The Cultural Exhibition Center of Marble in Custonaci

Marble in Custonaci

The Perlato di Sicilia is a very fine type of marble, known and used since the XNUMXst century BC and for this reason extremely requested not only for civil but also public architecture.
An excellence of this kind, which is extracted above all in the Custonaci quarries, in the province of Trapani, could not fail to arouse so much interest as to even justify an exhibition center dedicated to her: it is the Marble Museum in Custonaci with the relative Cultural Exhibition Center. Here's everything you need to know to organize a visit.

History of the Marble Museum in Custonaci

Knowledge of Custonaci marble dates back to the XNUMXst century BC when the raw material was extracted from Apuan Alps and used to build and embellish structures of all kinds, both public and private. With the arrival of the Romans, however, the extraction techniques were refined, precisely because the requests increased more and more over time: in particular, the use of the tile was introduced, a tool that allowed the marble to be detached from the rock much faster. it's clean.

In the XNUMXth century, then, other innovations were introduced such as the helical wire which is used to detach the pieces of marble without running the risk of ruining the raw material and making it unusable. Given the importance that marble has always had in the country's economy and history, at the beginning of the XNUMXs the authorities decided to dedicate a museum to this precious raw material which contains not only the history of marble linked to that of Custonaci but also more generally the history of marble processing e all the tools that have been invented over time by man to work it. A cultural center was then created around the museum, inaugurated in 2017, which includes the presence of numerous offices and activities.

The architecture and any works of art present in the Marble Museum in Custonaci

The creation of the Marble Museum in Custonaci was preceded by an important phase of study which served to take care of every detail, not only as regards the layout of the rooms and the museum narration of the exhibits but also the lighting which must in a certain way to be able to give the marble finds the right attention.
Everything takes place around the exhibition halls, which are set up in large intercommunicating spaces, there are not only numerous examples of the different types of marble that are extracted in this area but also historical finds of all the equipment that has been used over the centuries to extract the raw material and work it, in particular the quarry tools of the fifties.

In addition to this more documentary part, there is also a conference room equipped to host conferences not only on marble but also on other topics of more general interest. In the intentions of the museum management, there will soon also be a section dedicated to sculptures made with the marble of this area as well as a multimedia space that will serve to communicate the "voice" of marble in an innovative way to all its visitors and enthusiasts.

What you can do around the Marble Museum in Custonaci

A visit to the Marble Museum in Custonaci can also be the right excuse to discover other beauties of the place and in its immediate vicinity. Certainly very impressive can be a visit to Caves of Mangiapane, which are natural caverns dug into the rocks which have hosted man since prehistoric times to protect him from animals and bad weather.

Very nice too Sanctuary of the Madonna of Custonaci, whose foundation dates back to before the eighteenth century when the peasants began to gather around the place of worship, building their own houses.
However, the Sanctuary has been a place of pilgrimage since the fourteenth century. It really doesn't take much to fall in love with Custonaci and a visit to the bagli which are the peasant villages, stone buildings that gather around a courtyard, where men and animals lived happily together.

Finally, Custonaci is nature and offers fans of this genre the opportunity to visit the beautiful Monte Cofano Oriented Nature Reserve, established in 1997, within which you can visit the beautiful karst formations that have formed over millennia of rock erosion by the water of the stream that flows inside.

How is it possible to get to Custonaci

Those who are interested in visiting the Marble Museum in Custonaci can easily reach the town by car. In particular, from Palermo it is possible to reach Trapani via the A29 and from there continue first on the SS187 and then on the Sp16 to your destination.
From Trapani, on the other hand, various itineraries are possible such as the Sp20 and the 18 up to the destination.
From Palermo to Trapani it is also possible to reach the locality with the bus service provided by the AST company.
By train, however, the reference station is that of Trapani since Custonaci does not have its own station. From here, it will then be possible to continue with the public bus service to your destination.