On Monday 4th February members attended the annual Colonel Cranstoun Memorial Lecture, a joint event with the Dante Aligheri Society. Joe Farrell, Professor in Italian at the University of Strathclyde, gave this year's lecture.
His topic was Mozia, a small island off the northwest coast of Sicily, which was for a long time colonised by the Phoenicians. It was close to Carthage and offered a sheltered harbour, being protected by outer islands. After many years of trading and of conflict it was abandoned. It was later revived as an area producing Marsala wine, this product being developed by English vintners, including the notable North Country family the Whittakers, as an alternative to Madeira which was unavailable due to a blockade by Napoleon.
Recently excavations have been taking place sponsored by 'Pip' Whittaker, a descendent of the original family. These digs are at an early stage but are already contributing to a fuller understanding of the lives of the Phoenicians.