Sicily Arms and Armor -- myArmoury.com

Julien M · Posted: Wed 21 May, 2014 3:33 am Post subject: Sicily Arms and Armor

Hi all,

Off to Sicily next week. Any Arms and Armor recommendations sites or collections worth seeing there?
Plenty of historical sites, but none that I am aware of related to our common topic of interest.

Cheers,

J

Neil Melville · Posted: Wed 21 May, 2014 5:02 am Post subject:

Hi Julien,
Lucky you, Sicily is a fabulous place, especially for the Greek architecture and the Norman (11th-12th cent) mosaics.
But the only A+A stuff I can think of is the cloister of the abbey at Monreale, just south of Palermo. The 12th cent capitals
depict numerous armed and fighting figures in mail, helmets, lances, swords etc. The archaeological museum at Syracuse is modern with good displays but not a lot of A+A, and that is ancient Greek. A good time to go - before too many coach tours arrive, good luck.
Neil

Hadrian Coffin · Industry Professional

I was just in Sicily, I have spent quite a bit of time there... and am currently writing on Arabic administration in Norman Sicily.

Architecturally/Archaeologically there is loads to see... are you going to be on the Catania side or Palermo side of the island? There is, unfortunately, very little in the way of arms and armour. The catacombs in palermo do give you a very interesting insight into clothing from the 1600-1800s. Showing how things were actually worn in the period.

The frescos are amazing in many places, with unpublished depictions of arms and armour. The Museo Storico dello Sbarco in Sicilia 1943 in Catania is quite interesting for WWII military.

This site lists most of the archaeological museums on the island: http://www.bestofsicily.com/museums.htm
And looking through tripadvsior will guide you to most of the churches with frescos in/around Palermo: http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attractions-g187...y.html#TtD

Have a good time, be sure to check out Etna if you can, and all the greek ruins!