BUSCEMI

The city of Buscemi, belonging to the Siracusa province, totals about 1,300 inhabitants. The historical records about this small town go back to the Arab domination referring to the construction of a fortification. The town’s old Arab name Qal’at Abi Samah was successively changed to Buxema, Bussema and its present name.

The 1700’s Chiesa Madre, dedicated to San Giacomo, the Chiesa di Sant’Antonio da Padova and the 1700’s Chiesa del Carmine are worth a visit.

In the city surroundings are spots of interest, such as the 1500’s Santuario della Madonna del Bosco, a cave-church dedicated to St. Peter lying near the Cava di Santa Rosalia, and the archaeological site of Casmene, a Greek colony situated by the Casale Mount.

Buscemi accommodates an interesting and unusual museum known as I Luoghi del Lavoro Contadino, whose rooms are scattered throughout the town centre. These eight rooms provide a picture of the life and work of the Iblean people. They include the blacksmith’shop, the oil-mill (where scenes of Lavia’s La Lupa were filmed), a farmer’s and a laborer’s house, the shoemaker’s and the carpenter’s shops, the millstone (where the pressing of grape took place) and, next to this, a room accommodating a small film-library. There visitors can enjoy the projection of a short film on the activities of the past set into the different rooms of the museum. The eighth room, located at Palazzolo Acreide, consists of the water-mill (Mulino di S. Lucia). A small Museum of The Wheat Grinding has been set up inside.

Buscemi’s baroque monuments include the Chiesa Madre, with its fine façade, the Chiesa di S. Antonio da Padova and the Chiesa di S. Sebastiano; the quartiere contadino (meaning the ‘peasant quarter’) with small and low stone-houses is worth-seeing.