Height 560 m. above the sea level, tourism office tel. 0941959037, people 1300.
Shopping:
olives, hazelnuts, citrus fruits, grape, local pasties.
How to get there:
Highway A20, exit Rocca di Caprileone, road-fork for Frazzanò.
Frazzanò is located along the valley of the Fitalia River, at the foot of the hill named “Timpa”. Its old origins date back to the period of the Arab domination in Sicily. Probably some Byzantine refugees, coming from the city of Crastus, founded this little centre around the year 860, trying to escape from the Saracen invasion. Interesting sacred buildings embellish Frazzanò: the Mother Church, dedicated to Our Lady of Annunciation, dominating the central square, the Church dedicated to St. Lawrence, situated in the low side of the town, and the little All Saints’ Church. Near to Frazzanò in a place named “Valle delle Canne”, for the vegetation characterized by a variety of wild reeds, there are three wonderful caves, rich in multi-shaped stalactites and stalagmites: “Cave of the Columns”, “Cave of the Hell”, “Cave of the Circle”. This is a group of cavities, that are naturally excavated in the rock and only partially explored . Anyway it is almost impossible to get in, and it is reachable only going through impervious and steep paths. Events: the main feasts in Frazzanò begin on the 8th of August with the celebration of St. Calogero, whose procession in the streets of the town is characterized by “9 journeys”. On the morning of the 9th there is the festivity in honour of Our Lady of Annunciation, but the main event is, without doubt, the feast for St. Lawrence, that every years calls for many devoted people. The Basilian Monastery dedicated to St. Philip of Fragalà is situated on the top of a hill, about three kilometres away from the town, in a really suggestive environment. The silence that wraps the visitor entering the convent strongly invites to forget the present and to live the past. The Monastery has a square base and two floors. Trespassing the main portal, characterized by a Romanic arch and dated1614, a corridor, covered by stone and mortar, takes in a wide courtyard paved with triangular and square stones. Today, part of the Monastery is used for featuring concerts. For this reason the regional and the local government are financing important works. The town administration wants to take active part in the restoration of its most precious monument.
| St. Philip of Fragalà | The Church of St. Lawrence | The Church of Our Lady of Annunciation |
| its fourteen centuries existence witnesses the most peculiar evidence of the medieval history of the Nebrodi area. The original nucleus dates back to the Norman epoch, but numerous works have been carried out to the Monastery in the following centuries. The church keeps its apses, the portal, the arches, and the side-barrel vaults. | built in 1555, above an older church dedicated to St. Nicholas of Myra, it was restored between 1710 and 1714. It jealously guards three valuable paintings of Tomasi. | this is the oldest place for cult in the town. Built in 1117, it was twice restored with the addiction of a baroque façade, with San Marco red marble twisted columns. Inside there are a wooden carved baroque altar and the statue of the Virgin. Interesting are also the statues dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary and St. Archangel Michael, and the litter of St. Lawrence. |