Philosophiana Project

The archaeological site of contrada Sofiana (Mazzarino, CL), located in the upper valley of the Porcheria-Nociara stream, a few kilometers from the Villa del Casale in Piazza Armerina, was discovered and excavated between the 1950s and 1960s by D. Adamesteanu. After a 20-year lull, investigations at Sofiana resumed between the 1980s and 1990s under the direction of Prof. G. F. La Torre. A new season of research, still ongoing, was launched in 2009 as part of the Philosophiana Project. Today archaeological research is conducted by the Universities of Trento and Messina in agreement with the Archaeological Park of Morgantina and the Villa Romana del Casale. The research is providing important information for the reconstruction of the settlement dynamics of the site and its hinterland. The results of the investigations offer a broad palimpsest of the history of this significant center of inland Sicily, from the late Hellenistic age to the Frederician age, the dynamics of which in the diachrony are of fundamental importance for the knowledge and reinterpretation of the main issues that affected central-southern Sicily in the longue durèe. In order to pursue these results, a multidisciplinary methodological protocol was elaborated, which included intra-site spatial reconnaissance supported by GPS technology, geophysical survey, test pits to verify anomalies; systematic and intensive extra-site reconnaissance; geophysical prospecting; GIS-based analysis of surface materials; extension excavations.