The Oriented Natural Reserve of Pantalica – Anapo Valley is certainly one of the most evocative places in the Iblea area. Quarry furrowed by the limpid and mythical waters of the Anapo and Calcinara rivers, creators of a very rich vegetation, which flow gently among ferns, orchids and plane trees inside the valley protecting the macrostigma trout. The millenary presence of man is witnessed everywhere, and above all by the ancient route of the Syracuse – Vizzini railway, all this creates a unique place of extraordinary beauty.

The centers of feudal derivation arise around the Anapo Valley, a river that was once navigable, including Floridia, fiefdom of the last Duchess Lucia Migliaccio, morganatic wife of King Ferdinand IV of Bourbon and seat of the ancient Palio Ippico. It rises with the licentia populandi granted in 1627 by King Philip IV of Sicily to Baron Don Lucio Bonanno Colonna, Duke of Montalbano, after the earthquake and between the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it is equipped with a historic center defined by the Mother Church, the Palazzo Municipal, and the beautiful squares Umberto I and del Popolo. In the Mother Church, a large painting attributed to Crestadoro, which depicts “Sant’Eligio and the miracle of the restored horse”, donated by the farriers and blacksmiths guild, testifies to the importance of the horse in the economy and popular culture local.

The “Nunzio Bruno” Ethnographic Museum represents the highest recognition of the talented artisans of the past, illustrating the traditions of this hard-working community with the display of all the tools useful for the trades linked to peasant civilization; the protagonist is the carter’s workshop, which documents the entire construction of a cart. To admire, the works in painting and the miniatures of the ancient workshops of Maestro Nunzio Bruno, as well as some valuable carts. The visit cannot be completed without tasting the three “main” products: bread, wine and oil.

PROGRAM ** :

9.30 am arrival at the entrance to the Anapo Valley (Fusco side), start of the excursion, to Pantalica station and back

12.45 transfer to Floridia

1.30 pm arrival in Floridia, tasting

2.30 pm visit to the Nunzio Bruno Museum

4.00 pm workshop (alternating workshops of: hand embroidery, preparation of cannoli or almond paste, basket maker, painting of Sicilian carts)

18.00 end of activity

** The program may undergo changes due to weather changes or special unforeseen needs.