Our towns

Misc texture 2

The memorial park, in memory of all those killed in the two great World Wars

RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS The Holy Spirit Festival&nbsp;is celebrated on the Monday following&nbsp;Pentecost&nbsp;with a religious service in the morning and a solemn procession in the afternoon. It is focused on the Sacred Image conserved in the sanctuary of the same name built in Baroque style and located at the foot of the town. According to the legend the miraculous image of the Eternal Father painted on a rock was found by a farmer. the Holy Spirit is also the town’s protector. The festival is also a chance for young people to have fun since a big funfair is built near the Sanctuary. There are also a lot of stalls with everything including the typical Sicilian nougat. In the solemn procession, about forty statues of saints are carried on the believers’ shoulders from the Mother-Church to the Sanctuary at the foot of the village. When the Sanctuary is reached, the famous&nbsp;Cursa di Santi&nbsp;(“Running of the Saints”) or&nbsp;Miraculi&nbsp;takes place in the square just in front to pay homage to the Third Person of Trinity. After that the statues enter the church.

What to see in Geraci Siculo? On top of the village you can admire the ruins of the ancient castle, probably built in the Byzantine era. Later the Normans arrived and the castle became a real military fortress. In 1252 the village of Geraci passed to the Ventimiglia family of Ligurian ancestry. They were one of the most powerful noble families in Sicily for at least four centuries.

Palm Sunday marks the beginning of the Holy Week. The protagonists of this event are the so-called Confraternities (associations of laics representing the various churches each having their own flag, uniform and emblem) that meet in the church of the drawn Confraternity on the Sunday before Easter. In the chosen church, big blessed Palms are decorated with flowers, sacred symbols and dated, divided among the Confraternities and finally carried in procession. At the same time, the ‘tamburinara (drummers) wearing the ‘rubriche’, 18th century costumes, play the drums in various rhythms. After preparations, the procession starts and it will reach the Mother-Church. The Palms, carried on shoulders by the co-brothers, are preceded  by the ‘tamburinara’ and followed by the believers. As soon as the procession finishes, the ‘tamburinara’ will perform in a magnificient rhytmic show, the ‘tamburinata’, while the big Palms enter the Main Church. 

The church of Santo Stefano is an "irregular Greek cross” with a bell tower with coloured ashlars.

Living in Assisi This event takes place every two years at the end of September. It aims to recall the life of Saint Francis of Assisi the Patron Saint of Italy. He abandoned a life of luxury for a life devoted to Christianity after hearing the voice of God, who commanded him to rebuild the Christian church and live in poverty. The Medieval village represents the suggestive scenery where typical scenes of the Medieval life&nbsp; are reproduced in details such as the leper-hospitals which hosted the rejects from society, the prisons where prisoners were tortured, the markets, the heart of the past daily life.

I. C. "F. P. Polizzano" Italy

GANGI Gangi is a town with a population of about 6,000 inhabitants. It has very ancient origins ( 12th century BC). The town straddles Mount Marone, in the Madonie mountains of central Sicily at 1011 m above sea level. It is located about 120 kilometres southeast of&nbsp;Palermo, the regional capital. The land area is cultivated, still some natural vegetation is preserved. The climate is classified as Mediterranean. Today it is among “the most beautiful villages in Italy”. In 2012 it received the title of “ Jewel of Italy” by the Ministry of Cultural Activities and Heritage

Bongiorno Palace, now town council-owned is one of the most beautiful buildings of the eighteenth century architecture.

People’s Square is the heart of the social relations in the town and also the fulcrum of the most important events&nbsp; that enliven Gangi during the year. It is rectangular and paved in stone. There is a small cave with a&nbsp; semicircular fountain from which a marble lion goes out to drink. The Town Hall overlooks the square.

EVENTS &nbsp;The Corn Ear Festival On the second Sunday of August the famous Corn Ear Festival takes place. It is meant as a thanksgiving to God for the harvest. It is one of the most popular events in the Sicilian summer calendar. It is dedicated to Demetra, goddess of harvest&nbsp; and it culminates in a long parade with decked-out horses, ‘stravole’, an ancient means of transport carried by oxen, sheaves of corn ears (symbol of man’s labour and the fruit of the land),&nbsp; noblewomen and gentlemen, gods and goddesses and evocative sceneries recalling the country life in the past. A constant and essential presence is the folkloristic group, Engium.

Geraci Siculo is a small town in the Natural Park of Madonie in the North of Sicily. It is 1077 meters above sea level. It has a population of approximately 1700 inhabitants. Geraci is a great tourist destination for its beautiful churches and monuments but especially for its landscape and naturalistic heritage. The name of the town is of Greek origin (from Jerax, vulture). It refers to its origin as a fortified place, on an impervious rock, overflied by birds of prey. &nbsp;

THE HISTORY Today, Gangi rises on the Mount Marone, at 1011 m on the sea level. The history indicates by documents that since 1195 Gangi has been on this site. First it was part of the county of Geraci (a village near Gangi) and belonged to the Ventimiglia family, then it was acquired by the Graffeo family and finally in 1677 the title went to the Valguarnera. In the 18th century several literary academies were founded. Among them, The ‘Industrious Academy’that has been recently built up again with the aim to give value and saveguard our heritage.

Living Nativity Scene It takes place in the town centre at Christmas time. It represents Mary and Joseph’s&nbsp; journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem where Baby Jesus was born. The typical Palestinian life of the past is reproduced with costume and settings of the imperial Rome of Herod in a fascinating context.

The Sanctuary of the Holy Spirit is a place of devotion&nbsp; and pilgrimage.

The Main Church is located in the main square. Next to it, the Gothic-Norman Ventimiglia Tower built in 1337. Inside the Main Church there is a crypt that contains the mummified corpses of priests standing in niches.

The Church of S. Maria Maggiore is located in the main square

THE ORIGINS About the origins of Gangi even today history and legend interlace. According to the legend ‘Engyon’ was on Mount Alburchia, founded by Cretans in 1200 B.C. who built a temple dedicated to the mother goddesses. Still according to the legend the temple became rich of a lot of a treasures, among them Ulysses’ and Scipio Africanus’ weapons. In Roman times the temple was deprived of a part of its treasures and also for the town a decline period started. Until 10 years ago historians thought that Engyon was on Mount Alburchia this also for the similarity of the two names. Today the historians do not agree about this theory. They think that the town on Mount Alburchia was not Gangi but Herbita. This until further information will confirm or belie this theory.

The jump of Ventimiglia is a panoramic view realized in the place where, according to tradition, Francesco I Ventimiglia, count of Geraci died. It is said that from here, in 1337, the count of Geraci, pursued by his enemies, threw himself and his horse, plunging into the very deep cliff below.

The structure, made of glass and steel, extends into the void for a few meters and allows you to walk almost on "nothing", with an exceptional panorama under your feet.

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