The Territory: Agira and the surrounding areas



Agira: Place of living, of knowing, of meeting, a legendary country suspended between past and future.





Agira Town located on the slope of Mount Teja 800mt), is one of the most interesting centers of the Center of Sicily.

An uphill village, with squares, places, courtyards.



An Arab Castle,




at the top of the mountain, districts of Arab, Norman, Saracen origins and those who crossed the Sicilian lands and left a testimony of their possession, as well as their culture. A stratification of peoples, they built this country that seems structured as a canvas by Klee or Schiele.

At the top of the Castle, thanks to the Castelli di Enna Association, which was started and led by Orazio Cuccia, it is possible to enjoy unique and unforgettable experiences and sunsets.


The lights of the evening change the known landscape, they highlight the places and give an Arab crib atmosphere. Agira is a charming agricultural center and boasts a rich production of cereals, almonds and olives. Is is relevant the breeding of cattle, sheep and horses, thanks to the vast lands used for grazing. It is said of numerous sources of sulphurous water are told.





Agyrion, a Sicilian city, became a Greek colony in 339, under the Corinthian Timoleon, it got great prosperity. The city declined under the Romans, it was evangelized in the fourth century by St. Philip the Syriac , from which it took the name of St. Philip of Agira, ,this name was maintained until 1862. The hypotheses of the historians on the origin of Agira are quite contrasting. The major historian indicates the country as an archaic Sicilian settlement dating back to 1370 BC while, Amico, states, in his topographical dictionary that Agyrion was founded by the Sicans. The only evidence of the time are represented only by some artificial grotto tombs, sometimes with niches, compartments and facades of pillows carved in limestone. This small necropolis faces the northeastern side of the country, above the tower of St. Nicholas.


There are various hypotheses that trace the name of the place. According to the historian Diodoro Siculo , whose version of the name of "Agira" seems the most truthful one , the exonym derives from "Argiri", an ancient tyrant of the place, who lived the same age of Dionysius the old.


It’s Diodoro Siculo's home ,





il primo storico che abbia tentato la scrittura di una storia universale (sec. I a.c.). DIODORO (80-20 a.C. ca.), Vita Di Diodoro sappiamo quel poco che egli ci dice nel proemio della sua opera. Nato ad Agirio (oggi Agira, in provincia di Enna) e perciò detto oggi "Siculo" per antonomasia, intraprese vari viaggi, soggiornando tra l'altro ad Alessandria per comporre la sua opera storica, redatta tra il 60 ed il 30 a.C.the first historian who attempted to write a universal story (I cent.b.C) was DIODORO (about 80-20 BC), Diodoro's life is almost unknown, except for the news he gives us in the preface of his work. Born in Agirio (today Agira, in the province of Enna) and therefore today called "Siculo" for antonomasia, he made various journeys. In Alessandria he composed his historical work, written between 60 and 30 a.C. From news he writes about Augustus, it is assumed that Diodorus died around 20 B.C.


Diodoro is the author of the "Historical Library", a universal story in 40 books from mythical origins to the expedition of Caesar in Gaul. The only remained books are books I-V and XI-XX, and of the other books, we have only extracts and summaries (often very large), due to the great circulation and notoriety of the Library in the Late Antique. In the preamble Diodorus presents his historical researches and introduces the usefulness and the teaching which men can derive from it as a purpose of his work, and of history in general. Universal history is an example of brotherhood among men. It leads to a single team of men, divided between them by space and time, but sharing a single kinship (I 1, 3).


AGIRA boasts 31 churches,




of which 23 are still partially active and can be visited, others are in decline.In one of these churches,there is now an important relic of the Jewish religion, an ARON.





Agira finds intact the strongest symbol of its spirituality: l'Aron Ha Kodesch, the Holy Ark, of the Jews. The absolute rarity of this medieval archaeological find (the oldest Aron of Europe and the only one in Sicily) and the religiousness of the site where the ruins of the synagogue rise, give a special meaning to Agira. There is so much to nominate it as an ideal route of the memory of the Jews in Sicily and to be the cradle of a new Mediterranean Koinè. The Aron testifies to the recomposition of the Sicilian identity with one of its roots, the Jewish one, which, together with the Arab and Christian ones, constituted the specialty of the people of Sicily, a people that believed in respecting the values of the three cultures. The Arca Santa, a cabinet where the scriptures are kept, the Torah, built in stone is of the Aragonese period with rich decoration with floral motifs. Today it is located in the Church of San Salvatore,close to the Santa Maria neighborhood where the houses ofCase al borgo.are located.




