Savoca

In the early medieval period (before the year 1000), the mysterious Pentefur population settled here. Perhaps they were Greek pirates who built a stronghold here, on which, at the time of the Arab occupation, the Saracen Castle was built, from whose ruins you dominate the surrounding landscape.

On the origin of the name the most accredited hypothesis is linked to the elder plant (sambuco), which grows luxuriantly in the area. According to others, the name derives from two Arabic words, Kalat and Zabut, meaning Òelder rockÓ, and indeed a little elder branch is sculpted in the blazon of the town.

The certain date of the foundation of Savoca as a true town, however, is 1134, the time of Roger II; the provisional seignior of the Savoca barony was the archimandrite of Messina. The village developed at the end of the fifteenth century, outside the walls. Until 1492, there was a Jewish community with its own synagogue.

Bearing witness to the strong religious sentiment of the people there, there were 17 churches, almost all built between the 14th and 15th centuries, and many others now open to the public. Savoca, which regained its independence as a commune in 1948, an old, tidy and clean place, is today one of the most interesting and charming destinations for cultural and religious tourism in Sicily.

It has for some time also been a popular place with holidaymakers. In the 1950s the village lost much of its population through emigration, but today it is trying to recover old things, natural beauties and signs of work. In this connection the council is valorising the historic area as an artistic workshop and has assigned some workshops to local ceramists to favour the development of artistic craft.

POINT OF INTEREST

Pentefur Castle: According to tradition it was built by the people called the Pentefur. It was rebuilt by the Arabs, and later, the Normans, who enlarged its structure. It was the summer residence of the Archimandrite of Messina until the eighteenth century. For centuries it expressed the hegemony of Savoca.

Main church: Built in the 15th century and dedicated to the Assumption, it has a Renaissance rose window above the main portal. The interior is divided into a nave and two side aisles with Romanesque capitals. It contains some frescoes from the Byzantine period.

San Michele church In Gothic-Renaissance style, it stands at the foot of the castle. It has two beautiful Gothic-Sicilian portals in sandstone. Inside: an eighteenth century pulpit and a painting on wood of St. Michael from the 15th century.

Capuchin Monastery: The building dates back to 1603 and includes the SantʼAnna church. In the refectory there are interesting frescoes. In the crypt there are preserved the mummified remains.

San Nicolò church: Also known as the Santa Lucia church, it was built in the fifteenth century on a rocky outcrop overlooking the valley of the river Savoca. The structure, on three floors, is impressive and makes it look like a fortress. Next to it, there is a bell tower with battlements. Inside there are fine marble altars and sculptures in wood and gypsum from the 17th century, as well as many modern works.

Calvario church and Via Crucis: The Beata Vergine dei Sette Dolori and Santa Croce (or Calvario) church was restored in 1736 by the Jesuits.

Immacolata church: Built in 1621 by the lesser Franciscan friars, it is now used as a Philharmonic Centre.

Ethno-anthropological Museum  

Steel Museum

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