In 1636 Philip IV, at war with France, asked the cities of his kingdom for money. The Casale della Montagna, which belonged to Patti and resented it, took its chance: it paid four thousand scudi to the Crown and bought its independence. Since then it has been called Montagna Reale — the king's mountain.
The town lives in the Nebrodi, above the gulf of Patti, and on 15 August it carries the Madonna delle Grazie in procession: twenty-four barefoot men dressed in white bear her, after reaching the altar on their knees. Outside the centre stands the Mulino di capo, the only watermill in the area that still grinds. There are 1,631 residents.
Arancino · Pasta alla Norma · Pitone messinese
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Next up: Saint Anthony the Abbot, patron of a town ruled by the Sidoti dukes, Sunday 17 January
Nearest airport: Reggio Calabria, 62 km away
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📅 Every year, on 17 January
Montagnareale celebrates Saint Anthony the Abbot on 17 January; the town, sold in 1639 to Don Basilio Sidoti who took possession of it with the title of duke, grew economically despite plagues, famines and the terrible 1693 earthquake.
Saffron rice, ragù with peas and caciocavallo inside a golden cone-shaped crust: in Catania it is masculine and pointed, and the quarrel with Palermo over the name is serious.
Read more →A thin sheet of dough folded into a half-moon and fried, with escarole, tuma cheese, anchovies and black pepper inside: Messina’s street food, to eat hot straight from the rosticceria.
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 Montagnareale, but an easy day trip away.
