Nicosia

Among the unspoilt beauties of the Madonie and the Nebrodi, we find the ancient village of Nicosia with its rocky and panoramic territory. It developed in Byzantine times and then the Arabs settled there, followed by the Normans and the Swabians. The current city was formed around the Castle, located on the highest rock in the village, of which only the ruins remain today. Some terracotta finds from the 7th century BC and the numerous caves scattered in the area show that it was built on the site of an ancient city. The main place of worship is Nicosia Cathedral ("Cattedrale di San Nicolò"), dedicated to St Nicholas of Bari, in Gothic style, built in 1340. Inside, the painted wooden ceiling is a true rarity of 15th-century Sicilian pictorial art. Due to its importance, the building has been declared a National Monument. At the foot of the castle is the imposing Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, built from 1767 onwards to replace an earlier medieval church swallowed up by a landslide. The portal and most of the works preserved inside, including a majestic work by Gagini at the end of the presbytery, come from religious and civil buildings destroyed by the landslide. Strolling through the alleys and stairways of the historic centre of Nicosia, one can still admire the arabesques, capitals, friezes and statues that enrich the noble palaces.