What to see in Palazzo Adriano – The Sicilian hinterland

In this article you will find out what to see in Palazzo Adriano. It is a village of about 2,000 inhabitants, famous especially because Cinema Paradiso was filmed here. It has Albanian origins, in fact out of them settled here in the 15th century, as they were forced to flee the Turkish advance. Over time, however, the traditions and the Albanian language have been lost. Nevertheless the Byzantine rite of the liturgy remained in use el and oriental traditions . For example, Baptism, Communion and Confirmation are all celebrated together and during a wedding the spouses are crowned. Let’s find out now what to see at Palazzo Adriano.

1. The main square and the historic center

The main attraction of the town is Piazza Umberto I, with the fountain (1608), the 2 churches of Maria Santissima Assunta (16th century) and Maria Santissima del Lume (17th century) respectively Orthodox and Catholic, the bell tower and all the small typical houses to frame. Here you will also find the Paradise Cinema Museum, a must for film lovers.

2. The streets, the castle, the museum and the church of San Nicola

If you want to go a little through the streets of the town, Via Nino Bixio starts from the main square, very pretty and characteristic. The very narrow street between the church and the bell tower is also very suggestive. For movie buffs it might be interesting to visit the paradise cinema museum and for history lovers the castle, built in the 14th century and the nearby Orthodox church of San Nicola from the 15th century.

The castle has been remodeled over the centuries and in the nineteenth century it was the residence of the Bourbon kings, who went hunting in the surrounding woods. Inside it houses the museum of Arbereshe folk costumes and rites, that is of the Albanian refugees who settled in Palazzo Adriano in 1482. After having seen what to see at Palazzo Adriano, let’s now find out what to eat.

Typical products of Palazzo Adriano

• The gidata: a flat bread stuffed with salted vegetables.
• The tabisca: from the Arabic tabisc, bread crushed with the fingers and greased with pre-cooked olive oil.
• The muffle: hot loaf prepared with oil, pepper and cheese or fresh ricotta.
• The stuffed aubergines with garlic and cheese.
• The typical sweets are instead: The mastrazzole , the cuddureddi of figs and almonds , the sfince of eggs or potatoes And the puppets with the egg packed with hard-boiled eggs and biscuit dough.
• The cheeses are also very good, typical is the canestrato , once also exported to the United States.

Palazzo Adriano is part of the province of Palermo. Here you can find some tips on what to eat in Palermo and surroundings , here instead you find the typical Sicilian dishes.

Interactive map – Points of interest in purple

To locate yourself once in the area, click on the enlarge symbol at the top right of the map.

What to see in the surroundings

Palazzo Adriano is located in the province of Palermo. Here you will find listed the places to visit in Palermo and surroundings .

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