Discover Geraci Siculo – Holiday apartment in Geraci Siculo

Geraci Siculo between castles, trails and festivals

If you are looking for a holiday apartment in Geraci Siculo, you can expect a place with striking historical landmarks, special festivals and trails through natural and cultural landscapes. The Castello dei Ventimiglia features ruins with chamfered tower corners, loopholes, a Moorish window and arches belonging to underground passageways. There are also empty or rubble-filled cisterns. The Ventimiglia Path begins at the castle and leads to the Chiesa dell’Annunziata.

Culture and churches offering a variety of discoveries

The Bevaio della SS. Trinità is a 20-metre-long rectangular structure with two side fountains made of hewn stone. It was commissioned by Marchese Simone Ventimiglia. The MUSeBArch is located in the 17th-century monastery of the Capuchin Fathers. Local agro-pastoral and artisan culture is presented there through reconstructed work processes and depictions of popular and religious festivals. The museum also includes reconstructed living areas of the shepherds and a death mask with its associated plaster cast from the 19th century.

The Chiesa di Santa Maria La Porta was built in 1496 and has a single-nave floor plan in the shape of a Latin cross. Inside is a painted marble polyptych from the 16th century, attributed to Giuliano Mancino and his workshop as well as Antonio Vanella. The Chiesa di San Giuliano is attached to the Benedictine nuns’ convent, has a single nave and is decorated with stucco work by Francesco Alaimo from 1749. A very old chapel stands in the San Cusimano area: at the Chiesa dei Santi Cosma e Damiano, the pointed-arch portal indicates its great age.

The Museo di Arte Sacra can be reached through the sacristy of the Chiesa Madre. From there, you enter the crypt, where the church treasury is displayed. For a deeper connection between nature and art history, the municipality of Geraci Siculo offers free guided tours of natural, art-historical and monumental routes, subject to prior reservation through its tourism service and the “Qui Parco” office.

Panoramic views and trails through the Madonie

At the Salto del Ventimiglia, a viewpoint opens up over the eastern valley of Geraci Siculo; the wide view extends as far as the slopes of Mount Etna. A steel-and-glass walkway structure projects about three metres beyond the edge of the wall. An information centre belonging to the viewpoint is located on the ground floor of the adjacent municipal library. It includes a multimedia station and artistic terracotta reliefs depicting the history of the town.

The Punto panoramico di Piazza S. Antonino also looks out over Geraci Siculo and the wooded area of the Madonie. The protected area includes the ZSC Querceti sempreverdi di Geraci Siculo e Castelbuono. The nature trail La via dell’acqua includes visits to the Marcati, wetlands and oligomineral springs. On the Geraci Siculo–Castelbuono stage of the Via dei Frati, the trail leads from Piazza del Popolo to the Bevaio della Trinità and then onwards to the rural chapel of San Cosimano.

Festivals, processions and medieval traditions

The annual calendar offers several religious occasions. The patronal festival in honour of San Bartolomeo is celebrated every year on 24 August and includes a procession of San Bartolo and San Giacomo through Geraci Siculo. The festival in honour of Maria SS. Annunziata traditionally takes place on the second Sunday in July; during it, the painting of the Annunciation is carried in procession through the historic centre. On 3 May, Geraci Siculo celebrates the traditional festival of the SS. Crocifisso, during which a wooden statue is venerated in the Chiesa di Santa Maria La Porta.

During the procession of the SS. Crocifisso, the wooden statue is carried by the faithful in turns on their shoulders. Some worshippers walk barefoot, while children wear crowns made of woven branches and shout “PANI E PARADISU, MISERICORDIA SIGNURI”. Another facet of local tradition is A Carvaccata di Vistiamara, which takes place every year on a smaller scale. The event includes a religious ceremony, music and singing, as well as tastings of dairy products made exclusively by the participating shepherds.

The Giostra dei Ventimiglia takes place every year during the first week of August as a historical-medieval reenactment. The programme includes processions in 14th-century costumes, knightly games, simulated falconry, medieval cuisine, music, medieval performances, displays of high-quality horses and cultural gatherings. These dates can be just as important when choosing a holiday apartment in Geraci Siculo as the decision to focus your stay more on churches, hiking trails, panoramas or local traditions.

More destinations for planning your trip

You may also consider Finale, Campofelice Di Roccella, Parrini, Casteldaccia, Pioppo, Valledolmo, Cefalù and Ventimiglia Di Sicilia as additional travel destinations.

For the higher-level travel overview: Palermo.