The town used to be called Sparto, which in Greek means broom: and broom still turns these hills yellow in spring. The present name dates from 1397, when king Martin changed it to Motta di Fermo, after the knight Muchius Albamonte known as de Fermo, who some fifteen years earlier had repopulated the hamlet and put the castle back on its feet.
A descendant of his, Guglielmo Albamonte, was one of the thirteen Italians of the Challenge of Barletta. The town stands at just over 600 metres, and its territory runs down to the sea along eight kilometres of coast; the mother church, Santa Maria degli Angeli, dates from 1380 and was rebuilt in 1453. There are 828 residents.
Arancino · Pasta alla Norma · Pitone messinese
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Next up: Saint Luke the Evangelist, patron of the town of a champion of the Challenge of Barletta, Sunday 18 October
Nearest airport: Catania Fontanarossa, 88 km away
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📅 Every year, on 18 October; Saint Roch, protector, is celebrated on 16 August
Motta d'Affermo celebrates Saint Luke the Evangelist on 18 October; the town was ruled by the Albamonte family, including Guglielmo, one of the thirteen Italian champions of the famous Challenge of Barletta in 1503.
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 Motta d'Affermo, but an easy day trip away.
