Castelbuono

Castelbuono is a town of 7,871 people (ISTAT estimate at 1 January 2026) on the northern side of the Madonie Park (Parco delle Madonie), 423 metres above sea level and 23 km from Cefalù. You come for the 1317 Ventimiglia castle with its Serpotta-decorated Palatine Chapel, for the old town around Piazza Margherita, for the manna of the ash trees and for the woods that climb towards Piano Sempria.

You can see the centre on foot in half a day. Add the woods or a summer festival and a whole day goes by without noticing.

Castelbuono at a glance

The key facts, with sources listed at the bottom of the page.

Where	Northern side of the Madonie, province of Palermo, inside the Madonie Park
Altitude	423 m
Population	7,871 (ISTAT estimate at 1 January 2026)
From Cefalù	23 km, about 26 minutes (SS113 and SS286)
From Palermo	90 km, about 1 hour 20 minutes (A19, A20, Pollina-Castelbuono exit)
From Catania	167 km, about 2 hours 24 minutes
Patron saint	Sant’Anna, feast from 25 to 27 July
Don’t miss	Castle and Palatine Chapel, Piazza Margherita, manna, testa di turco

A short history

Before the castle there was a Byzantine farming hamlet here called Ypsigro. The name comes from Greek and means roughly “high, cool place”. You find it today in Ypsigrock, the August festival.

In 1317 Francesco I Ventimiglia, count of Geraci, began building a castle on the hill: the stone plaque over the entrance arch says so. The town took its name from it, Castrum bonum.

The turning point came in 1454. Giovanni I Ventimiglia moved his court from Geraci to Castelbuono and brought with him the relic of Saint Anne’s skull; she has been the patron saint ever since. In 1595 the Ventimiglia became princes of Castelbuono and the town was the capital of their state, which covered much of the Madonie. In 1632 it was granted the title of city.

In the 19th century wealth moved from the court to the countryside. Local families exported manna to Palermo, and one of those families produced the naturalist Francesco Minà Palumbo, who studied the Madonie for more than sixty years.

For the full story of the family, read our article on the Ventimiglia castles; all the castles in the area are in the guide to the castles of the Madonie.

What to see in Castelbuono

Everything worth seeing is a few minutes’ walk apart. Start at the top, at the castle, and walk down towards Piazza Margherita.

Ventimiglia Castle and the Museo Civico

The castle stands on Piazza Castello, in the upper part of town. It has a square plan, square corner towers and one round tower. An earthquake in the early 19th century destroyed the battlements and the outer walls; in 1920 the castle passed to the town council.

Inside is the Museo Civico, with archaeology, sacred art, modern and contemporary art and an urban history section that tells the story of the town. The museum also runs contemporary art exhibitions throughout the year.

Opening hours of the Museo Civico, according to its official website (checked on 19 October 2026):

Period	Hours
November-March	every day, 9.30 am-4.45 pm
April-October	every day, 9.30 am-1 pm and 3-6.30 pm

A full ticket costs 6 euros, a reduced one 4 euros. The museum says hours can change: before a public holiday, call the ticket office on +39 0921 671211.

The Palatine Chapel of Sant’Anna

This is why many people climb up to the castle. In 1684 Francesco Rodrigo Ventimiglia commissioned Giuseppe and Giacomo Serpotta to decorate it: white stucco on a pure gold background, with cherubs, draperies and fantastic creatures.

Behind the grille is the reliquary with Saint Anne’s skull, in a casket made in 1521. It is shown to the faithful only during the feast, from 25 to 27 July.

Piazza Margherita and the Matrice Vecchia

Piazza Margherita is the town’s living room. On one side stands the Matrice Vecchia, the church of Maria Santissima Assunta, from the 14th century. It has a Catalan Gothic portal, a 16th-century portico with three arches and a bell tower with a majolica-tiled spire.

Inside, look for the marble ciborium in the chapel of the Santissimo Sacramento, more than four metres tall, attributed to Giorgio da Milano and dated around 1493. On the high altar there is a polyptych from 1520.

On the same square is the old prison with its clock tower, now used as a museum.

The Matrice Nuova

The church of the Natività di Maria, or Matrice Nuova, was begun in 1602 by Giovanni III Ventimiglia and opened for worship in 1701. The 19th-century earthquakes took away its dome and bell towers, which is why its outline is lower than you might expect.

The Fontana della Venere Ciprea

It stands along the main street, in the old part of town. The statues were found in the grounds of the Ventimiglia Renaissance garden and the fountain was reassembled here in 1614. At the top is a crouching Venus, in the middle Venus with Cupid.

The church of San Francesco and the Ventimiglia mausoleum

Next to the church of San Francesco is the family mausoleum built for Giovanni I Ventimiglia in the mid 15th century: an octagonal domed chapel where the marquis chose to be buried.

