Culture
Castles, churches, museums, traditions
History and culture
The Ventimiglia castles, the Norman cathedral in Cefalù, the civic museums, the summer festivals in the squares. The history of the Madonie, place by place.
Topics
7 topics
- 01 Online
History of the Madonie
From the prehistoric caves to the Ventimiglia, up to the emigration of the 20th century.
- 02 Online
Castles
From the castle in Castelbuono to the ruins at Geraci and Caltavuturo.
- 03 Online
Churches and sacred art
Mother churches, convents and the sculptures of the Gagini family in the villages.
- 04 Online
Museums
Natural history, civic and folk museums, with opening hours and what to see.
- 05 Online
Festivals and traditions
Holy Week rites, patron saint festivals, old games.
- 06 Online
Crafts
Ceramics, wrought iron, weaving: the workshops where people still work by hand.
- 07 Online
Targa Florio
The car race born on the roads of the Madonie, and its circuit.
Madonie culture is best read in the villages: the Ventimiglia castles in Castelbuono, Geraci Siculo and Gangi, the Norman cathedral of Cefalù, a UNESCO World Heritage site together with Arab-Norman Palermo, the mother churches and the civic museums. And in the festivals, from Holy Week to the summer patron saint days, all the way to the Targa Florio, the race born on these roads.
What is in this section?
Guides to history, castles, churches and sacred art, museums, festivals and traditions, crafts and the Targa Florio. Each guide has sources, opening hours when we know them and the villages to visit. Those already online are marked in the list above; the first is the guide to the Targa Florio.
Where do you start?
- With the castles: the story of the family that ruled the Madonie for centuries is in the article on the Ventimiglia castles. Then visit Castelbuono, with the castle and the Civic Museum, and Geraci Siculo, with the castle ruins and the Chapel of Sant’Anna.
- With Cefalù: the Norman cathedral, the Museo Mandralisca, the medieval wash-house. All on the Cefalù page.
- With the inland museums: the Museo Civico Antonio Collisani in Petralia Sottana, the Targa Florio Museum in Collesano, the Museo Naturalistico Francesco Minà Palumbo in Castelbuono.
- With the award-winning villages: Gangi, Borgo dei Borghi in 2014, and Petralia Soprana, Borgo dei Borghi in 2018.
When can you see traditions live?
In spring with the Holy Week rites, in Cefalù and Petralia Sottana. Between July and September with the patron saint festivals: Sant’Anna in Castelbuono, the Santissimo Salvatore in Cefalù, San Bartolomeo in Geraci Siculo. In August with the Giostra dei Ventimiglia and the Ballo della Cordella.
Each year’s dates are on the pages of religious festivals and cultural events, with the source.
How do you plan the visit?
The Ventimiglia castles lie along one line: Castelbuono and Geraci Siculo are linked by the SS286, about 22 km. Gangi is about 14 km from Geraci. For times and distances see the roads page and the village pages.
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