Martin M. Miles' photos with the keyword: Dea di Morgantina

According to some scholars, Aidone was founded at the end of the 11th century by the Normans during the conquest of Sicily and the expulsion of the Arabs, but it is more likely that the Normans confined themselves to refounding and repopulating a pre-existing village snatched from the Saracens. At the time of Frederick II Aidone most probably belonged to the direct possession of the king The Emperor allowed some soldiers from Piacenza to settle in Aidone- In 1229 the Knights Templar were allowed to build the church of San Giovanni. After the death of Frederick II in 1255, Aidone declared itself a free commune and was able to resist the attack of the Count of Catanzaro, who acted in the name of King Manfredi. However, in 1257 it was taken and plundered by the Swabian army led by Federico Lancia. Aidone took part in the revolt of the Sicilian Vespers and expelled the French garrison The ancient city of Morgantina was located in the territory of the present municipality. In the 6th century, BC Greeks settled on the citadel hill and lived peacefully with the locals. In 459 BC Morgantina was conquered by the Sicilian king Ducetius, who destroyed the Greek settlement. Duktios is credited with the rectangular layout of the city. Around 450 BC, the city was conquered by Akragas and became the property of Syracuse. At the time of the Greek politician Timoleon (~ 450 BC) the city experienced an upswing, as archaeological finds prove. However, Morgantina experienced its greatest prosperity in the time of the Syracuse King Timoleon (~ 280 BC). During the 2nd Punic War Morgantina was conquered by the Romans. Since about 1955 archaeologists have been excavating the ancient city. Their findings can be seen in the local museum, housed in a former Capuchin monastery. The statue of the goddess is 2.24m high and was sculpted in Sicily in the 5th century BC. The statue was stolen from the archaeological site of Morgantina in the second half of the 20th century. Das Paul Getty Museum bought it for 10.000.000 Euros from a London company and exhibited it in 1988. In 2001, the Court of Enna sentenced a fence to two years in prison and a fine of 40 billion lire (more than 2 million Euros). it was the first case in Italian law in which such a sanction was imposed on the clandestine export of an archaeological find. On 17 March 2011, on the 150th anniversary of national unity, the "Goddess of Morgantina" was returned to Italy.