(Sept. 7) – One of Sicily’s finest archaeological finds and classical statues, The Charioteer of Mozia, will be on display some other days, until September 9, at the British Museum. The sculpture arrived in the United Kingdom on the occasion of the Olympic Games, as result of a collaborative agreement, facilitated by the Italian Cultural Institute, between the British Museum and the Dipartimento and Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita’ Siciliana, headed by Councillor Sebastiano Missineo. Mozia was once a city on what is now the island at Sicily’s western tip. On October 26, 1979, a spectacular find was made on the north east of the island, a white marble statue of a young man, almost two meters high. Dating from the fifth century BC, and evidence of a thriving Greek culture in Sicily during this period, the young man in the statue is a winning charioteer proudly relishing victory. These are the last days to see The Charioteer, that has been the star stop on the “Winning at the Ancient Games” victory trail at the British Museum from June 1. Then it will return to Italy, at the Whitaker Museum of Mozia, in the province of Marsala. (red)
