Una pittura ‘ellenistico-romana’? Il II stile nella provincia Sicilia

The paper analyses the distribution and the characteristics of the Second style in Sicily, considering the architectural contexts and associations, and the details (schemes, colours, motifs) of each example. These testify to the high value of the Second style and the adaptation of the paintings, in the most demanding examples (Casetta ellenistica at Centuripe, Casa delle Maschere at Soluntum), to an architectural layout planned for realizing impressive luxury suites. In the middle-class houses of Soluntum, instead, the Second style enhances just one cubiculum or a couple of reception rooms, echoing the new trends on a smaller scale, and combining them with traditional decorative devices (stucco mouldings and pavements). Some previously unpublished examples are presented, among which a group of fragments from the «quartiere ellenistico-romano» of Agrigento, belonging to diverse «incrustation» paintings mainly with «Stützenstellung» (and sometimes with fine ornamental details), and a newly discovered painting from Marsala (ancient Lilybaeum). This latter shows a more elaborate system echoing the «baroque» decorations from Campanian villas and houses, but in a simplified way, in contrast with the very high quality paintings from the Casa delle Maschere at Soluntum (probably executed by «Campanian» artists). Finally, the significance of the Second style is discussed as a sign of the «Romanization» processes which affect Sicily during the 1st century BC.