Pollina

Pollina is a municipality of 2,807 people on the north-eastern side of the Madonie Park (Parco delle Madonie), between Cefalù and the province of Messina. The historic village sits on a cliff 664 metres above sea level, with the Teatro Pietra Rosa carved into the rock and a view over the Tyrrhenian as far as the Aeolian Islands; the hamlet of Finale is on the sea. Together with Castelbuono, it is one of the two villages where manna is still harvested from ash trees.

You come here to combine a mountain village and a beach in one day, or in summer for a show at the stone theatre.

Pollina at a glance

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

Where	North-eastern side of the Madonie Park, on the border with the province of Messina
Altitude	664 m at the town hall (ISTAT); the municipality goes down to the sea
Population	2,807 (ISTAT estimate, 1 January 2026), mostly in Finale
Area	about 50 km²
From Cefalù	24 km, about 30 min by car
Train	Pollina-San Mauro Castelverde station, in Finale
Patron saint	San Giuliano (July)

Pollina and Finale: the village and the seaside hamlet

The municipality has two centres. Pollina is the old village, at the top of the cliff. Finale is on the coast, along the SS113: from a small stopping point it grew from the 1970s, when people began moving down towards the sea. Today more than two thirds of residents live in Finale. There are also the localities of Costa Turchina, Nastasi and Rais Gerbi.

If you stay in Finale, the old village is a few minutes away by road. And the other way round.

A short history

Some have wanted to see Pollina as the ancient Apollonia, but no finds confirm it. Documented history begins in 1321, when the bishop of Cefalù granted Pollina to Count Francesco Ventimiglia: the family held the barony until the early nineteenth century.

At Finale the Ventimiglia had a landing place for goods from the county of Geraci. To defend the coast against corsairs, in 1597 the Finale tower was built, one of the towers planned after the engineer Camillo Camilliani surveyed the Sicilian coastline.

Things to see in Pollina

The Teatro Pietra Rosa

It is an open-air theatre built along the lines of a Greek one, by shaping the rocky slope at the foot of the tower. It was designed by the architect Foscari and opened on 30 June 1979 with La donna di Samo. The name comes from the dolomite stone, half pink and half white. It is on Viale Alfredo Musotto and access is free; in summer it hosts concerts and shows, with the sea behind the stage.

The Maurolico tower

It was part of the defences of Pollina castle. Between 1548 and 1550 the scientist Francesco Maurolico used it as an astronomical observatory, and it is named after him.

The Chiesa Madre and the other churches

The Chiesa Madre dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo, in Piazza Duomo, holds Sicilian works of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries: a marble statue of the Madonna della Grazia from 1514 and the Nativity group by Antonello Gagini, from 1526. The church of San Giuliano is dedicated to the patron saint.

The Manna Museum

Also in Piazza Duomo, it tells the story of manna, the sap of ash trees harvested only here and in Castelbuono, and houses the permanent exhibition of the photographer Letizia Battaglia. According to the town council website entry is free and the opening hours are these:

Day	Hours
Tuesday-Friday	9:30-13:30
Saturday	9:30-13:30 and 16:00-19:30
Sunday	10:00-13:00

The ground floor, with the Letizia Battaglia exhibition, is also accessible to people with reduced mobility.

Things to see in Finale

The Finale tower, from 1597, stands on the rocks of the “scoglio grande”, on Lungomare Marco Polo. You cannot go inside, but around it there is a sea terrace built in the 1980s: from here the view stretches from Cefalù to Capo d’Orlando and, on clear days, to the Aeolian Islands.

In Piazza Giovanni XXIII is the parish church of Maria Santissima della Lettera, patron saint of Finale. On Via Marco Polo is the Giardino del Sole, a public green space.

The most popular beaches in the hamlet are Torre Conca, Santa Maria and Costa Turchina, a pebble beach towards the mouth of the river Pollina.

Manna, the white gold of the ash trees

Manna ash groves once covered thousands of hectares in north-western Sicily. Today, according to Slow Food, about 250 hectares remain, in Pollina and Castelbuono. In summer the harvesters, the ’ntaccaluòri, cut the bark; the sap comes out bluish and hardens in the sun into white stalactites. The harvest runs from July to August.

Madonie manna is a Slow Food Presidium: harvest, uses and where to buy it are in our guide to Madonie manna. The story of the ash tree and the harvest is also told in our article on Castelbuono manna.

Things to do in and around Pollina

• Sea and mountains: morning in the village, afternoon on the beaches of Finale.
• Open-air theatre: in summer, a concert or a show at the Pietra Rosa.
• The Gole di Tiberio: the canyon of the river Pollina, in San Mauro Castelverde, visited on foot and in summer by raft. Trail page.
• Nearby villages: Castelbuono is 17 km away, San Mauro Castelverde about 31, Cefalù 24.

All the ideas are on things to do in Pollina.

When to go

From June to September you have the sea, the theatre and the festivals: San Giuliano in July, the Valdemone Festival at the turn of July and August, the manna festival on 13 August. July and August are also the months of the manna harvest. In early November there is the olive festival in Finale. Out of season the village is quiet. The weather in Pollina helps you choose your day.

How to get to Pollina

By car from Palermo, take the A19 and then the A20 towards Messina, come down to the SS113 as far as Finale and climb to the village from there. From Cefalù, follow the coast east. Distances calculated on OpenStreetMap:

From	Distance	Driving time
Cefalù	24 km	about 30 min
Palermo	90 km	about 1 h 25
Catania	168 km	about 2 h 45
Castelbuono	17 km	about 30 min
San Mauro Castelverde	31 km	about 50 min

By train, on the Palermo-Messina line, there is Pollina-S.Mauro Castelverde station, in Finale. From the station to the old village you need a car or a lift. Road closures and roadworks are on the page about Madonie roads. For all roads and connections there is the guide on how to get to the Madonie.

What to eat in Pollina

The signature product is manna, which you will find pure, in sweets and in products from local producers. Then olive oil: every November the Sagra dell’Ulivo in Finale hands out seasoned olives and gives a small olive tree to babies born that year. More local produce is in our guide to Madonie food.

Festivals and events

• San Giuliano, the patron saint, in July: translation of the relic, procession and flower carpet. Festival page.
• Valdemone Festival, three days of street theatre and contemporary circus between late July and early August. Festival page.
• Manna festival, on 13 August, with visits to the ash groves. Festival page.
• Sagra dell’Ulivo, in Finale, in early November.

The full calendar is on the page about events in Pollina.

Where to stay and where to eat

Accommodation is almost all in Finale, with resorts, campsites and holiday homes: you will find it in where to stay in Pollina. Restaurants, pizzerias and bars are in where to eat in Pollina.