FICARAZZI

 

Ficarazzi is a town of some 8,000 inhabitants located in the Palermo province at some 23m asl. It appears as a collection of picturesque brick or white coloured houses grouped around the Torre and surrounded by lemon and orange groves.

After hosting a Cretan community and successively a Punic one, the area of the modern day’s Ficarazzi followed the vicissitudes of the neighboring Misilmeri Barony, into which it was assimilated for a longtime. Later on, the holding was divided between the Ajutamicristo family and Vice-King Pietro Speciale, the latter contributing to establishing the sugar-cane cultivation in the area and undertaking the construction of the town Tower, that would become his residence. The Torre, dated 1458, was modified in the 18th century by the Giardina family.

Among the town lords were the Theatine Fathers and, since 1733, when the city was properly founded, the Marquis Luigi Giardina de Guevara.

The Torre-Villa is the city’s main attraction. Notably, the addition of a wing, the entrance double staircase, some halls and front balconies, is due to the Giardinas, as above said. Following a number of ownership changes, the building passed to the Theatine nuns who opened a nursery school inside. 

The aqueduct, built by Pietro Campo and supplying the sugar-cane plantation, is also of 1400’s origin. Its original structure, spanning the Eleuterio river, is preserved almost intact.

The 1700’s Chiesa Madre dedicated to Sant’Atanasio has a linear front and a simple interior with a single nave preserving some interesting works such as a 1500’s wooden Crucifix.