In 1086 Roger the Norman was chasing the emir Chamùt, in flight towards Castrogiovanni, and on the way he took the castles of Naro, Racalmuto, Canicattì and Al-Minshàr. That last one may have stood here, on Monte Castellaccio, five hundred metres north of the town.
The geographer al-Idrisi had called it al-Minsciar, «the saw». It was a probably Byzantine fortification that the Arabs reused, surrounded by very fertile land. After the Norman conquest the hamlet took the name Libigini and began to decline, passing from family to family, the Lo Porto, the De Brando, the Montaperto, until it was handed over to Stefano Monreale. There are 3,020 residents.
Arancina · Pasta alla Norma
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Next up: Saint Anthony the Abbot, patron of a town dedicated to a king of Spain, Sunday 17 January
Nearest airport: Palermo Falcone-Borsellino, 108 km away
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📅 Every year, on 17 January
Castrofilippo celebrates Saint Anthony the Abbot on 17 January, in his sanctuary; the town was founded in 1584 by Stefano Monreale, who dedicated it, as its very name «castra rex Philippi» suggests, to the king of Spain Philip II.
Saffron rice, ragù with peas and caciocavallo cheese inside a golden crust. Round and feminine in Palermo, pointed and called arancino in Catania: the quarrel is serious.
Read more →Straight-line distances from the town centre. Tap a point to open its page.
The closest destinations covered by our editors, with straight-line distance.
Outside Castrofilippo, but an easy day trip away.
