Incorporating Architecture. LBA Sicily and the Aegean

The so called Anaktoron of Pantalica (Sicily) due to its monumentality (dimensions and Cyclopaean masonry) and orthogonal planning, has been considered for a long time one of the best evidences of Mycenaean influences in Sicily, until when some authors questioned its dating to the prehistoric period. The article reviews the evidence for the chronology of the building, confirming its dating to the Sicilian Late Bronze Age (XIII century) and sets the Anaktoron against the background of local and foreign architectural practices and models. The author concludes that the architecture of the Anaktoron is the result of a complex process of encounter between growing social complexity and demands and foreign models and lifestyles, resulting in the appropriation and transformation of external know how to suit local needs.