Castiglione di Sicilia

It’ s history is in its name. Castiglione means “Caste of the Lion” in a position dominatig the Alcantara Valley. AS 730 b.c., the Greeks had built a lookout tower on the great sandstone rock, and had fortified it in order to control what was then the onlyexsting approach road to the interior of Sicily. Two hundred and thirthy-four years later, exiles from Naxos built bridges, and later the Arabs, who revolutionised irrigation system to the point that they bred crocodiles in the Alcantara, they were followed by the Normans, the swabians, and Ruggero di Lauria, under whom Castiglione became a royal seat. All of them left something of their own culture behind. The city prospered: the Castle was enriched whit new fortifications, churches and palaces were erected thanks to the wealth which came from the cultivation and processing of linen and hazel nuts. Many splendid legends are associated whit the Castle itself, as well as whit the Basilian “Cube”, built by the Greek order of St. Basilio, which contain fabulous treasures,while others tell of the socalled “Cannizzu”, a watch-tower that seems to have been split into two by a terrific flash of lightning. AS well beig a wine-producing area Castiglione is a place of great culinary traditions.

Amongst its specialities are “ Ii tagghiarini” ( home- made pasta) served whit nettles, and wild rabbit, sausages, various cheeses and pickles, all of which are excellent. This popular cuisine is the fruit of ancient and knowing traditions, whichare also expressed by the town’s architecture: its stone windows, its “cagnoli” dog heads which support the balconies, and even the hooks to which pack-animals are tied up combine perfectly with the pure lines of the churches. Stuated in the area around Castiglione is one of the most extraordinary monuments of nature: the gorge of the Alcantara river. You can catch a glimpse of it from behind the Caste, but you have to go down to the valley to admire it fully, and you can fish so much trout in the river that you become the talck of the town in the city square. Whit its ideal position away from the heat and chaos of the coast, but near enough to the sea if you want to have a swim, its historical traditions and culinary art, Castiglione is surely the best place for your holiday. The wine from a place like this can only be extraordinary: black and strong like those who produce it. The production of wine from Castiglione is word famous, especially to be drunk during winter, when it warms you like a hand-made woollen garment.

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