SAN
FRATELLO
San
Fratello is located in the Messina province, at 675m a.s.l., among
the Nebrodi mountains. It has a population of about 5,300 inhabitants.
It
seems that a major role in its foundation was played by Roger I’s
wife Adelaide di Monferrato played.
The
city history has been marked by numerous landslides; two of them,
in 1754 and 1922, were notably catastrophic. Some old buildings,
albeit ruined, have survived the disasters, such as the Norman church
and the old Chiesa Madre dedicated to Saint Nicholas the Old.
Other
outstanding remnants are located by the Monte Vecchio district,
consisting of the ancient Apollonia, a site of Sikel origin successively
Hellenized. Athough it has been explored, proper excavation works
have not yet been initiated.
Several
churches in town are worth-seeing such as the medieval Chiesa del
Crocifisso, the 1700’s Chiesa delle Grazie and the Chiesa
Normanna dedicated to Saints Alfio, Filadelfio and Cirino, the so-called
Santi Fratelli. The Norman Church, built in the 12th century, has
a single nave with transept and three apses.
A
plenty of beech, holm- and bay-oak groves cover the town’s
surrounding area, stretching across the valleys of the San Fratello
and Inganno rivers, the Passo dei Tre Re (rising 782m) and the Portella
Femmina Morta (1,524m).
Easter
Week is celebrated with several attractive festivals, that are much
awaited by the faithful. Notably on Good Thursday and Friday, the
town is invaded by the Giudei (Judaean), dressed in bright-colored
clothes, who with old trumpets and noisy chains ‘disturb’
the town’s mournful atmosphere.
Other
worth-seeing celebrations take place throughout the year, such as
the Santi Fratelli’s on 10 May, dedicated to the patron saints,
the celebration of the Corpus Domini, dedicated to Saint Benedict,
and the Carnival.
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