Mazara del Vallo: Dancing Satyr
A satyr who will dance forever….
In 1998, a fishing boat from the Mazara fleet fished out of the waters of the Sicilian Channel a life-size bronze statue depicting a Satyr dancing.
Expert opinions about the dating of the work are uncertain. However, there is a tendency to attribute it to a Greek artist of the 4th century B.C., while the boat that contained it would date to a period between the 2nd and 2nd centuries B.C.
What is the Dancing Satyr – It is likely that the statue was originally part of a larger group depicting a Dionysian ritual, with which satyrs were generally associated.
Participation in the frenzied Dionysian dance explains the excessively arched body position in which it was immortalized.
The Dancing Satyr is certainly worth a visit: remarkable is the author’s expressive effectiveness in telling its elegance and dynamism.
Where you can find it – Since 2005, after undergoing the necessary conservation work, it has been displayed in the specially created Museum of the Satyr at the deconsecrated church of St. Egidio in Plebiscito Square. From there it leaves exclusively to participate in events, national and international, that require its presence.
In his honor, the Satiro Cup was recently established : a sailing trophy reserved for offshore boats held annually in September in Mazara waters.
Satyr Museum
Where: St. Egidio Church – Plebiscite Square
Tel: 0923 933917
Opening Hours: Every day open including Sundays and midweek holidays
from 09.00 am to 7.15 pm (last entry).
Full ticket: Euro 6.00.
Reduced Ticket Euro 3.00.(for visitors aged 18 to 25 and under and for teachers with permanent positions).
Free Ticket for visitors who are under 18 years old.