Ethno-anthropological and Culture Museum of Nasca di Agira (EN)


In the same district of Case al Borgo, under the Church of Santa Maria, there is the Ethno-anthropological and Culture Museum of Nasca.

One of the most exciting anthropological experiences that can be done throughout Italy.

The Ethno-anthropological and Culture Museum of Nasca di Agira..





It is a jewel of rare exhibition grace and of extreme evocative power, whose visit is essential for those who want to understand the ancestral roots of their human nature.

This museum, in fact, translates the scientific rigor of the exhibition into poetic inspiration, spreading in its rooms an elegy of lost time but to be recovered, as far from our everyday life as it is temporally close.

A near past made of rural life, hard and rustic, but stimulating for the intellect of those who had to strive to bend the rigors of poverty, managing to change adversity in bucolic lyricism. Thus every object exhibited becomes idyll, a synthetic account of a trade, a gash of a tradition, the evocation of a time, composing a mosaic of which each card belongs to us, because part of the social genetic code we have borrowed.

The itineraries are an evocative journey that crosses environments, rooms and corners.

Among the sections, one celebrates The ancient crafts, "those that no one does today", professions "extinct or endangered", such as the stonemason, the tailor, the barber, the carpenter, the tinker, the shoemaker, the blacksmith, the mason, the potter, all represented in the practice of their craftsman genius, vividly depicted by anthropomorphic papier-mache sculptures, surrounded by the authentic instruments of work of the time.






In the guise of a widespread museum, the exhibition overflows into different rooms all contiguous, set in the ancient Santa Maria district,the "upper and oldest part of Agira".

In ancient buildings, the typical environments of the peasant society are reconstructed scenographically: the kitchen and the bedroom are reproduced exactly, suggesting to the visitor's imagination the scenes of domestic life that they hosted. As well as the stables maintain the imprint of the relationship atavistic with animals and their essential contribution to human survival.

Looking back to the walls that wind through the corridors, other paths of meaning open up, including photographs





that evoke "tranche de vie", always immersed in activity, even the annihilating one of the naked zolfatari in impossible conditions...

... and objects that flash the first conquests of well-being, between technological rudiments for home entertainment and the neonatal wanderings of high musical fidelity, without forgetting warlike objects and ancient objects, as a Tolstoana paraphrase of the alternation of War and Peace, but also of love and war, even without the irreverent re-reading of the coach.

When you think you are at the top of the emotional storm, there comes amazement, with Agira in miniature,





a scale reproduction of glimpses of the urban agglomeration in which the impressive verisimilitude is transfigured into artistic impressionism of clear artistic inspiration, especially when the precision photographic becomes metaphorical abstraction, representing no longer the places of reality (as they are) but those of the imaginary (as we would like it to be), grafting the phenomenal truth with a platonic ideal polis.

The details are so believable as to make eyes roll out like a prey to a childish enchantment that approximates emotion. Just look at the video, on the web, to steal flashes of so much wonder; the work of Orazio Lupo's inspiration.
The visit to this museum is carved into memory (the private one this time) as the equivalent of a karstic exploration in the unexplored cavities of one's Being, soliciting reflections and stimulating new personal changes. It is also merit of the sincerity that hovers in the structure, inspired by the generous philanthropy of its creators, all of which have set up without any funding or profit. It’s a contagious endemic generosity, given that several objects have arrived here thanks to spontaneous donations. The museum is entitled to the provost Silvestro Nasca , who gave the building for free.
A contagious endemic generosity, given that several objects arrived here thanks to spontaneous donations, while the provost Silvestro Nasca, to whom the museum is entitled, is credited with having made the premises available free of charge.




