The patron saint of Poggioreale is Saint Anthony of Padua, celebrated on 13 June.
The town's name comes from the Latin «podus regalis», meaning «hill of the king»: it stands on hilly terrain in the Belice valley, not far from the site of the ancient Battle of Crimissus. On the night between 14 and 15 January 1968, the Belice earthquake destroyed the town, leaving only ruins: the town was then rebuilt several kilometres downhill. Over time, the remains of old Poggioreale, left intact in its street layout and some of its most representative buildings, became the destination of passing tourism, which some call «the ghost town»; part of the town's visual story after the quake was entrusted by painter Guido Irosa to 34 paintings, made between 2000 and 2005.
The territory of Poggioreale is today cultivated with cereals, vegetables, Nocellara del Belice olives, yellow melons, watermelons, grapes and fruit, and is home to sheep farming of the Valle del Belice breed, whose milk produces the DOP-certified vastedda della Valle del Belice cheese, as well as a buffalo farm: the town hosts the consortium protecting this cheese and that of the DOP Pecorino Siciliano, together with the only regional centre for rennet production.
