The name, from Arabic, is thought to mean dead village: when the Arabs arrived they found the population all but wiped out by plague. Leonardo Sciascia was born here, made this town the centre of nearly all his books, and came back to be buried here.
Of the feudal past there remain the Castelluccio, raised by the Barresi in 1229 on an Arab stronghold, and the county of the del Carretto, who held Racalmuto for centuries. In the nineteenth century mayor Gaspare Matrona built the Regina Margherita theatre, the sewers and the street lighting; in the twentieth came the sulphur and salt mines. There are 8,345 residents.
Arancina · Pasta alla Norma
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Next up: Saint Rosalia, patroness of the birthplace of the writer Leonardo Sciascia, Saturday 4 September
Nearest airport: Palermo Falcone-Borsellino, 102 km away
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📅 Every year, on 4 September
Racalmuto celebrates Saint Rosalia on 4 September; the town, which developed in the Norman period around the Chiaramonte Castle, was the birthplace of the writer Leonardo Sciascia, to whom a foundation in the former Enel power plant is dedicated.
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 Racalmuto, but an easy day trip away.
