Italy V. Greece ?
 

Hello all,
Working the Olympics and want to vacation on the back end of the trip. Should we go somewhere other than Athens in Greece or return to Italy; (just spent 7 days in Tuscany and Amalfi coast after working
in Rome for a week). Italy would be a choice of Venice or Sicily, Sardinia, and the Aeolian Islands. We are both in the television business and travel with photography and history in mind. We never seem to take a relaxing "lay on the beach" vacation but cover as much ground as possible where ever we seem to be. Love to hear your ideas. Jennifer

When I was undecided between Italy and Greece, I chose Sicily and it satisfied my craving for both.

Both Greece and Sicily would answer your requirements. Greece is -- forgive the tautology -- the birthplace of Greek civilization, and the classic sites well worth visiting are numerous: Corinth, Mycenae, Epidaurus, Olympia, Delphi.

But Sicily will offer you Greek temples that are better preserved than those in Greece as well as an enormous variety of other cultures. Anyone who ever invaded anywhere in the Mediterranean has invaded Sicily --before the Greeks, the Phoenicians, although they have not left much trace; after the Greeks, the Romans, the Byzantines, the Arabs, the Normans, the Swabians, the Angevins and the Aragonese, ending with the Spanish Bourbons who ruled Sicily from Naples -- and left their mark.

Additional inducements for me would be that the food is better in Sicily and that mass tourism has not been as destructive there as in some parts of Greece.

I love them both but there is an old saying: "In Greece there are ruins but in Italy they're still here."

"...In Greece there are ruins, but in Italy they are still there..." That is a very stupid old saying TopMan.

Don't forget, that the greek "ruins" are at least 500 years older than the italian ones, ok? The greek "ruins" also are classical "ruins", while the italian, are roman "ruins". They are not "ruins" of the same category, so you cannot compare them. Greek "ruins" are far more important because they where models for the romans to build their own "ruins". To make it more clear, The greek "ruins" is the original staff! The roman "ruins" are immitations of the original staff. Learn some history!
Finally, Eloise, the best preserved greek temple in the whole world, is not in Sicily, but in Athens, and is called Thissio! Learn some geography!

Panoulis:

".....and on the east and southeast coasts Greeks founded (8th?6th cent. B.C.) such cities as Syracuse, Catania, Zancle (now Messina), Gela, and Selinus and settled in older towns like Segesta. The Greek cities flourished and in turn founded such cities as Acragas (now Agrigento) and Himera......"

" Two hours south of Palermo lies a site which bears testament to Sicily?s importance in the ancient world ? Selinunte. Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea and surrounded by lush green countryside, Selinunte is the site of some of the best preserved Greek ruins in all of Europe. It?s name is derived from the wild celery known as selinon which still grows in the area...."

"...Agrigento?s Valley of the Temples, one of Europe?s greatest archeological sites. Only ruins now remain of perhaps Magna Graecia?s foremost colony, dating from 582 B.C. The Temple of Concord is one of the best-preserved Greek temples in the world....."

I look forward to the complete revisions of the history of Sicily, based on your consumate knowledge.

Ramblero:

Thank you so much for taking the trouble I could not bring myself to take.

Eloise....you're more than welcome. :)

Ramblero:

I 've seen some photos of the concord temple in sicily. Indeed it looks very well preserved, but still, the best preserved ancient greek temple in the world is Thission. Ask everyone who knows a little about greek archaiology! Thission has all the colomns, the roof, the walls just intact. In fact it is in such a good condition, that it served as the first archaiological museum of athens, in the 19th century. Moroeover, all those temples in Sicily look so massive! They don't have this classical elegance that you find in the greek temples. Not to mension the building materials! That concord temple is made of cheap brown stone while the greek temple is 100% pure white marble! You just cannot compare them!

And finally, no matter how many interesting archeological sites Sicily has, in Athens you will find the number one, the top of the top! Acropolis! Need to say anything more...?

I haven't been to either. With that out of the way, here are my impressions of Greece and northern/central Italy:
1. Greece is the land of the original stoic. Its a land of austere beauty.
Roman life was almost modelled on Bacchus.(Before you start, pls notice I said "was")

2. The height of Greek art and architecture was 500 years before the Romans and Romans revered them.
Italian art and architecture peaked during the Roman era and then spiked again during the Renaisance.

3. The people of Greece, for some reason that I can't put my finger on, seem more exotic to me. It just maybe that Greece is less on the international news than italy with all its flamboyance.

With all that said, Sicily was part of the Greece for a very long time and yes, has tons of Greek history.

This does not answer your question at all but may help you decide which one you feel like. I going to north/central italy this nov and intend to go to Greece and/or Turkey next year.

Good luck.