Discover Sicily: a hidden jewel in eastern Sicily, Buccheri

Today we talk about a hidden jewel in eastern Sicily, Buccheri.
Buccheri is a charming Sicilian village rich in history, culture and natural beauty located in the province of Syracuse. It rises on the northern slopes of Monte Lauro at an altitude of 820 m above sea level

[Photograph by Seby Scollo ]

With its cobbled streets, ancient churches and breathtaking views, Buccheri attracts visitors from all over the world, eager to discover its authenticity and unique charm.
In this article, we will immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of Buccheri to discover its hidden treasures .

1. THE ANCIENT ORIGIN OF BUCCHERI

This Sicilian village has a rich history that has its roots in antiquity.
Founded by the Arabs in the 9th century, the city has been influenced by various civilizations over the centuries, including the Greeks, Romans and Normans.

This mix of influences is reflected in the local architecture and traditions.
A visit to Buccheri is a journey through time, with the possibility of admiring the remains of the ancient walls, the watchtowers and the historic buildings that tell the fascinating story of the place.

1.1. The disputes on the origin of the name of the Sicilian village
The name is already particular: according to a first hypothesis it derives from the Arabic بقرة ( baqara ) which means "cow".
For others, the name derives from the Sicilian word vucceri (" butcher "), itself deriving from the Old French bouchier (" butcher ").

This is also confirmed by the archaeological evidence which demonstrates the presence of man in very ancient times: a series of pastoral huts, built with megalithic techniques and… also the myth of Daphnis!

                     [Photograph by Seby Scollo ]

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2. BUCCHERI BETWEEN MYTH AND LEGEND

Testimony of the very ancient origin of Buccheri is also from the myth of the shepherd Dafni .
According to Greek mythology Daphnis was the son of the god Hermes, messenger of Olympus, and of the nymph Daphnis, abandoned by his mother in a laurel wood on the Erei mountains, near Monte Lauro in the Iblei chain , right where Buccheri stands today.
After the abandonment, a couple of local shepherds adopted the little Daphnis, educating him and starting him in the practice of sheep farming.
Growing up, Daphnis became a beautiful-looking man and used to go grazing bringing the bagpipe with him so as to accompany the work with song.
In fact, he had learned the musical art right from the god Pan and even surpassed him in singing skills to be considered the creator of bucolic singing , so much so that even Virgil himself remembered and quoted him.

2.1. Daphnis in Greek mythology
One day Daphnis, invited to the palace of King Zeno who wanted to hear his song and his poems, conquered the attention of Queen Clifene, who fell madly in love with the young man who was married, however, to Echeneide, daughter of Juno.
Queen Clifene tried to seduce him in every way but without success until one day she gave him a powerful wine with aphrodisiac effects capable of darkening the mind.
The young Daphnis thus ended up giving in to the seduction of the queen, offering himself to her and to her love.
Once the betrayal occurred, Juno took revenge by blinding him.

2.2. The end of Daphnis and Sicily
He, having become desperate and blind, began to wander the Sicilian countryside , continuing to bring his song and his art with him.
Thus he arrived near Cefalù where he decided to take his own life.
It was at this point that the father Hermes took pity on his son and, just before crashing, transformed Daphnis into a cliff .
According to legend, that cliff still rises today on the sea of ​​Cefalù , caressed by the waves of the sea and where the pain of the poet can still be perceived.

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3. THE NORMAN DOMINATION

After its foundation and the ancient age, the Normans colonized the entire site, also building the castle on the hill.
The first known lords of Buccheri were the Paternò, who settled in 1088.
In 1282 Alaimo di Lentini , invested with the county by Peter III of Aragon, arrived in the Sicilian village: the protagonist of the Sicilian Vespers occasionally resided there together with his wife Macalda di Scaletta .
Later, the first baron of Buccheri was Gerardo Montalto, invested in 1313.
After two centuries of Norman domination, the lordship of the town passed to the Morra family, and from this to the Alliata-Villafranca, who ruled until 1812.
Throughout this period, Buccheri was a very active historical and cultural centre, so much so that there are also evidences of the passage of the Knights Templar .

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4. BUCCHERI AMONG "THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VILLAGES IN ITALY"

The historical legacy of Buccheri, imbued with myths and legends, has left us a charming village which recently became part of the " most beautiful villages in Italy ".
But let's try to understand more.