The town’s museums

The Museo Naturalistico Francesco Minà Palumbo, on Via Roma, holds the collections the naturalist gathered between 1837 and 1899: minerals, fossils, a herbarium of Madonie plants, birds and insects, plus a small archaeology section. We found no opening hours published by the museum, so ask in town or at the town hall before going.

The Museo del Risorgimento “I Viaggi”, in the old prison on Piazza Margherita, displays Garibaldi memorabilia and opened on 11 December 2016.

Things to do in and around Castelbuono

Castelbuono is also a good base for the northern side of the park. Here is what you can do in half a day.

• Walk in the Castelbuono woods. From Piano Sempria an easy loop among holm oaks, downy oaks and hollies starts, which you can also ride by mountain bike.
• Visit the Gole di Tiberio. The Pollina river canyon is in the municipality of San Mauro Castelverde, a few kilometres away. The walk to the Gole di Tiberio is short and suits children.
• Drive up to Piano Battaglia. It is about 36 km and 43 minutes on the SP9 and SP54. In summer you hike towards Pizzo Carbonara, in winter you go for the snow: read our guide to Piano Battaglia in winter.
• Tour the castles. Geraci Siculo is 22 km away on the SS286 and Gangi another 14 km further on. See the page on Geraci Siculo.
• Go down to the sea. Cefalù, with its cathedral and beach, is 26 minutes away.

More ideas on the page things to do in Castelbuono.

What to eat in Castelbuono

Castelbuono has a strong pastry tradition, and more.

• Manna. It is the sap of the ash trees, tapped by hand in summer and hardened in the sun. Today it is produced only between Castelbuono and Pollina, on about 250 hectares of ash groves, and it is a Slow Food Presidium. Harvest, uses and where to buy it are explained in our article on Castelbuono manna and in the guide to Madonie manna.
• Testa di turco. A spoon dessert of fried pastry and lemon milk custard, dusted with cinnamon. Traditionally made from Christmas to Carnival, but you find it all year.
• Panettone and leavened cakes. The town’s pastry shops make them all year, often with manna.
• Mushrooms. In autumn they are on every menu; at the end of October there is the Funghi Fest.
• Madonie cheeses. Look for provola delle Madonie, a Slow Food Presidium, made from March to June: everything else is in the guide to Madonie cheeses.

To choose a table, see where to eat in Castelbuono. Other local produce is in the food of the Madonie section.

Festivals and events in Castelbuono

The calendar is fullest between May and August. The periods below are the usual ones; dates and programmes for the year are on each event page.

Period	Event
Late May - 2 June	Infiorata di Castelbuono
Late June	DiVino Festival
Early July	Castelbuono è una Favola
Mid July - 27 July	Feast of Sant’Anna
26 July, evening	Giro Podistico Internazionale
First half of August	Ypsigrock Festival
Second half of August	Castelbuono Jazz Festival
Late October	Funghi Fest
Around 8 December	Dolcemente Castelbuono

At Carnival the town has a tradition of its own: masked groups stage the “maschere”, satirical shows about the year’s local events, on evenings called “veglioni”. All dates are on events in Castelbuono.

When to go to Castelbuono

Every season has its reason.

• Spring (April-June): mild weather, green woods, the Infiorata and the DiVino Festival. The best time for walking.
• Summer (July-August): the town is busy. There is Sant’Anna, Ypsigrock, the Jazz Festival and the manna harvest in the ash groves. Book your bed early.
• Autumn (October-November): mushrooms, autumn colours in the woods above town and the Funghi Fest. For the beech woods higher up, read our guide to autumn foliage in the Madonie.
• Winter (December-March): Dolcemente Castelbuono, panettone and snow at Piano Battaglia. The museum is open every day with no lunch break.

Before you leave, check the Castelbuono weather.

How to get to Castelbuono

By car it is easy, and you need a car for the surroundings anyway. We calculated the distances with OSRM on OpenStreetMap data, without traffic.

From	Distance	Time	Road
Cefalù	23 km	26 min	SS113, SS286
Palermo	90 km	1 h 21 min	A19, A20, Pollina-Castelbuono exit, SS286
Catania	167 km	2 h 24 min	A19, SS120, SS286 via Geraci
Geraci Siculo	22 km	25 min	SS286
Piano Battaglia	36 km	43 min	SP9, SP54

From the Pollina-Castelbuono exit of the A20 it is about twelve kilometres uphill on the SS286. If you continue towards Geraci in winter, note that the ANAS 2025/2026 order listed the SS286 from km 15 among the roads where snow chains on board or winter tyres were required from 1 December to 31 March. The current rules are in our guide to driving in the Madonie.

Where to stay and where to eat

The old town is the most convenient choice for one or two nights; farmhouses and agriturismi are scattered in the countryside around. The updated lists, with a source for each listing, are on where to stay in Castelbuono and where to eat in Castelbuono. For walks nearby, see trails near Castelbuono.