Italea
descrizione immagine

Route length 2 days

In search of origins among the treasures of the Madonie Park

descrizione immagine

The experience

Tre paesi immersi nella natura, alla scoperta di castelli, archivi e memorie del tempo passato

Tre stupendi borghi immersi nel Parco delle Madonie che custodiscono luoghi della memoria, botteghe degli ultimi artigiani, musei che raccontano la tradizione contadina di chi da questi luoghi è emigrato per cercare fortuna altrove. Un viaggio dove il tempo sembra essersi fermato, che consente di conoscere un inestimabile patrimonio paesaggistico, artistico e monumentale; tra profumi e antichi sapori delle prelibatezze della tradizione gastronomica locale e racconti di un tempo passato. 

Lontano dai classici circuiti turistici, Geraci Siculo, Petralia Soprana e Petralia Sottana custodiscono gelosamente straordinari tesori. Da qui, passarono bizantini, arabi, normanni e, infine, la celebre dinastia dei Ventimiglia, lasciando in eredità gioielli di epoche differenti e lontane. L’impianto architettonico dei tre piccoli centri madoniti cela al suo interno chiese preziose e opere d’arte, arricchite da un pregevole patrimonio scultoreo, unico nel suo genere.  Tra stradine strette e tortuose che si inerpicano verso la sommità e vicoli fioriti, si può rivivere l’aria e il sapore del medioevo dentro centri storici ben conservati. Nelle piazze, la gente più anziana sembra scandire il tempo che passa lento, custodendo la memoria del luogo. 

A contorno dei tre centri abitati, uno dei parchi più belli d’Italia: il Parco delle Madonie. Sui monti del cuore della Sicilia, ci può avventurare in entusiasmanti e rilassanti escursioni per tutta la famiglia, lontano dai fragori delle grandi città. Qui è possibile ammirare le diverse specie vegetali e animali; osservare le peculiarità geologiche; lasciarsi travolgere dal divertimento offerto da aree attrezzate, ippovie, percorsi guidati e strutture sportive. 

In a few words

Thematic pathway
Historic Villages
Tastings

Tour

GERACI SICULO

Guided tour of the historic center. Starting from the central Piazza del Popolo, it will be possible to admire: the imposing church of Santa Maria Maggiore, inside which are kept precious works of art; the Castle of Geraci, an ancient 14th-century manor house of Count Francesco I Ventimiglia; the streets of the “flowered itinerary” (ancient medieval views, adorned with different floral species, for an explosion of scents and colors); the Angelmaro Tower, now a private residence, which still retains its original entrance door; and finally, the Ventimiglia Leap, a transparent walkway suspended in the void, built with the intention of reviving the historic exploits of Count Francesco I. At the conclusion of the guided tour, a typical lunch at a local restaurant, savoring traditional dishes, which see the prevalence of meats and cheeses. Unmissable will be “Tagghiarina,” fresh pasta that in tradition was prepared on occasions of holidays such as Christmas or Carnival, and “Sazizzunedda,” a meatball made of meat, egg, mint, and garlic, roasted between two bay leaves. Free afternoon. Typical dinner. Overnight stay in farmhouse in Petralia Soprana.


Address: Piazza del Popolo, Geraci Siculo (PA), Italy




Petralia Sottana, the "Little Paris"

Named for the monumental elegance of its noble palaces and the beauty of its views, Petralia Sottana is still shrouded in a stately aura. A guided tour through major naturalistic points of interest. Following the royal trazzera, you will reach the marvelous bridge of San Brancato, a Romanesque treasure, and the Rocca Sant’Otiero, which stands out in the center of a fascinating landscape of rocks and waterfalls. It is a Unesco Geopark site, known for the uniqueness of its fossil-rich rock from the Miocene period.

Address: Piazza Umberto I, Petralia Sottana (PA), Italy.




Petralia Soprana. Discovering the Madonite pearl, between animals and nature and historical archives

Visit at a farm in the Madonie Mountains. Here you can leave the city stress behind and fearlessly pet a baby goat or watch it being milked. Contact with animals is just such medicine for young and old alike. Promotion and enhancement of local products are the watchwords. Ancient traditions connected to the territory allow visitors to savor again forgotten tastes, flavors, smells by reviving, the contact with a rural and sustainable world. Here, time has stood still: the short supply chain of meat and produce grown directly on the farm is promoted. After a lunch with typical local products, the tour will continue with a walk among the jewel churches, the crucifixes of Brother Humble, the artisans who carve sculptures with sacred subjects, the noble palaces, the sudden alleys filled with flowers where perhaps grandmothers sit for a cool breeze. Visiting it will be a narrative and sensory experience, so that no treasure is forgotten. Walking a few steps, the tour will conclude with a visit to the former convent of Maria SS. del Carmelo, inside which is housed the civic museum “Of Memory and the Present.”

Dinner. Overnight stay

Address: Piazza del Popolo, Petralia Soprana (PA), Italy

❖ Experience optional: Genealogical research

 

Discovering one’s family tree. Visitors will have the opportunity to research and discover their own origins and family history, right from Municipal and Parish Documentary Archives. That genealogical thread that connects them back to the place they visited, despite emigrating overseas. Looking for documents that are evidence of lifestyles, places where ancestors lived and spent their existence, the trades they practiced.

start now

Let us guide you on your journey to the Roots

Don't miss the opportunity to explore the places that have shaped your origins, request a tailor-made itinerary without obligation