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Sant'Alfio: The great chestnut tree E-mail

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Description

Initially the territory was a noble possession of the Paternò Castle, while in 1869 the territory passed in numerous hands of owners. Pertaining to the common of Giarre, Sant'Alfio obtained the communal autonomy in 1923. The origin of the name is associated to a religious tradition that sees three brothers, Alfio, Cirino and Filadelfio, deports in Sicily from Spain for being martirizzed because of their religious ideas. It seems that, miraculously, by large beam, that the three carried on their shoulders, has been hurled far away from the wind.

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The Church mother

Were the clergymen of the Church of Viagrande in the XVII century, to donate the land for the construction of the church. In the half of the XVII sec.I, the original structure of the church, was embellished of the facade from Antonio Pelluzza and its son Rosary.

In the 1894 began to being cures the inner:  the altars, all of marble were embellished, were constructed the balustrades, the cruise center of the pavement, the pulpit, the painting of the triumph of the three Know up executed on the nail head to the center of the apse. The old facade was pulled down after the end of the First World war for being replaced from that one lava stone. The bell placed on the bell tower named Maria is one of the largest of the Sicily and hung 45 quintals.

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Natural resources

From Sant' Alfio it is possible at the same time to admire the ionic coast, from the Calabria until Augusta, and the majestic of the Etna that is raised to its shoulders. Here we can still find again one still rich and uncontaminated nature. Vines, noccioleti, orchards, forests of chestnut tree and oaks are some of the landscapes that still we can meet.

The  "Castagno dei cento cavalli" (chestnut tree of the 100 horses)

Little distant from the inhabited center, we can admire the famous “Chestnut tree of the One hundred Horses”, the whose age is estimated between 2000 and 4000 years. It's considered the more ancient and larger tree of Europe. Its name comes from a second legend which consider that, during a thunderstorm,  Queen Giovanna of Aragon and its continuation of one hundred knights were placed to repair.

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Typical Prodcts

Until to some time Sant' Alfio was considered the country of the wine for excellence. Today there are still lot of  vineyards scattered in its territory, but beside the cultivation of the wineyard, we can place side by side that one of the nocciole and the fruit.

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Festivities and events

  • Festivity of Sant' Alfio, the first Sunday of May.

The last Sunday of april, begins the festivity of saint patrons of the country with fireworks . But it is only the first Sunday of May that begins the true and celebrations, with an evocative sung Mass. In the afternoon, the simulacrum the saints is carried in procession from the faithful people through the streets of the city.

  • Etna Wines, september.

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Tags:  nature zafferana milo santalfio santa venerina trecastagni pedara taormina naxos  -  
 
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