Guided tours, nature trails, lunch with the monks, beer tasting and aperitif under the stars.
L’Abbey of San Martino delle Scaleone of the largest in Europe, opens its doors like every second and fourth Sunday of the month.
The appointment is Sunday 23 June for a long day full of events dedicated to history, nature but also Benedictine spirituality and Sicilian culinary traditions.
The organization is taken care of by Don Riccardo Tumminello, forester of the abbey. here is the plan in detail.
We start with the guided tours – curated by the historian Igor Gelarda and a group of volunteers from the abbey – which give the opportunity to visit a good part of the only active abbey in Sicily.
Two rounds of visits are planned – at 11.00 and 15.30 (with appointment on site half an hour before) – during which you access the splendid sixteenth-century wooden choir of the church and its precious organ, then passing through the Cera Children’s Museum, the monumental staircase up to the splendid façade facing Palermo.
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And you can still access the ancient Pharmacy, the chapter house and its museum with precious works of art and liturgical objects from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Oreto fountain and that of San Martino di Marabitti.
Don’t miss a visit to the refectory monastery which, since 2022, has been the setting for the television program “The recipes of the convent”, broadcast on FoodNetwork.
Here visitors meet Don Salvatore, Don Anselmo and Don Riccardo, the monks protagonists of the program who prepare their recipes using ancient recipe books.
Don’t miss the lunch always in the refectory. An unforgettable experience (by reservation, subject to availability) during which typical dishes of Sicilian cuisine follow one another.
After the afternoon visit, anyone who wants can participate in the beer tasting of the “Hora Benedicta” association produced by the monks of the abbey. For tasting there are the blonde and the dark, combined with the Cacio Cavallo di Godrano and the Sicilian cassata.
And it doesn’t end here.
For lovers of excursions surrounded by greenery, appointment at 4.00 pm in the churchyard of the abbey with the guided tour by Davide Manganoan expert naturalist guide in the area.
It is a circular route of medium-low difficulty of approximately 5 km which includes a visit to the Valle Lupa – ancient pine forest – Monte Petroso – Val Gamisia – monumental complex. Along the paths of Monte Pietroso you meet the volunteers of the San Martino delle Scale ONLUS association who are responsible for active supervision against fires to protect the woods.
Upon returning to the abbey, another historical guided tour of the abbey is scheduled, with the same itinerary as the previous ones.
Finally at 8.00 pm it awaits you the aperitif under the stars based on typical Sicilian street food (panelle, ricotta, pane cunzato, sfincione and caponata), in the evocative atmosphere of the Benedictine cloister. All accompanied by the inevitable Abbey blonde beer “Hora Benedicta”: an excellence now famous throughout Italy.
The day always ends in the cloister with an outdoor screening of the documentary created by Lorenzo Mercurio for the series “The Breath of Time” entitled “The Abbey of San Martino delle Scale”. A story full of suggestions, history, archaeology, art, music, craftsmanship and faith.
INFO TIMES, TICKETS AND RESERVATIONS
The guided tours at 11.00 and 15.30 include a contribution of 11 euros per person.
The evening event with nature visit, historical visit, aperitif and screening of the documentary requires a contribution of 40 euros per person.
Info and reservations by writing to the WhatsApp number 347 3187857 or 339 6178587 or by calling the number 388 4499899 or a [email protected]
