The best cycling routes around Lake Arancio

A beautiful spot for a break.

This church, dedicated to the Holy Cross (Latin: "Santa Croce"), derives its patronage from the cross on which Jesus Christ died. The veneration of the Holy Cross largely originates from Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great (who, after his victory at the Milvian Bridge in front of Rome, recognized Christianity as a religion and ended the long period of persecution with the Edict of Toleration of Milan in 312). She made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Israel/Palestine) in the early fourth century and brought numerous relics back to Europe, including the "True Cross," on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Helena is therefore often depicted with a cross as an attribute. The Church celebrates the Feast of the Discovery, public presentation, and veneration of the Holy Cross—called the "Exaltation of the Holy Cross"—on September 14th.

Sambuca di Sicilia preserves traces of its Arab origins, including the castle and the historic Piazza della Libertà. Sambuca is also famous for its sweet wine, a Moscato, and for having become one of the "most beautiful villages in Italy". The landscape that surrounds it, between hills and vineyards, offers breathtaking views.

From the publisher's information: The myth of Sicily is ambivalent and constantly evolving. On the one hand, the island and its inhabitants are clinging to an aura of the archaic, the mysterious, and the exotic. On the other hand, everything seems to have been scrutinized: the Mafia and its crimes, the darkest machinations, the fiercest passions, and the most picturesque landscapes. At the same time, the inextricable traces of countless occupiers throughout the island's millennia-old history... still shape our image of Sicily. Giuseppe Tomasi, noble Prince of Lampedusa [1896 to 1957], revived the myth of Sicily in his novel "Il Gattopardo" [The Leopard] and in his short stories, but in many respects also questioned it.

This church, dedicated to the Holy Cross (Latin: "Santa Croce"), derives its patronage from the cross on which Jesus Christ died. The veneration of the Holy Cross largely originates from Saint Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine the Great (who, after his victory at the Milvian Bridge in front of Rome, recognized Christianity as a religion and ended the long period of persecution with the Edict of Toleration of Milan in 312). She made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land (Israel/Palestine) in the early fourth century and brought numerous relics back to Europe, including the "True Cross," on which Jesus Christ was crucified. Therefore, Helena is often depicted with a cross as an attribute. The Church celebrates the Feast of the Discovery, public presentation, and veneration of the Holy Cross—called the "Exaltation of the Holy Cross"—on September 14th.

A central street in Santa Margherita del Belice.

It is a space created using the restored ruins of the former Mother Church, once a meeting place and point of reference for the religious and social activities of the town and then ruinously destroyed by seismic shocks. Inside, hundreds of photographs guide the visitor to discover the Belìce Valley and its nine villages (Gibellina, Montevago, Salaparuta, Poggioreale, Santa Margherita di Belìce, Santa Ninfa, Sambuca di Sicilia and Vita) before that shocking night of the 15th January 1968. Dozens and dozens of photographic shots immortalizing the faces of men, women and children, of destroyed houses, of devastated villages and in particular of rubble. And then all the phases of the first aid, the aid, the barracks, up to the urban reconstruction, but also to the human rebirth of all those people who found themselves protagonists of that tragic event. Wikipedia.

Statue dedicated to the famous Sicilian writer.