In 2014 Ferla was admitted to the ANCI Club of “The most beautiful villages in Italy” . The majestic baroque of the historic center, entirely rebuilt after the earthquake of 1693, is based on innovative architecture. In 1933, Italy recognized the Church of Sant’Antonio as a “national monument” and marvelously raised the imposing basilica dedicated to San Sebastiano, patron saint of the town with its external sculptural complex inserted inside a “baroque machine”, a work by the artist Michelangelo Di Giacomo.

The visit to the Holistic Center pays homage to the philosophy of slow living, which since 2015 has made this village a model for experimenting with a holistic approach to the environment. A workshop with recycled material will be held here, to give a complete tourist experience that involves guests in their senses and soul.

Cassaro is the city of oil and Easter rituals, par excellence. The matrix of the name could derive from the Arabic Kars, which means castle or fortress, in fact the site was located in an area of ​​great strategic importance, near the once navigable river, the Anapo. After the earthquake of 1693, a regular checkerboard layout was designed and religious monuments and palaces were built by the aristocracy, including the Church of Sant’Antonio Abate and the Church of San Sebastiano. The civic “Visual and Documentary Museum of the Syracusan Hyblean Plateau” is located in the eighteenth-century Palazzo Carfì.

Of great value are the exhibition rooms that show vestments and sacred objects, the vestments of Mons. Luigi Bordonaro stand out, including a missal from the sixteenth century. Another room is dedicated to the almost centennial history of the “Band of Cassaro.” The bond with the land in the Iblei Mountains is strong, and bears fruit in the production of a DOP extra virgin olive oil that will be tasted in the tantalizing delicacies, called m ‘breaded, tasty typical focaccia, stuffed with vegetables and cheeses.

The Oriented Natural Reserve of Pantalica – Anapo Valley is certainly one of the most evocative places in the Iblea area. The millenary presence of man, the very rich vegetation present, the Anapo and Calcinara rivers that flow gently inside the valley, the ancient route of the Syracuse – Vizzini railway create a unique place of extraordinary beauty, where the atmosphere of the myth.

PROGRAM ** :

9.00 am arrival in Ferla and view of the historic center

10.30 am workshop at the Holistic center

12.30 pm tasting of typical products

1.45 pm transfer to Cassaro

2.00 pm arrival in Cassaro, visit of the Visual Museum of the Hyblean Plateau

3.30 pm transfer to the Anapo Valley (Ponte Diga)

4.00 pm beginning of the excursion in the Anapo Valley (towards Palazzolo)

6.00 pm end of excursion

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