Capo D’Orlando
Capo d’Orlando, in Messina district, is an ancient fishing village, now it is a beautiful tourist attraction that offers a breathtaking view of the beach and which still maintains its historic features, including the Castle Bastione, built in the fourteenth century to defend the village. Near the village you can visit the Terme di Bagnoli, a Roman building dating back to the third and fourth centuries A.D.
Capo D’Orlando view
San Marco D’Alunzio
In San Marco D’Alunzio, despite the small size of the village, you can visit 22 churches, dating back to different periods. Among the most important ones there are the mother Church of St. Nicholas of Bari, St. Anthony Church, the Church of St. Mary of the Poor.
Among the oldest buildings you can’t miss the Temple of Hercules, built in the fourth century B.C. in Doric style and used for sports competitions in honor of Hercules. Another place that you should visit is the Byzantine Museum, with 3 main sections dedicated to archeology; Byzantine-Norman Figurative Arts; Middle Ages in the Nebrodi.
Tindari
In Tindari, situated in Patti, there’s the beautiful Shrine of the Black Madonna, an imposing building overlooking the coast. The statue of the Madonna arrived in Sicily during the eighth century, carved in wood, is carrying her baby, and there’s an inscription that reads “Nigra sum sed formosa” “I am black but beautiful”.
Near the sanctuary there is the archaeological site, with Roman greek ruins, including the walls, the theater, the Roman block and the basilica.
Tindari ruins
Frazzanò
Frazzanò is a tiny village in which there is the Mother Church of Sant’Annunziata, located in the central square and dating back to the twelfth century, at the inside the three large aisles are supported by imposing columns and putty frames, and there’s the beautiful major altar in Baroque style. You can also visit the Church of San Lorenzo built in Baroque style in the sixteenth century, which houses the relics of the saint preserved in the main altar.
Naso
Naso is a small village situated on a hill in the hinterland, the first settlements date back to the Norman period in the eleventh century. Here we can admire the beautiful Chapel of the Rosary, dedicated to the Virgin.
The chapel is located within the Church of Saints Philip and James and the Madonna painting is surrounded by the representation of the 15 Mysteries of the Rosary. The richness of the polychrome marble used and the carved figures and carvings, both of the biblical themes of plants and animals, give the chapel a great artistic and cultural value.
Castle in Montalbano Elicona
Montalbano Elicona
In Montalbano Elicona you can visit the Castle. It dates back to the twelfth century and was built by the Normans as a fortress and later was modified and adapted several times, with the addition of a tower in the Swabian period of the thirteenth century, and the adaptation to become the summer residence of the Aragonese period in the fourteenth century. Today the castle is owned by the municipality of Montalbano, is entirely open and houses the Museum of weapons.