Even those who take care of the management of the museum do so as volunteers: during our visit we were passionately accompanied by Orazio Garrubbo and Alfio Torrisi who guided us along the exhibition with stories and explanations www.museoagira.com

Texts and quotes from:

http://www.storienogastronomiche.it/museo-di-cultura-materiale-nasca-di-agira-en-alle-radici-dellemozione/



RESERVES AND LAKES



Vallone di Piano della Corte




Managed by the University of Catania, through the CUTGANA and by Legambiente. http://www.cutgana.unict.it/content/vallone-di-piano-della-corte

TO SEE IMMEDIATELY

Visit the Virtual Tour

Go to the video clip of the Vallone Oriented Natural Reserve of Piano della Corte
Watch the video presentation of the reserve

The "Vallone di Piano della Corte"oriented nature reserve is located on the territory of Agira and is about 2 km farfrom Case al Borgo. Established with D.R. n. 338/44 of 25.07.2000, it occupies an area of 146 hectares and includes a river bed that crosses the Erei (central Sicily). On this geologically heterogeneous territory, with sandstones and clays, there is a Mediterranean climate that imposes a long summer dryness and which lowers the groundwater table
Complex ecological factors make this environment unique, allowing the establishment of ecosystems that have become very rare in Sicily. Within the reserve there are many species of geobotanical interest: the black poplar (Populus nigra) of which there is a specimen in the reserve as a"monument tree" due to its size and longevity, the white poplar ((Populus alba), the elm (Ulmus canescens), the agrigentina mallow (Lavatera agrigentina). There are also some animal species of remarkable naturalistic interest: the bee-eater (Merops apiaster) which nests here, the Sicilian codibugnolo (Aegithalos caudatus siculus)and the painted discoglossus (Discoglossus pictus).In 2005 it was included among the Sites of Community Interest (SIC). With the decree of 21 December 2015 of the Ministry of the Environment and Protection of the Territory and the Sea, the "Vallone di Piano della Corte" SCI was designated as the Special Conservation Area (SAC) of the Mediterranean biogeographical region in the Sicilian Region. Scientific support to the Reserve is the "Diodoro Siculo" naturalistic-environmental Museum in the historic center of Agira.




POZZILLO Lake:



Walking, trekking, cycling, fishing, adventure an eco-friendly path just a stone's throw from Case al Borgo

The lake, on the Agira side, is about 5 km far from Case al Borgo.
Sustainable tourism and Ecotourism are elements of experiences that can be experienced on the lake. The largest reservoir in Sicily and one of the largest in Europe, between the towns of Agira and Regalbuto, easily reachable from Case al Borgo.
Lake Pozzillo is a precious jewel for lovers of nature, adventure and sport. Cycle tourism , choosing to travel the west side, or the entire perimeter of the lake. The complete tour around the lake is about 20 kilometres long, among eucalyptus woods and green dunes. The landscape and the atmosphere are enveloping, with the Etna Volcano in the background.
In the path, of medium ease, stretches of dirt, beaten and asphalted road alternate. This experience can be done all year around.
If you love water sports, what are you waiting for?. Loading your Canoes





is one of the activities that can be practiced on Lake Pozzillo. Spinning sport fishing





is one of the activities available on Pozzillo Lake. If you own a B license, you are in the right place,Carpe, Royal Perch, Carassi, Eel, minutaglia, Tinche, Black bass e Cavedani,can be found here.
Among the service facilities, operating on the Lake of Pozzillo, we mention two of great thickness: the ADVENTURE PARK, for young and not so young people, and the guided tour with QUAD .




ROSSOMANNO RESERVE:



The reserve is about 40 minutes far from Case al Borgo.
Between Enna, Aidone and Piazza Armerina, city of the Villa Romana del Casale, Rossomanno presents itself as a wood of oaks with eucalyptus and pines plants grown in the 50s, also for economic reasons linked to the exploitation of paper mills.
It has come on an interesting area from a naturalistic and landscape point of view, which overlaps the cultural relevance of human stratification.
Next to the original wood, today we also find pear trees, chestnut trees, oaks and holm oaks. Since 2000 the 2200 hectares have been placed under constraint.

Dal punto di vista geologico, l'area si presenta come un insieme di alture, fra i 600 e gli 800 metri di altitudine, costituiti da depositi di arenarie e sabbie fluviali.

From a geological point of view, the area looks like a set of heights, between 600 and 800 meters of altitude, consisting of deposits of sandstones and river sands. From a vegetational point of view, it remains the ancient oak forests that represent the original population, which were later joined by eucalyptus. On the Rossomanno Mountain instead the pine dominates. Here you can take a trip to the so-called Enchanted Stones. The place of the reserve has become for the inhabitants of the place a pleasant meeting place for the presence of some inviting areas . It is possible some sighting of some specimens of fallow deer, which here have found their habitat after having escaped from an estate.




