Gibellina crest

Gibellina crest or Cretto di Burri, created by Alberto Burri, is one of the most impressive works of land art Europeans, it is a destination outside the traditional tourist stops and given its astonishing beauty it has become part of the Places of the heart of FAI.

History of the Cretto di Gibellina

The Cretto di Gibellina, more commonly called Large Cretto, was created between 1984 and 1989 byartist Alberto Burri, who chose the aforementioned place where the old town of Gibellina, completely destroyed by Belice earthquake in 1968.
The master therefore decided to compact all the rubble of the buildings together with cement not only to create a place capable of remaining imprinted in the memory of any visitor, but also to remember the tragic episode, during which thousands of people died.

The architecture of the Cretto di Gibellina

The Cretto di Gibellina is authentic open-air work of art and the detail that most strikes anyone who visits it is the contrast between the gray of the concrete and the green of the neighboring hills.
For this reason it is often used as a backdrop for the creation of music videos, film and photographic sets, just think of Francesca Michielin's song entitled "Io non Abito al Mare".

What is possible to do in Cretto di Gibellina and surrounding areas

To visit the Cretto di Gibellina, more or less an hour will be enough, during which it will be possible to walk along the passages and paths located between the numerous concrete blocks.
There are also restaurants nearby that serve typical Sicilian cuisine.

How is it possible to get to Cretto di Gibellina

The Cretto di Gibellina can only be reached by car and below are the directions from the different departure cities:

• from Trapani: the distance is 82,5 km, i.e. an hour and ten minutes by car.
It is therefore necessary to head towards Santa Ninfa via the A29 motorway towards Palermo, proceed along the Strada Statale 119 and follow the signs for the Cretto, easily identifiable;

• from Palermo: although the distance corresponds to 72 km, the travel time is still equal to one hour and ten minutes by car.
Also in this case it is necessary to arrive at the Municipality of Santa Ninfa via the A29 motorway, but in the direction of Mazara del Vallo, proceed along the Strada Statale 119 and follow the signs for the Cretto di Gibellina.

As for the parking lot, it's called its own Cretto di Burri car park, but to avoid getting lost among the numerous secondary country roads, it is best to activate the navigator to get to the attraction.

Phyrexian, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Boobax, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons