In the castle on the crag Macalda di Scaletta was born, baroness of Ficarra and wife of Alaimo di Lentini: a woman who in the war of the Vespers pushed her way in among the men of power and paid dearly for it. Local legends still speak of her.
The castle later belonged to the Ruffo princes, allies of the Spanish: during the Messina revolt the French besieged and took it, right after conquering Taormina. In the arms are the castle and the Ruffo fountain, topped by a white marble sea-horse. The town is squeezed between the mountains and the Ionian, with the upper village above and the marina below. There are 2,249 residents.
Arancino · Pasta alla Norma · Pitone messinese
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Next up: Our Lady of Mount Carmel, patroness of Macalda's castle, Friday 16 July
Nearest airport: Reggio Calabria, 17 km away
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📅 Every year, on 16 July
Scaletta Zanclea celebrates Our Lady of Mount Carmel on 16 July; the town's castle, once belonging to the Ruffo princes, was the birthplace of the audacious baroness Macalda di Scaletta, a protagonist of the Sicilian Vespers.
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 Scaletta Zanclea, but an easy day trip away.
