This is the case of the Tomb of the Prince, a very particular and unique structure of its kind, to the point of being the largest protohistoric Tholos tomb present on the entire Sicilian soil.
The village of Sant'Angelo Muxaro, in addition to being a place full of history and traditions, it is also a place that arouses curiosity in all its visitors, above all for the mysteries that hover around some of its points of interest.
La Tomb of the Prince, also known as Sant'Angelo cave, this is a very interesting hypogeum, made up of two circular rooms communicating with each other, each of which would have covered a very specific function.
The first inspections took place in 1931, thanks to the work of Paul Bears, who directed all the work to bring to light the mysteries that still surround this place today.
The Sant'Angelo Muxaro Cave Nature Reserve
The Tomb of the Prince is not the only hypogeum present in the territory of Sant'Angelo Muxaro, but only one of many. In particular, a few steps away from this place, is the Sant'Angelo Muxaro Cave Nature Reserve, an enchanting place where you can find a hypogeum over 1 km long, which can be visited in large part.
This Nature Reserve also boasts a well-defined flora and fauna, able to enrich the place with more natural details.
Who housed the Tomb of the Prince in Sant'Angelo Muxaro?
Numerous hypotheses have been made as to who could host the Tomb of the Prince. The most accredited theories agree that the innermost chamber housed the bodies of a Sican prince and his family.
This thesis was corroborated by the numerous finds inside the room, with precious objects that only a rich and powerful family could possess at that time.
The other room, the larger one, would probably have served to house the bodies of the other members of his house or his most faithful collaborators.
The Legend of the Grotta Sant'Angelo
The Grotta Sant'Angelo is the protagonist of a legend on which revolve many of the local traditions that focus on the cult of patron saint.
According to legend, this cave, in ancient times, was entirely haunted by evil spirits which caused disasters to anyone passing by.
The role of Sant'Angelo it was important to free the cave from these entities, since he himself, arriving on the site via a boat that crossed the seas, thanks to an earthquake he managed to expel all the spirits, giving peace to the territory.
Sant'Angelo, also for this reason, is revered as Patron Saint of Sant'Angelo Muxaro.
