hearing
Itinerary B
Piazza Armerina

[4] Dialogues before the hearing

A small group of people whisper and wait their turn just before the steps leading up to the basilica: the dominus has just entered, with his retinue, heading towards the apse containing his seat. A man hurriedly unrolls the last documents, before entering the interior of the large hall. The sound of shuffling paper seems to set the talks in motion. The echo of the voices disperses in the immense space, so much so that it becomes a faint sound with the crackling of the flames of the braziers and torches in the background. The dominus‘s return from Rome, after a long time, is said to have required more time for hearings, and the pause at the foot of the basilica invited visitors to immerse themselves in the tranquillity of the garden, inhabited by various types of birds cooling off amidst the spouts of the three-basin fountain.