Borgo Giuliano in San Teodoro

In municipality of San Teodoro, in Sicily, there is a ghost town, that is called Giuliano village, which has a very particular history: visiting it means taking a dive into the past, discovering a piece of history that still has a colonial flavour. It is also a nice opportunity to have the opportunity to visit nearby San Teodoro, a small village within the Nebrodi Park which will certainly be able to fascinate visitors with its beauties. Here is all the information you need to organize one trip to Borgo Giuliano!

History of Borgo Giuliano in San Teodoro

The history of Borgo Giuliano begins in 1938, when thearchitect Guide Baratta was called for design of this small village which was to be used to colonize a practically uninhabited part of the territory. In those years it was in force Serpieri and Tassinari law, strongly desired to counter landownership and protect the agricultural work of small farmers: one of his most important projects was precisely that of the construction of small villages with the essential services so that a community of farmers could be created around them.
The realization of the work was very fast considering that in 1940 the village was inaugurated directly from the minister of agriculture of the time, the very same Tassinari author of the law.
The name, Giuliano, was a tribute to an Italian soldier who fell in Abyssinia. During the following war, the village became the headquarters first by German troops and then by American ones. Over the years, however, the village did not have much luck as it was affected by a progressive depopulation, also due to the lack of work. In 1994, now abandoned and in ruins, it was annexed to municipality of San Teodoro in an attempt to preserve it from neglect.

The architecture and any works of art present in Borgo Giuliano

Like all the other villages born under the same law, Borgo Giuliano also included a church, a post office, a school, a small police station with accommodation for four people, a medical dispensary with accommodation for the staff sanitary ware, an inn, a sort of general store and of course craft shops.
There was no shortage, and are still visible today, of the offices for some mayoral bodies that took the place of central powers in the area.
Currently the village is in a complete state of abandonment but some cultural associations organize guided tours to discover the remains of the village.

What you can do around Borgo Giuliano

Borgo Giuliano has been annexed to the municipality of San Teodoro which is a much larger center and offers its visitors some truly unmissable gems.

One of the oldest buildings in the town is certainly the church of the Santissima Maria Annunziata: in reality the structure dates back to 1962 but is particularly dear to the faithful because inside it is kept the statue of San Cajetan, an XNUMXth-century work by the sculptor Filippo Quattrocchi. The saint is the protector of the country and each year the statue is carried in triumph during the party dedicated to him.

Another place of great interest is the Nebrodi Natural Park, within which Borgo Giuliano is inserted: it is a nature reserve that allows trekking, bird watching and many other activities, including picnic.

Finally, there are many food and wine events that are organized in the area, such as the Grain and Mutton Festival.

How to get to the Giuliano village of San Teodoro

Those wishing to visit the Giuliano village of San Teodorothey will be able to travel by car, from Messina the A18 and then the SS120 to your destination. From Palermo and Trapani, on the other hand, you can first take the A20 and then the E90 while from Catania it is necessary to take the SS284. Finally, from Syracuse you must choose the E45 while from Enna the recommended road is the Ss121.

San Teodoro does not have its own railway station, so whoever decides to travel on the train, it is possible to use the Acquedolci station, that of Sant'Agata di Militello or San Marco d'Alunzio as a reference, from which you can then continue with the local buses made available by the public company AST.