When modern bikini hit the shelves in Paris in the summer of 1946, Mediterranean women quickly snatched up it. One year later the world’s smallest bathing suit was introduced to the United States. Unleashed on the world, it conquered both America and Europe. A woman’s love affair with it lasts for 71 years. Bikini never lost its allure.
However, it sounds amazing that the two-piece’s real inventor is not a French tailor, Louis Réard who also coined the name after the island Bikini Atoll in the South Pacific where that summer the United States conducted two atomic tests- Réard chose that name hoping the minimalist swimsuit would elicit the same shock that the atomic bomb did…
Oddly enough, the tiny swimsuit was already worn by Roman girls in the 4th century and this particular free spirit of ancient Rome regarding female garments is proven trough intriguing mosaics in Piazza Armerina, Sicily.
Piazza Armerina in Enna Province stands some 721 meters above sea level atop one of Sicily’s most spectacular views. An outstanding UNESCO World Heritage site is 5 km southwest of the town: Villa Romana del Casale, a supreme example of a luxury Roman villa that graphically illustrates the predominant social and economic structure of its age.
Its early 4th century mosaics are exceptional for their artistic quality, inventiveness and number. An attraction for visitors all over the world, you can download its official guidebook for free at villaromanadelcasale.it
Some of the villa’s most famous mosaics depict the peristyle and great hunt. The stunning works also include the famed “Bikini Girls,” a depiction of a group of young women wearing bandeau tops, bikini bottoms and even anklets that would look perfectly at home on the beaches of Southern California today.
Yet it was ancient Sicily instead and the so-called bikini girls are ante litteram, Roman gymnasts. Wearing what appears to be the very first version of the bikini, they are performing in an athletic contest and look very fit. The incredible scene is known as the “Coronation of the Winner”. Scholars now agree that the scene depicts an athletic competition, as attested to in four sources, while previous theories favored a beauty contest. Certainly, the sponsorship of female athletic contests would have been associated with only the absolute upper class of the Roman Empire.
In this beautiful Sicilian villa, girls in subligar, as the Latin called women’s briefs, participated in number of activities such as long jumping with weights in their hands, playing handball, running and throwing the discus.
What remains of this sumptuous villa shows the sophistication and civilization of the rich in Roman times. Covering 4,000 square meters, it was built on a series of terraces with three major axes that offer the visitor spectacular views of the detailed mosaic floors. Scenes from hunting, mythological tales, domestic life and exotic landscapes all exhibit astonishingly realistic attention to detail. Artists from North Africa were employed to complete the works.
Several theories have been advanced about the probable identity of the luxuriant villa’s first owner. Many scholars assert it was Maximianus Herculeus, Diocletian’s co-Emperor from AD 286 to 305. The theory is supported by the presence of ivy leaves in many of the mosaics, a decorative element often associated with Maximilianus. His son and successor Maxentius continued the decoration, with Constantine taking over upon Maxentius’s death in 312.
The vast patrician villa was a single-story building centered on the peristyle, around which almost all the main public halls, private quarters, baths and courtyards were organized.
Entrance to the peristyle is via the atrium from the west, with thermal baths to the northwest, and service rooms and probable guest rooms to the north. The baths comprised the calidarium, a large hot room with pools of water to humidify the atmosphere, the lukewarm tepidarium, a large meeting place known as the frigidarium and a natatio, an open-air swimming pool.
There is also a huge basilica to the east.
Here in his villa in the countryside a man could pursue the otium, a pause with the ease and leisure of inactivity and sheer indolence. He could read a book on the ancients and sleep or rest as his mood dictated while enjoying the fresh food of Sicily in great abundance. The owner was free from negotium, or public affairs and business.
The pursuit of otium was a way of life for the leisured Roman classes and gave birth to the classic Roman villa. The Villa Romana del Casale is one of the best examples in the ancient Roman world due to its beauty and complexity.
Sicilians were providers of grain for the ancient Romans. Over the centuries, the countryside of Piazza Armerina well represented the Sicilian granary, of which la masseria, a fortified large farm, is its symbol. Citrus and olive groves stretch into the distance and abundant pine forests lend the air that unmistakeable Mediterranean aroma.
The downtown of Piazza Armerina is half medieval and half baroque. Its 17th-century Duomo is the most interesting of the baroque buildings. In August the lively Palio dei Normanni festival attracts many visitors.
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