Dominating the village of Montalbano, located in the hinterland of the Gulf of Patti, is the Swabian-Aragonese Castle. The country is a maze of paths where time seems to stand still in a bygone era, included in the list of the 90 most beautiful medieval villages in Italy. Among the churches of artistic interest, the Basilica of Maria Assunta in heaven with its works of art is worth mentioning.
The village of Montalbano Elicona (Muntarbanu in Sicilian) is characterized by the presence, in the ancient part of the village, an ancient castle that was the summer residence of King Frederick II of Aragon. The appellative Elicona dates back certainly to the Greek colonization. During this period (VII-VIII century B.C.), Dori, thinking to the mythical mount of the Muse, called Helikon a site, coinciding with the rise on which rises the medieval village and a torrent near whose tortuous course justifies the name.
The first testimonies on the existence of the village dates back to the XI century, when it was a State possession. In 1232 it revolted against Frederick II of Swabia, and supported the Pope together with other centers. Later it has belonged to different feudatories: to Matteo Palizzi in 1350, Vinciguerra d'Aragona in 1359, to launch in 1396, the Roman Column, Bonannos in 1587.
Between the churches of artistic interest is certainly stress from the Basilica of Mary Assumed into Heaven (Duomo) with its works of art, in particular those of the Gagini. Montalbano also hosts the "Photographic Museum dr. Eugenio Belfiore", at which they are exposed more than two hundred photographs in black and white that represent more than a century of history of the country and of the whole Sicily.
Village of Montalbano Elicona Municipality of Montalbano Elicona Metropolitan City of Messina Sicily Region
Population: 2.242 Altitude centre: 920 m s.l.m.
the Municipality is part of: I Borghi più belli d'Italia Città della nocciola
ll Castello del borgo di Brolo, in Sicily, goes back to the X century A.D. and is located on a pi...
Piazza Castello, 11, Brolo (Messina)
22.25 Kilometers from Montalbano Elicona
= distances as the crow flies
BY CAR
From Messina: take the A20 Messina - Palermo motorway to the Falcone exit;
From Palermo: take the A20 Palermo - Messina motorway to the Falcone exit and continue towards Montalbano.
From Catania: take the A18 Catania - Messina motorway and then the A20 Messina - Palermo motorway to the Falcone exit and continue towards Montalbano.
From Catania or Taormina: leaving Catania you can take the A 18 motorway to the Fiumefreddo junction. Proceed along the Linguaglossa - Randazzo - Santa Domenica Vittoria road, reaching the Favoscuro crossroads and then continue towards Montalbano.
To highlight the beauty of Montalbano Elicona, it is enough to remember the victory in 2015 of the competition 'Il Borgo dei Borghi', attributed to it during the Rai Tre broadcast 'Alle falde del Kilimangiaro'.The victory of Montalbano Elicona is the result of a long history that has transformed this village into a splendid landscape and cultural glimpse of Sicily. The village is located in the province of Messina, in the hinterland of the Gul...
Messina Swordfish Rolls are a tribute to Neptune and represent a tasty second course with the advantage of being cooked in a short time: between preparation and cooking, in fact, it takes more or less twenty minutes. Protagonist on the tables throughout the year, this second course is ideal in spring and summer and accompanies the discovery of the amazing villages of the province of Messina, for example Milazzo, then Brolo, or Montalbano Elicona or Alcara li Fusi. Finally, from a nutritional point of view, swordfish has excellent meat and...