B&B IL PONTE - Aidone (En)

Aidone Archeological Museum
2009, 13 December: "Acroliti" exposition;
2010, April-June: Eupolemo's Treasure exposition;
2011: "Venere di Morgantina" is coming back.

Aidone and its Archeological Museum between 2009 and 2011 will host unbelievable events: finally, after year of waiting, some among the most important finds stolen from Morgantina are coming back.
From 13 december, the splendid "Acroliti" of 6th century B.C. are exposed in the Aidone Museum. They have been given back from the Virginia University Art Museum, wonderfully enriched of a body by the architect Salvo Russo and dressed by the greatest sicilian stylist Marella Ferrera. 
The "acroliti", dated back to the archaic Greek era (6th century B.C.), are the marble parts of a statue whose body was maybe wooden or anyway of a poorer material; ours consist of two heads, three hands and three feet of two statues, representing maybe Demetra and Persofone, whose cult was spread in all the Enna county.

The other two events:
- Within the first six months of 2010 the "Argenti di Eupolemo" will come back from New York Metropolitan Museum. They're fifteen refined pieces of gold and silver plate , dated back to the 3^rd century B.C. and stolen in 1981.
- At the beginning of 2011 the so called "Venere di Morgantina" will be given back from the Malibu Paul Getty Museum. The goddess is an excellent example of a Greek sculpture made at the end of the 5th century B.C., representing a goddess who walks with her dresses moved by the wind and tight to her body in Fidia's style. Its strong shapes and its steady posture belong to the iconography of Demetra, goddess of harvest whose cult in Sicily is very ancient, rather than to the iconography of Afrodite-Venere, like it's usually called.

 Easter traditions and rites of the Holy Week will usually take place according to the following calendar:

 ¨2^th April – Good Friday, the waking hours start at 5.00 p.m. with prayers and meditations; at 7.30 p.m. starts the “scisa a Cruci” the deposition of the cross and at 8.00 p.m., the procession of the glass sarcophagus, followed by the pious women and the Addolorata ( the grieving Mother of God), goes through the streets of the historical centre and continues ‘till late at night.

¨The Easter Reconciliation – on Easter Day at 11.00 a.m. in Piazza Cordova, starts the Search of Jesus Christ, carried out by the apostles – the “Santoni”. The rite ends with the reunion of the Virgin Mary and her Son; with church-bells ringing, fireworks and music played by the band in the background, all of this while the “Santoni” jump up and down gaily.
¨1^st May – S. Filippo – Pilgrimage and celebration of the Saint.  Between the end of April and the first days of May, Aidone is site of a continuous Pilgrimage, where pilgrims, both on foot and by car, undertake the journey to the miraculous Saint. The festival is on the 1^st May, the town is pacifically invaded by thousands of faithful, by vending stalls, coloured ribbon stalls and game parks, all symbols of the festivity. This is a very old tradition. The particular “black” statue that represents the saint is cloaked with legends. Indeed, the attraction and the great veneration that the saint excites the faithful to such a point, that they come in pilgrimage from the entire province of Enna, from Caltagirone and Mirabella (which are part of the province of Catania). 
In Aidone, apart from the Holy Week, are celebrated other festivities with processions and fireworks:
¨2^nd July – the Madonna delle Grazie, this festivity, in recent years, has been accompanied by an historical parade with Norman costumes.
¨10^th August – is the Patron Saint festivity day – apart from the religious celebrations, the procession and fireworks, which are fired at midnight, theatrical, song and sporting events take place which entertain the many immigrants that return to their home town on holiday, as well as visitors from near towns.

It is many years now that between July and August, classical tragedies are represented at Morgantina, which are connected to the “Stone Theatre” Circuit. The suggestive representations take place at night-time, so that the theatre and the agora  can be lit up by oil-lamps.

On this same site, in the last three years, school students of the Classical and Scientific Lyceum of Piazza Armerina, have represented both classical and modern dramas through the theatrical events of “Il Teatro delle Scuole” (School Theatre Festival).