The patron of Lascari is the Holy Crucifix, celebrated on the first Sunday of July: at the centre of devotion stands a fine wooden sculpture of the crucified Christ, in cypress wood stained to look like walnut, whose author remains unknown, though the style and precision with which the anatomical details are rendered suggest the school of the Capuchin friars.
The town was born at the end of the 17th century, when groups of peasants from Gratteri settled in the district of «Li Grutti»: the baron of Gratteri, Gaetano Ventimiglia, gave the hamlet the name Lascari, in honour of his claimed descent from the Lascaris, the ancient dynasty of emperors of Constantinople. The settlement grew up around an old watchtower, Torre Carbone, later turned into the bell tower of the mother church, built in Franciscan style starting in 1700. The municipal territory also has other watchtowers, including Torre Bagari, erected between the 15th and 16th centuries.