[Photograph by Seby neckline ]

The "most beautiful villages in Italy" is an association born in 2001 on the initiative of the Tourism Council of the National Association of Italian Municipalities (ANCI).

This initiative had (and still has) the objective of enhancing the great historical, artistic, cultural and environmental heritage of small Italian towns which are, for the most part, marginalized in terms of tourism.
For this reason, the Association set out to protect, recover and enhance the heritage of monuments and memories that would otherwise be irretrievably lost.
In this way we try to bring out the atmospheres, smells and flavors of local traditions.

[Photograph by Seby neckline ]

Obviously, you don't join the club out of the blue, but over the course of its twenty years of activity, the Association has developed some criteria and indices that must guide the selection.

Buccheri in 2021 earned this honor and burden (!) on the basis of 73 of the aforementioned criteria and thanks to its historical-architectural and landscape beauties.

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5. WHAT TO SEE IN BUCCHERI?

Without claiming to be exhaustive, we want to suggest some essential stops to visit to immerse yourself in the historical beauty of this mountain village:
- the historical centre;
- the church of S. Antonio Abate;
- St. Mary Magdalene and her treasures;
-"A Matrici" or Church of Sant'Ambrogio;
- the sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie;
-Sant' Andrea and the Templar symbols;
- the small church of SS. crucifix;
- the snow caves;
- u “casteddu”;
- natural landscapes.

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The historic center of the village

Small and characteristic, it is the typical historic center of the villages of central Sicily.
The main square (Piazza Roma) is the venue for major local events and is graced with planters that are an ode to nature.
A few steps from the square, the fountain also known as the "Fountain of the canals" is also characteristic as it is located at the crossroads of all the main streets of the town, a reminder of its rural origins.

[Photograph by Seby neckline ]

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The church of S. Antonio Abate

1. The ancient origin
The exact year of its construction is not known even if a corner of the apse bears an engraving bearing the date 1212 which, for many, should be the year of its construction, even if there is no certainty.
A first documentation dates back to August 1538 concerning the sale of houses where it was established that the proceeds should be used for the construction of a chapel.

[Photograph by Seby neckline ]

Another document from 1540 attests that the painters Nicolao de Noto and Aloisio Torres had undertaken to paint glorious figures.
In 1622, through a donation from the devotee Vito Pavonio, a new chapel was built in which to place 15 images "of the Anzili".
In 1625 the masters Porfirio Zocco, Mauro Scalzo, Francesco Brullo, Matteo Ferlisi completed the work on the choir.
This church had an opposite orientation compared to the current one: the facade in fact looked towards Piazza Fratti (called “Chiazzitta”), towards what was, in the Middle Ages, in the heart of the town.

2. The new structure, the interiors and the works

The earthquake of 1693 totally destroyed the old church, so it was decided to re-build it on the same site but expanding it and arranging it towards the south, where the city had already expanded up to the underlying canal.
Today, in fact, the church looks like a majestic building in Baroque style which stands at the top of a steep staircase, built in 1911, after having demolished several buildings and radically modified the pre-existing fabric.

[Photograph by Seby neckline ]

Inside there are three naves decorated with stuccos and paintings by valuable artists: the stuccos of the central nave are by Giuseppe Gianforma and were made in 1757; the paintings in the right aisle and the first on the left are the work of Antonio Sortino; the work in the third nave near the altar is by Giovanni Tuccari.

Inside there are also the paintings by Guglielmo Borremans depicting “St. Anthony in ecstasy” and “St. Vitus with Saints Modesto and Crescenza"
The wooden choir, the seats, the presbytery chair and other furnishings are works by Domenico Avola of Catania from 1790, who also made the pulpit in 1800.

The statue of St. Anthony carried in procession on January 17th was sculpted and gilded by Michelangelo Di Giacomo in 1743.
At the end of the left aisle there is the statue of the Immaculate sculpted by Sebastiano Alessi of Syracuse in 1768.

