Vendicari archaeological area

In the Vendicari reserve area , on the relief near the beach, a large L-shaped rural building can be seen.
These are the Citadel Houses (36°46’42.29″; 15°05’35.80″).
On one side are former dwellings converted into guest quarters and garages, and on the other the former millstone adapted as a conference hall and wine museum.
In the corner, a turret intended for fire-fighting service.
A large beam with central well dominates the exterior scene.
The ground floor, covered in spring with purple papery flowers, those of the Statice sinuata (Limonium sinuatum), slopes gently up to a rocky crag from which there is a breathtaking viewpoint that sweeps from the Avola Mountains to the village of Marzamemi.
Behind the Case Cittadella houses begins a path that leads to the archaeological area, where there are the remains of a Byzantine city from the 5th-6th centuries AD..
Della piccola città, sono rimaste una chiesa ( the Trigona), the basement parts of some poor houses and sepulchres.
On either side of the Trigona are leaning other buildings from a century ago.
Regarding the necropolis, the small town shows three types of burials, which are still evident: catacombs, aedicule tombs, and pit tombs.
There are three catacombs that can be visited, one next to the other, and they are encountered by going from Trigona toward the reserve exit, following the tourist signs.
Excavated in the rock, they contain several sarcophagi distributed inside cross-shaped arcosols.
A little further south, descending slightly to the left, one encounters at ground level some simple bell-shaped pits.
They were intended for the common people.
A few more steps and you encounter an aedicule tomb.
Originally covered by a barrel vault, it had a window and a very low door that forced the visitor to stoop and crawl in.
The floor is occupied by two pit tombs.
(Find out more: Nature Trails – Visit Val di Noto)