Day 3 Wednesday, April 5th – April 5th (Wednesday) in Sicily, we visited Castelbuono which is a town 1.5 hours outside of Palermo that is known for its castle from which its name derives, and around which the town developed in the 14th century. We explored the town and met with the town comptroller to learn about life in the town.
The Castelbuono mayor introduced a method of collecting waste by using donkeys instead of trucks. The donkeys work six days a week from 7 AM to noon and pick up a different kind of waste each day. This has increased recycling in the town to 90%. It works well through the narrow streets
Construction of the Castle began in 1316, by order of Count Francesco I of Ventimiglia, over the ruins of the ancient Byzantine town of Ypsigro, high on the San Pietro hill. Hence its original name, Castello del buon aere (“Castle of good air”), from which the name Castelbuono is derived – literally meaning “good castle”.
The Cappella Palatina (“Palace Chapel”) was built in 1683 by the brothers Giuseppe and Giacomo Serpotta, with a great profusion of precious marble, stuccowork, putti, and friezes that commemorate the most resplendent moments in the history of the House of Ventimiglia. Here is kept the holy relic of the skull of Saint Anne.
Town hall where we met with the comptroller and learned about life in Castlebuono.
Two sisters, Amber and Debra, who have chosen to stay in this town of 9,000 and starting their business, Laboratorio Naturale, making jewelry from local seeds.
We had a fantastic lunch at the Nangalarrun Ristorante and local entertainers serenaded us at lunch.
We stopped by to visit the 70 year old Fiasconaro bakery famous for their panettone, which was delicious.
The Sicilian dessert- the Cassatella di Sant Agata is sweet in taste, but the historical origin is not so sweet. Shaped like halved balls, often wrapped in white and/or green marzipan, with a red cherry on top. See: https://joydellavita.com/sicilian-cassatella-di-sant-agata/