In Giarratana they will tell you about the “scandalous” volleyball players who reached the first category from the unknown southernmost province of Italy; in Buccheri you can visit a particular photographic exhibition which, starting from the mid-twentieth century, traces the history, the origins of the village and the countless traditions that have made it the town it is today. At Palazzo Carfì, in Cassaro, the ancient instruments and scores of the centenary, curious and renowned band of the town are also exhibited. If the sea permits, you will reach the small island of Capo Passero in Portopalo, and in Monterosso Almo they will introduce you to a character who seems to have inspired master Don Gesualdo. Licodia Eubea has its noble castle ready and Piedimonte presents the seat of the Municipality, Palazzo Patanè with frescoes by Giuseppe Sciuti.
The third and final weekend of the Borghi dei Tesori Roots Fest is approaching: it will be the last opportunities to rediscover museums, convents, artisans, places of memory often linked to the waves of emigration from the southernmost part of Italy: in the Year of Tourism of roots, the festival is linked to the project of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its territorial antenna, Italea Sicilia; is promoted by the Le Vie dei Tesori Foundation in collaboration with all the Municipalities and with the Regional School Office, and is supported by IGT and the Sicilia Foundation.
The journey to eastern Sicily starts right from its furthest tip, Portopalo di Capo Passero where, if the sea permits, the fishermen’s boats will take visitors to the small island not far away, right at the meeting point between the two seas, which hides a sixteenth-century Spanish fortress. You have to go inland to reach Buccheri (which hides an altarpiece by Borremans in the church of Sant’Antonio Abate) and even further, in the heart of the Syracuse countryside, to find the famous neviere, dome-shaped buildings or dammuso with internal walls in lava stone to store the snow which was used for the preparation of lemon or jasmine sorbets.
In small Cassaro on Saturday the walk will touch the Civic Museum in the eighteenth-century Palazzo Carfì, which houses vestments and sacred objects from the churches of the village; a room dedicated to folk festivals such as that of the Three Kings, and to the town band; and a section on popular everyday objects: an ancient weaving loom, tools for preparing ricotta, for harvesting and processing olives; a tailor’s shop with vintage wedding dresses, a typical Sicilian bedroom from times gone by, and tools. Without forgetting the flavors of Cassari. In Giarratana the Hyblaean Emigration Museum reopens, but Palazzo Barone is worth a visit where, apart from the archaeological finds from the nearby necropolises, a section is dedicated to relics, medals and uniforms of the famous Polisportiva Aurora: girls who played in t-shirts in the 1960s and shorts, under the disapproving gaze of the country, but which managed to reach the national spotlight. And again in Giarratana you walk through the narrow alleys of ‘u cuizzu to discover how people lived in the early twentieth century.
In the bourgeois and rich Palazzo Cocuzza in Monterosso Almo, a particular collection of ancient ceramics, an ornithological and a naturalistic section: here they will tell you about a certain Salvatore Cocuzza who accumulated great fortunes in a short time, and who seems to have inspired the character of master in Verga Don Gesualdo. We go up towards Catania: Piedimonte Etneo which presents unexpected neoclassical buildings, but which exceptionally opens the crypt and the cloister of the convent of the Capuchin fathers, built at the behest of Prince Ferdinando Francesco Gravina: it will also be an unmissable opportunity to climb the bell tower of the Mother Church, as well as discovering the two hamlets of Borgo di Vena with its sanctuary and Borgo Presa, among millstones, vineyards, the La Gelsomina winery where the “gghiara” wines are born, and the Mastrantonio cherry cultivations. The churches and former convents of Licodia Eubea are splendid – Giovanni Verga set the novel “Jeli the Shepherd” in the mother church, citing the large size of the bell tower – but the whole village seems to embrace what remains of the Santapau Castle; but a visit to the Coniglione “community” museum will be very interesting, where the many tools donated by the families of the village, linked to the harvest or the extraction of chalk, are collected. A shoemaker’s shop was also rebuilt.
Le Vie dei Tesori has made the efficiency of an already consolidated network and organizational experience available to the Borghi festivals: Borghi dei Tesori Roots Fest is also a smart and digital event, with a single coupon valid for visits to all places that will open doors. As in the Festival of the Cities, an 18 euro coupon will be valid for 10 visits, a 10 euro coupon for 4 visits; walks and experiences will have separate coupons and booking is strongly recommended, especially for tastings. The coupons will be available on the Vie dei Tesori platform and in the info point of each village.
