Ferla

“From Pantàlica we want to start, from its necropolis, from its steep walls with holes like a beehive… from this extreme and abyssal place, from this threshold where one passes from the scanning of history to the darkness of time, to the eternal circular and unmoving, from the waters of the Anapo, from this Averno, from this place of shadows transiting towards the night. Since Pantàlica is indeed a place of death, but it is also a place of resurrection, of new beginnings: it is a place symbol of this complex and contrasting land of Sicily, with its history of recurring destruction and rebirth. And the symbol is embodied in the golden insect, in the honeybee that gives wax and honey, light and nourishment, in the honeybee that flies through those places.”

Once in Ferla, you should immediately go on a bike excursion in the Pantalica and Valle dell’Anapo to visit the necropolis and the Anaktoron, the "Palazzo del Principe". Ferla is only 11 km from the valley and is therefore considered one of the "doors" of the famous "world heritage" natural reserve. The presence of caves in the underground, signs of archaic civilizations and rock complexes of Christians, Byzantines, Longobards, Arabs and Normans are widely spread and suggestively blend with the Baroque style of the churches rebuilt after the 1600 earthquake.

From the Byzantine village of San Micidario to the necropolis of San Martino, with the "grotta of Dionisio" to the "Sant'Anna" one, there is an endless succession of curiosities and discoveries. Back in the heart of the town, it is a must to take a walk along the "Via Sacra" (via Vittorio Emanuele) which crosses the entire settlement; it meets five baroque churches: the chiesa del Carmine, the chiesa di San Sebastiano, the Chiesa Madre, the Sant’Antonio one, perhaps the most beautiful with an splendid baroque facade. Lastly, the former convent of Santa Maria. The most important civilian buildings are marked by a baroque style, but they do not miss to have unexpected Liberty inserts.

www.valdinoto.it | www.borghipiubelliditalia.it | www.comune.ferla.sr.it

The HUB of Ferla is interested in the route "La Valle dell’Anapo" and is the arrival point of the first stage coming from Sortino (20.4 km and 402 meters of difference in height). From Ferla (POINT in the vicinity of the Chiesa di S. Antonio Abate), the second stage then begins to reach the POINT of Cassaro located in Piazza Matrice. It is 28.4 km and 494 meters of difference in height.