Sortino between Pantalica, history and Sicilian flavours

Sortino combines a striking location on the Sicilian plateau with significant evidence of the past and a distinctive food culture. The town lies 424 metres above sea level on a rocky terrace in the eastern part of the Hyblaean Mountains. Its present-day centre is the octagonal Piazza Quattro Canti. There, Corso Umberto I and Via Libertà intersect: the perpendicular main axes of the right-angled street grid with which Sortino was completely rebuilt further uphill on Cugno del Rizzo.

Pantalica: rock tombs and traces of history

The necropolis of Pantalica lies within the territory of Sortino and is recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. More than 5,000 tombs carved into the rock belong to this necropolis; most date from the 13th to the 7th century BC. During your time in Sortino, Pantalica thus provides direct access to a landscape where history is revealed not only in individual buildings, but also in the rock formations themselves.

Remains from the Byzantine period have also been preserved at the Pantalica site. These include the foundations of the Anaktoron, the so-called prince’s palace. The Grotta dei Pipistrelli is also located in the Pantalica, Valle dell’Anapo and Torrente Cava Grande nature reserve. The karst cave takes its name from the frequent presence of bats and adds a natural-history aspect to the historical impressions.

Museums in former monasteries

Sortino also preserves its history in several museums. The Museo civico dell’opera dei pupi is housed in the former Franciscan monastery and preserves the puppet collection of Don Ignazio Puglisi. The puppet museum displays more than 30 puppets in various scenes, as well as a characteristic puppet theatre. If you are interested in Sicilian storytelling traditions and craft-based culture, you will encounter tangible exhibits and staged scenes here.

The Antiquarium del medioevo is located in the former Carmelite monastery. Its ethnographic collection comprises objects from agro-pastoral culture as well as tools and machines for working stone, wood and iron. In the garden of this former monastic complex, visitors can take part in educational workshops on stoneworking.

The tour of the Antiquarium del medioevo follows a chronological order. It ranges from 63 prehistoric finds from Pantalica to objects recovered after the 1693 earthquake during the clearance of old, destroyed Sortino. This brings the early traces from Pantalica and the history of the former town together in a shared exhibition context, without conflating the different periods.

The Casa dei Nonni offers another perspective on everyday life. It reconstructs a traditional beekeeping workshop from Sortino with historical and anthropological accuracy and is designed as a permanent exhibition on traditional beekeeping. The subject ties in with a local speciality that remains closely associated with the name of the town to this day.

Pizzolo and honey from Sortino

Pizzolo Sortinese is a savoury local focaccia. It is seasoned with oil and oregano on the surface, cut open in the middle and filled with various ingredients as desired. For you, pizzolo is therefore a distinctive culinary speciality through which the local cuisine can be experienced directly.

Honey from Sortino is also traditionally produced in the Sortino area. This long-standing production tradition is attributed to beekeeping knowledge that is said to have been passed on during the Arab occupation of Sicily. Together with the Casa dei Nonni, this creates a clear cultural link between a regional product, artisanal knowledge and the history of beekeeping.

Festivals and local orientation

The feast of Saint Sofia is celebrated in Sortino every year on 10 September. The most impressive moment is the “Sciuta”: the procession float and the relic of Saint Sofia are carried out of the Santa Sofia shrine. Piazza Quattro Canti remains the centre of the town and also provides a clear point of orientation for the two main axes of the newly laid-out street grid.

Further destinations: Testa Dell'acqua, Lido Di Noto, Carrozziere, Augusta, Ferla, Priolo Gargallo, San Lorenzo, Arenella

To the higher-level travel overview: Syracuse.