Page 152 - The Rough Guide of Sicily

Rural life and local history, as well as Albanian traditions and costumes, are well

covered in the fascinating little Museo Civico, just off Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, the
small square at the top of the main street. There are reconstructions of room interiors
containing anything from dental tools to cheese-making equipment as well as grainy
photographs and other memorials to the infamous massacre at Portella della Ginestra.

THE MASSACRE AT PORTELLA DELLA GINESTRA

The mountain pass 4km southwest of Piana degli Albanesi, Portella della Ginestra,
was the scene of one of the most shocking episodes in recent Sicilian history. On
May 1, 1947, when the Albanians and villagers from neighbouring San Giuseppe

Jato had assembled for their customary May Day celebrations, gunfire erupted from
the crags and boulders surrounding the plain, killing eleven and wounding 55, many
of them children. This massacre was the work of the bandit Salvatore Giuliano,
whose virulent anti-Communist feelings were exploited by more sinister figures high
up in the political and criminal hierarchy: only two weeks previously, the people of

the town, together with most other Sicilians, had voted for a Popular Front (left-
wing) majority in the regional parliament. The cold-blooded killings erased at one
stroke the bandit’s carefully nurtured reputation as defender of the poor and friend to
the oppressed. There’s a car park at the pass and the site is marked by a memorial of
sculpted rocks inscribed in blood-red lettering – slightly unkempt, and a haunting
place still.

ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE: PIANA DEGLI ALBANESI

By bus Prestia & Commandé buses (direction Santa Cristina) run to Piana from
Palermo’s Stazione Centrale; the last one back leaves at around 4pm. Buses stop at the
top of town, 500m from Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, at the Villa Comunale gardens

(there’s free parking here too). Cross the road viaduct to reach Via Kastriota and the
centre of town.

< Back to Palermo and around

Ficuzza

South of Piana degli Albanesi, a highly scenic driving route skirts the lake and then
winds through rolling hills to reach the junction for the dead-end hamlet of FICUZZA

after 20km. An information board in the piazza shows the local waymarked walks
(between 45min and 3hr) on mountain paths that crisscross the wooded heights of
Rocca Busambra (1613m), or you can simply grab a drink or a simple meal in one of
the two or three bars and trattorias in the piazza.