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The treasures of St. Mary Magdalene

The church stood in the old eastern suburb of the town while today it stands in correspondence with the center of the village. The initially disadvantaged position of the Church of S. Maria Maddalena is confirmed in a document of 1661 where Don Pietro Velasco - vicar forane of Buccheri - wrote to the bishop that the church of the Maddalena was not suitable to be elevated to coadjutor of the Mother Church because it was out of the way, difficult to reach and surrounded by countryside.
In 1611 some chapels were built, such as those of Santa Marta and San Filippo: on this date, master Pietro Pisasale was busy over the years in rebuilding the churches of Buccheri, in redesigning and building the new chapels by demolishing the old ones.

[Photograph by Seby neckline ]

In 1632 it was decided to build a new church with the contribution of all the faithful: however, the people were struggling to proceed so much that even in 1646 (that is well after 14 years from the beginning of the works) the church had not been completed.
In 1658 another piece was added to the church, which still exists today and which makes it a real jewel: the organ made by Francesco Montalto.
However, the 1693 earthquake totally destroyed the church in its original structure.
Taking advantage of this, it was entirely rebuilt on another site, that is where it still stands and stands in all its beauty.
this place, in fact, allowed the construction of a large church in a very practicable place, and fitted well into the building and urban renewal process that began towards the beginning of the 1600s.
An authentic gem of Sicilian Baroque architecture , it also houses the statue of Santa Maria Maddalena, created in 1508 by the famous sculptor Antonello Gagini and fortunately survived the earthquake.

 

"Matrices" or Church of Sant'Ambrogio
Formerly located near the Castle, the earthquake of 1693 totally destroyed the sanctuary and, subsequently, the Church "A Matrici" was built on the current site, in the lower part of the town, in what was once the hospital district or Monte di Pietà.

The Palazzolese architect Giuseppe Ferrara took care of creating the interior with three naves and marble columns. Inside, the parish houses numerous works of art of great value, dating back to different historical periods and the result of the skilful hand of masters of the past.
For example, a 16th century Crucifix hangs on the high altar and a late 16th century painting depicting St. Michael on the first altar in the left aisle.
The altarpiece, now housed in the baptistery, depicts " St. Ambrose baptizing St. Augustine " by Francesco Mignemi , a painter active in Catania in the mid-18th century who painted it in 1766.

The statue of Sant'Ambrogio in the chapel on the right is the work of Don Gaetano Franzese , who sculpted it in 1779.

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The sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie

The sanctuary of the Madonna delle Grazie is a small architectural treasure of ancient origins, whose foundation is lost in the memory of time. However, this sanctuary had already been mentioned in the Rivelo of 1474 and in some notarial documents dating back to 1537.

[Photograph by Seby neckline ]

The Carmelite friars received it in 1614, but the earthquake of 1693 destroyed it.

Immediately after the earthquake, the rebuilding works concerned the facade, the bell tower, the walls and the roof, but proceeded slowly.

Only in 1774 did the aforementioned works conclude with the laying of the floor in "balatelle" and the stuccoes of the vault by Nicolao Cultrera of Avola.

To seal the end of the works, it was decided to place the Buccheri coat of arms on the triumphal arch, a symbol of the community's pride and identity.

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St. Andrew and the Templar symbols

A few kilometers from the city center stands a Swabian jewel from the twelfth century, a very rare example of Gothic art.
Yet among uncultivated and neglected fields dotted with olive groves, there is a small church that appears as an unexpected surprise, a bit like in ancient fairy tales and legends.
And in fact this little church semi lost in the middle of nowhere hides many symbols that smack of legend and from afar: those of the Knights Templar .

[Photograph by Seby neckline ]

But let's go in order!

The church of S. Andrea was built within a consolidated Arab community of which only a trace remains in the toponym: the name of the nearby district Rachalmeni comes, in fact, from Rahalmeni, in which the Arab term Rahal means, in fact, farmhouse.
St. Andrew was born following the order of Frederick II who commissioned the work to the Teutonic friars, who were supported by the Knights Templar who in that period of crusades fought the Saracens with ardor.
Confirmation of this relationship is the discovery, inside the church, of some graffiti of clear Templar reference, that is, monks on horseback in the act of battle and the representation of a cat.

According to another reconstruction, the building of the church is due to the Cistercian friars who were in any case closely linked to the Templars and their cult.
Another close testimony of the link between the Cistercian monks and the Templars is the Solomon's knot, an esoteric symbol typical of the Templars which symbolizes the union between man and the divine, as well as other religious representations.
One thing is certain: the mystery hovers between these places and, even if only from the outside, a visit to the Church of S. Andrea deserves to be done.

