Santa Margherita del Belice
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Nestled in the Belice Valley, in the province of Agrigento, among excellent prickly pears, which have found their natural habitat here, Santa Margherita del Belice benefits from a lush land, which the course of the river enriches with a diversified landscape.
Tied to the ancient presence of Sican, Greek, Roman, and Arab people, Santa Margherita del Belice can be stated to have been historically founded on July 2nd, 1572 by Baron Antonio Corbera, as a concession of the Spanish rulers.
The writer Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa lived the best moments of his childhood here, setting his masterpiece, The Leopard, in the country residence of Santa Margherita del Belice, which is for all intents and purposes among the literary itineraries in Sicily. In 1963 director Luchino Visconti turned it into one of the film sets of the homonymous movie based on the novel.
What to see in Santa Margherita del Belice? The visit can only start from Palazzo Filangieri di Cutò and the adjoining Villa, a.k.a. the “Palazzo del Gattopardo,” now home to the Town Hall, the Gattopardo Museum connected to the “Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa” Literary Park and the Sant’Alessandro Theater.
The historical memory of Santa Margherita del Belice also runs through the San Vito Quarter and the ruins of the ancient town, uninhabited but surviving the 1968 earthquake and now bearing witness to that devastating event, to which the Museum of Memory is also dedicated: a space carved out of the ruins of the former Mother Church restored and used as a permanent exhibition, with hundreds of photographs telling the story of the Belice towns before and after the earthquake.
Not to be missed, a stroll through the greenery of the sumptuous Villa Comunale, in the center of which stands the 19th-century, circular temple of the “Café House” adjacent to the Statue of Flora.
If you are wondering what food there is to enjoy in Santa Margherita del Belice, know that you are in the homeland of the homonymous DOC white wine Santa Margherita del Belice, the product of an area that has been devoted for centuries to viticulture and olive growing, which combines international grape varieties with the rediscovery of native ones (Grecanico and Nero d’Avola).
To the foodies, we suggest pairing it with the luscious local cheeses, vastedda and belicino: both fresh, made from the milk of the valuable Belice Sheep, they differ in the addition of the Nocellara del Belice DOP Olive, which gives the second an unmistakable flavor.
What are you waiting for? Come discover the “City of the Leopard” and the reasons why every vacation in Santa Margherita del Belice turns into a “slow life” experience, set among unforgettable landscapes, literary charms and genuine products.
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