Castelbuono: Medieval Walking Tour & Local Dessert｜Italy

The guided tour of Castelbuono will take you to discover a small medieval village a few minutes drive from Palermo and near Cefalù, in the heart of the Madonie Park, where you can immerse yourself in alleys with the scent of freshly baked bread. We walk along the main street discovering the history of the ancient village up to the main monument, the Ventimiglia Castle.

The tour continues with a visit to the castle ( entrance ticket to the castle not included ) built by the noble Ventimiglia family in the fourteenth century built with architectural elements of different styles such as Arab, Norman and Swabian that coexist harmoniously in a structure with a curtain wall which was accessed from Porta Sant 'Anna gate.

Inside, the castle houses the wonderful Palatine Chapel of Saint Anna which houses the Sacred Skull of the Saint on the main altar with a frontal in coral, gold and pearls and where you can admire precious stuccos on a gold background and precious cherubs in white marble.

We continue the guided tour leaving the castle and going towards Piazza Margherita square where we will visit the Church of Saint Maria Assunta, also known as Matrice Vecchia. The ancient church, built in the fourteenth century on the ruins of a pagan temple, has an elegant Renaissance facade with a portico decorated with a Baroque portal and an octagonal spire covered with majolica.

A few steps away the guided tour ends with a moment of relaxation tasting the typical sweets of Castelbuono pastry made with manna, a natural sweetener, a natural resin obtained from the bark of the manna ash, a typical plant of the area and fruit of the countryside that surround the village.