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The small church of SS. Crucified

Not far from the centre, located on the top of a small hill overlooking the entire town of Buccheri, the Church of the Crucifix is ​​a place of prayer and meditation, where one can enjoy silence, stillness and a profound spirituality.
In the past, the Church of the Crucifix hosted the functions of Holy Week, allowing the faithful penitents to reach it through an uphill path marked by the chapels of the Via Crucis : this path evoked the martyrdom of Jesus and incited the devotees to meditate on his suffering.
Continuing the route up to the Bosco del Crocifisso, there is an installation by the artist Alfredo Romano depicting the Madonna turned towards the sky.
This work represents a tribute to the statue present in the city of Syracuse, creating a suggestive parallelism between these two very important places of worship and spirituality.

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Buccheri's neviere

The first neviere were caves and were used to store snow for uses related to medicine.
In the early 1600s, when the use of jasmine or lemon sorbet became fashionable in noble dinners, the neviera changed its structure and shape, transforming itself from a cave into a domed masonry construction to subsequently evolve into a dammuso construction, with the internal walls covered with squared ashlars of lava stone; they can be encountered along the wooded itineraries.
The construction of the neviere also responded to precise construction criteria resulting from wise experience: they were surrounded by a dry stone wall called " zaccanu " which delimited the pertinent land, they were built at the beginning of a slope degrading towards the north in order to be sheltered from the hot sirocco winds and to facilitate climbing up the dome to unload the snow inside, also on the north side a small door was placed which opened whenever the snow had to be extracted.
The northern position of the neviera, the construction materials used and the particular way of conserving the snow prevented it from melting during the hot summer period.
The neviere bear witness to an activity forever lost and to a civilization that was in full harmony with the natural environment. Ancient buildings that represent true masterpieces of Sicilian minor architecture.

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U “casteddu” by Buccheri

Probably built by the Muslims during their presence on the island, the Normans occupied the castle when they conquered the entire centre, consolidating the defensive structures.
In fact, it is thanks to the Norman domination that Buccheri and its castle became an important center of power in the area.
In the centuries following its construction it passed from one property to another, from the Paternò to the Montalto to the Morra.
In the 16th century the Morras began to use the fortress as a shelter for cattle and from this the degradation of the beautiful castle slowly began.
However, historical sources tell us that the Buccheri castle was “ the most formidable fortress in the Val di Noto ”.
From that height, in fact, it was (but on fine days it is even now) possible to observe the entire vast plain of Catania, the Mongibello, the slopes of Mount Lauro, the cusps of the Iblei, the Ionian Sea and the Calabrian promontory.

Active between the 13th and 16th centuries, it had the shape of a quadrilateral with two towers in the front, the entrance facing south and another main tower in the centre.
Once abandoned and fallen into disgrace, the inhabitants demolished the remaining structure to obtain useful material for the reconstruction of their homes, injured by the earthquake of 1693.
Today, unfortunately, only a few remains of the admirable construction remain as evidence of those ancient defenses.

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The natural landscapes

In addition to churches and castles that already create a fascinating atmosphere, Buccheri also offers travelers and tourists breathtaking views from every angle thanks to its position: the center is built inside a basin (an ancient volcano that is now completely inactive) and is entirely surrounded by woods, like in a real fairy tale .

 

6. OTHER NATURAL BEAUTY

But Buccheri is not only art and churches but it is much more!
There are many natural beauties that will give you moments of peace and relaxation, especially if you love picnics, excursions and trekking.
Among the natural beauties of the area we cannot fail to mention:
- the pine forest of Santa Maria;
-The wood "the Countess"
-The "Gorge of the Stretta"
However we will talk more about it in the next article !
So keep following our blog and our social channels to not miss the other tourist stops of this hidden jewel in Eastern Sicily, Buccheri !

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A special thanks deserves Seby Scollo who made these wonderful shots that best represent this hidden jewel in eastern Sicily, Buccheri.

If these images have made you emotional, as indeed happens to us, we advise you to take a look at his social profiles: Seby will also tell you about the most beautiful corners of this small Sicilian village, so much so that it will be impossible not to fall in love with it.

Instagram link: HERE .

Facebook link: HERE .

Dream, live and travel !