San Marco d'Alunzio
San Marco D’Alunzio
Member of I Borghi più belli d'Italia
Greek Alontion, Roman Haluntium, Byzantine Demenna: this hilltop town on Monte Castro has worn many names, and Robert Guiscard built the first Norman castle in Sicily here in 1061. Churches line the main street, Via Aluntina, with the Nebrodi mountains behind and the valleys of the Rosmarino and Platanà on either side.
Highlights
- The Temple of Hercules, a 4th-century BC Greek temple later turned into a church
- Museum of Byzantine and Norman art, with frescoes, coins and capitals
- The 12th-century church of Santissimo Salvatore, with Byzantine palm-leaf capitals
- The hooded Babbaluti in the late-March procession of the Crocifisso di Aracoeli
- The scant ruins of the Norman castle at the top of the town
Text adapted from Wikipedia (San Marco d'Alunzio (IT), San Marco d'Alunzio (EN)), Wikivoyage (San Marco d'Alunzio). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Population: 1,778
Things to see
Events through the year
- Feast of Saint Anthony the AbbotBlessing of the animals
- Festa del Crocifisso di AracoeliProcession with the hooded Babbaluti
- Medieval day
- Feast of Saints Mark and NicholasFeast of the two patron saints
- Feast of Saint BasilBack-and-forth procession with basil torches
- Palio dell'AssuntaParade in medieval costume
- Christmas novenaDialect carols and the Christ Child carried from house to house
Dates follow the traditional patterns in our sources: check locally before you travel.
Adapted from Wikivoyage (San Marco d'Alunzio). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Specialities of Sicily
Typical of the region rather than of this village.
Arancini 002Public domain- Cannolo sicilianoSweet
- Cassata sicilianaSweet
- GranitaSweet
- Pasta alla NormaDish
Adapted from Wikipedia (Sicilian cuisine, Cucina siciliana). Available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Where to sleep
1 place to stay within 3 km
- B&Bs and guest houses 1
Data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
Nearby member villages
- Montalbano Elicona · 28 km
- Troina · 33 km
- Novara di Sicilia · 38 km
- Castiglione di Sicilia · 43 km
- Castroreale · 45 km