Racalmuto is a medieval village rich in charming ancient churches.

31st July 2016

Racalmuto the small town which I visited is a really interesting place with lots of landmarks.

The name of Racalmuto derives from the Arab word “Rahal-Maut” which means “Dead village” because when Arabs conquered the area they found the village completely destroyed by plague. Later, after the Norman domination, the village was acquired by the Barrese family who erected the Castelluccio fortress in 1229. 

The most important monuments of Racalmuto are:the Santuario Maria SS del Monte, built in 1738 by Pietro Signorino; the Mother Church, built in 1620 and dedicated to SS.Annunziata, displays impressive Baroque decorations; the Chiaramontano Castle, built between the 13th century and the 14th century, has an irregular plan with two cylindric towers.

All photos below show Mother Church which I took on 5th July 2016 in Racalmuto during my trip there.

Father Pio

In Racalmuto’s old town, there is the 1600’s Mother Church, once dedicated to Sant’Antonio Abate, and today dedicated to the Annunziata. Its name was changed into Chiesa di Maria SS. Annunziata around 1620, when the priest Santo Agrò ordered the construction, next to the small church of Sant’Antonio, of the current Cathedral. The church has three aisles where we can admire gold objects, cupids and low reliefs in a 1600’s Baroque style; three chapels dedicated to S. Maria della Catena; and a high altar with a painting by Pietro d’Asaro, portraying Mary Magdalene. It also holds some precious wooden altars, the most important being the altar of Santa Rosalia.

Theatre in Racalmuto

 30th July 2016

A commune Racalmuto is a municipality in Italy, Sicily, in the province of Agrigento. Rakalmuto is located about 510 kilometers to the south from Rome, 90 km to the south-east from Palermo and 16 km to the north-east from Agrigento.

A town Racalmuto became popular due to the fact that a Sicilian writer Leonardo Shasha was born and lived here. He is also buried at the local small cemetery.

Margerita theatre in Racalmuto is small but adorable one.

In the XX century Racalmuto was a major mining center of Sicily, but now this industry is not developing.

Today the town has received a great development of agriculture and tourism. Except the castle there is one more remarkable place in the town.

It is Queen Margaret Theater, which was built between 1870 and 1880. It can accommodate up to 350 people. The theater was built as an example of wealth of famous Racalmuto families who became rich due to extracting of sulfur and the work of the hired workers. The theater is located in the garden of the monastery of Santa Chiara, and its interior is decorated with frescoes by Giuseppe Cart – the creator of the curtain depicting the “Sicilian Vespers” and twelve backdrop of paintings by Giuseppe Kavalloro.

Villa Romana di Durelli in Realmonto Sicily

29th July 2016

Villa Romana di Durelli is located near  Realmonte next to Mediterranean Sea. There are only ruins which were covered by soil many centuries. At the beginning of 20th century ruins were discovered. The house belonged to the rich man.

 The ruins dates back from 1st century AD.

Medieval castle near Racalmuto- Sicily.

28 th July 2016

There are ruins of the medieval castle near Racalmuto. The castle was located in the high mountaina nd it was a part of military control system in the past.

The view from the top

Leonardo Sciascia from Racalmuto

27th July 2016

Racalmuto a small Sicilian town is famous for Leonardo Sciascia. His statue is located on the main street in the town.

The writer and me..

Leonardo Sciascia was born on January 8, 1921 – and died in November 20, 1989. He  was an Italian writer, novelist, essayist, playwright and politician. Some of his works have been made into films, including Open Doors (1990), Cadaveri Eccellenti (1976) and Il giorno della civetta (1968).

The old fountain in Racalmuto..

26th July 2016

Racalmuto the old but lovely town located in Sicily. In my opinion lot of buildings need renovation. Streets are really narrow it is really difficult to drive but fantastic Italian drivers can do it.. I admire them sitting as a passenger in the car. 

typical street not too wide!!!

The old fountain!!

The third day of festival in Racalmuto

26th July 2016

Sunday was the last day of festival but I couldn't see it personally because in the morning I had flight to Warsaw. This day was also as interesting as the previous ones.

In the evening horses with their rides were going to the church. Probably this tradition has Muslim roots here who invavded Sicily in the past.

 Tomorrow more photos from Italy..

Parade of horses in Racalmuto

25th July 2016

At the end of  the second day of festival Madonna of Montes was the parade of horses which looked fantastic.

Some horses were dancing..It was a great show.

About 2a.m. was fireworks display.... 

Tomorrow the last day of festival.