Day 01
Castelbuono Medieval Village and Ventimiglia Castle Tour
- The guided tour of Castelbuono will take you to discover a small medieval village a few minutes' drive from Palermo and near Cefalù, in the heart of Madonie Park, where you can immerse yourself in alleys with the scent of freshly baked bread.
- We walk along the main street, discovering the history of the ancient village up to its main monument, the Ventimiglia Castle.
- The tour continues with a visit to the castle, built by the noble Ventimiglia family in the fourteenth century, with architectural elements of different styles such as Arab, Norman, and Swabian, which coexist harmoniously in a structure with a curtain wall once accessed from Porta Sant'Anna gate.
- Inside, the castle houses the wonderful Palatine Chapel of Sant'Anna, which preserves the Sacred Skull of the Saint on the main altar, with a frontal in coral, gold, and pearls, and where you can admire precious stuccos on a gold background and precious cherubs in white marble.
- We continue the guided tour by leaving the castle and heading towards Piazza Margherita, where we will visit the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, also known as Matrice Vecchia.
- The ancient church, built in the fourteenth century on the ruins of a pagan temple, has an elegant Renaissance facade with a portico decorated by a Baroque portal and an octagonal spire covered with majolica.
