects such as Egyptian and Greek artifacts.
Those who are curious about the island are given the chance to face concrete reminisces of the former organization. Ancient gateways surrounding the town encourage the discovery of what they used to protect. Of all, the southwestern is rather intriguing as it enables the view of Mount Eryx in the background which is hardly a coincidence.
The Cappidazzu Sanctuary is one of the earliest memories. As a temple built in the memory of an unknown deity, it served for sacrificial offerings. A byzantine church now inhabits this ancient edifice.
The northern part of the island offers a necropolis that dates back to the 8th century. After the 5th, burials were transferred to the mainland, which led to the abandonment of the cemetery.
The local museum proudly displays a wonder of the past discovered in 1979. Giovane di Mozia (The Motya Youth) represents a male with missing feet and right arm beyond armpit. It has severely damaged parts, such as nose, chin, the right arm and parts of the attire. Even so, the statue offers enough evidence to be the Greek-kind, dating from around 440 BC. There is no assurance of his social status as his outfit is rather rare.
Literary sources cannot comprise full knowledge on Motya, considering the importance that it used to posses. Diodorus Siculus and his Bibliotheca remain the fundamental source of information, next to other testimonials of ancient mechanisms and archaic civilizations that used to populate the area.
A scarce amount of informational resources disable exhaustive knowledge on Motya, fact that is valid for all other archaeological parts of Sicily. Hopefully, the future holds further unforeseen discoveries that will answer some more questions.