RISERVA DI MONTE ALTESINA:



The reserve is about 40 minutes far from Case al Borgo.
A few steps from Leonforte, this remarkable naturalistic area covers about 750 hectares. The protection bond was established in 1999 for its vegetation emergencies, such as oak forests, holm oaks (an evergreen that can reach 25 meters in height), pine and eucalyptus. Its management is up to the Foreste Company. In the undergrowth, rich in holly, there are still peaks and squirrels, hedgehogs and weasels. Some birds of prey have returned to nest here. The sparrowhawk, in particular, nests on the highest branches of the trees or, sometimes, even in the middle of the bushes. It feeds on small birds and small mammals that it hunts, both in the woods and in cultivated land, and that catches after being slanted in vertiginous and spectacular beaten.

Mount Altesina, whose summit allows an observation at three hundred and sixty degrees, was certainly used by man, who excavated his tombs here, from the Bronze Age and the early Iron Age. Findings of Sicilian and Greek ceramics testify to the passage of different populations. Nearby you can still see the ruins of settlements dating back to the first millennium BC. Its summit served above all for the control of the penetration ways, but it was also a refuge for the local populations during invaders raids. This site registers presences until the late-Norman period.




THE ROMAN VILLA OF THE CASALE, PIAZZA ARMERINA, MORGANTINA

It is about 40 minutes far from Case al Borgo. Piazza Armerina,Piazza Armerina, a splendid city of art, nestled in the center of Sicily, boasts a long series of monuments that tell a glorious past. The pride of the town is the Villa Romana del Casale





.

dating back to the end of the fourth century. A.D. and belonged to a powerful Roman family.
The splendid imperial villa in the Roman heart of Sicily, in the province of Enna, is a magnificent rural residence, whose charm is mainly due to the enchanting mosaics, considered the most beautiful and best preserved in their kind. The result of a painstaking work made of clear and exciting images, they significantly embellish the remains of the sumptuous residence included in the 1997 World Heritage List by UNESCO.
Four distinct areas have been identified among the remains of the villa: the monumental entrance with a horseshoe-shaped courtyard; the central body of the villa, built around a courtyard with a garden; a large room with three apses (trichora), preceded by an ovoid colonnade, around which there are several rooms; the complesso termale. In December 2012 the restoration works were completed, which for many years involved mosaics and wall paintings. Many environments can be visited today, they are : the spa area; the porticoed court of entry and the honorary arch; the Vestibule and the portico of the peristyle; the service areas, including the "Piccola Caccia" room, the "Grande Caccia" corridor and the "Palestrite" room; the northern master apartments with the mosaic of Ulysses and Polyphemus and the room with Amore and Psyche and the southern master apartments with the mosaic depicting the Myth of Arion and the room of Eros and Pan; the Triclinium and the portico; the Basilica.




The castle of Sperlinga



It is a medieval castle built on the rock overlooking the town of Sperlinga in the province of Enna, carved into the sandstone rock, made from a single monolith above caves of sacred temples that date back to 4,000 years ago. It is equipped with a particular construction in the sandstone rock.
The rupestrian base of the castle (from the Greek "Spelaìon" then latinized in "Spelunca" or cave) was structured by the Sicilian indigenous populations, in which the caves dug into the rock were used as sepulchres. They were then used as dwellings from the Byzantine and Saracen period.
The beginning of the construction dates back to the ruins of an Arab fortification between the end of the eleventh century and the beginning of the twelfth, under the Normans. The first documents on the existence of the village and its castle are of 1080.




SHOPPING, MODA, OUTLET:

purchases for everyone: the area's outlets, AGIRA and NICOSIA

On the territory of Agira, about 15 minutes far from Case al Borgo, stands the Sicilia Outlet Village, more than 140 boutiques of the most prestigious brands of Italian and international fashion, are gathered in the heart of Sicily, to offer visitors accessible quality, big brands. In the territory of Nicosia, about 35 minutes far from Case al Borgo, there is a multi-brand Outlet, Woman, Man, Child, of great prestige and with affordable prices, it is: Stock Family Outlet.





Read too:



The first chapter concerns the project of Case al Borgo, also indicating the mission, the historical path, its evolution.

It first narrates the dream and then the development of our project, which continues today in its development path. A commitment, a line, a company philosophy that is born and grows in symbiosis and respect for the territory and the environment in which it is established. The actions are developed for the love and dedication of those who believed and strongly wanted the recovery of a town that risked evaporating, in historical, social and economic terms. The emotions and the personal challenge on the part of the members have characterized all the phases of the project and are the basic condition together with what cannot be replaced: the Passion.

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