Sicilian cart museum in Aci Sant'Antonio

Il Sicilian cart it is a symbol of the region and has always been, especially in antiquity, used as a work tool but also as a symbol of economic well-being: the more visible the family or the person who owned one was, the more the cart was decorated and made precious . It should not be surprising, then, that the is dedicated to this now folkloristic symbol Sicilian cart museum in Aci Sant'Antonio: here's what you can admire inside and other useful information to organize a visit.

History of the Sicilian cart museum in Aci Sant'Antonio

Il Sicilian cart museum has a very recent history since it was inaugurated in July 2014. It is located inside a typically Sicilian manor house and was born thanks to the will of the province of Catania, the Sicilian region and the mayor Santo Caruso, who wanted in this way tell the story of a means of transport that is much more and that has forever marked the life of the Sicilians.

The cart, in fact, has never been a simple work tool but rather represented a sort of status symbol which from its wealth of decorations represented the importance of its owner but also told a lot about his work and his personality.

The curator of the museum is in turn an artist, with a laboratory located in the back of the museum, where the art of construction is still carried out but above all of the decoration of Sicilian carts: Gaetano Di Guardo is among the artists who decorated by hand i Smeg refrigerators which are part of the "Sicily is my love" collection which was signed by the stylists Dolce and Gabbana.

The architecture and any works of art present in the Sicilian cart museum

Inside the museum it is possible to view different types of Sicilian carts, made over the centuries according to different techniques.

In fact, there are three different types of Sicilian cart, all with two wheels, while u carramattu has four because something more stable was needed to be able to carry particularly heavy loads. The three types are u vinaloru, which was used to transport the barrels; u furmintaru, which instead was typical for the transport of grain; In the end tiralloru which instead was responsible for transporting the earth. There is no shortage of examples of masciddara which are the wooden side walls of the wrought iron cart: they were usually decorated to tell a story or information about the work of its owner.

What is possible to do near the Sicilian cart museum in Aci Sant'Antonio

Those who reach the village for a visit to the Sicilian cart museum in Aci Sant'Antonio will be able to take the opportunity to view other beauties of the town.

There are numerous examples of religious architecture, such as the Church of Maria SS. of the Tribolati, which has a construction of uncertain date but certainly prior to 1800 and the Mother Church of Sant'Antonio Abate, closely linked to the first birth of the country. Also there Church of Maria Santissima degli Ammalati it is a structure dating back to 1820 but it is a remake of a previous chapel which instead dated back to 1600. The church of San Biagio it is one of the oldest, built in 1592, while its beautiful side bell tower dates back to 1797, as does the central dome. Nature lovers, then, will find in forest of Santa Maria la Stella a very large area at the foot of Etna to admire many animal species in their most suitable habitat.

How is it possible to get to Aci Sant'Antonio

To get to Aci Sant'Antonio and visit the museum of the Sicilian cart it is possible to move by car.
From Catania the direction to take is the A18 or the Sp3/I while from Palermo and Caltanissetta it is necessary to follow the A19 motorway and then continue on the E932. Those coming from Messina will follow the same indications as those coming from Catania while those coming from Syracuse will have to take the E45.

People who prefer to travel on the train, will have to refer to the railway station of Acireale or Cannizzaro, which are the closest, since Aci Sant'Antonio does not have its own.

Then we will continue with the service bus numbers premises made available by the AST company.

© Image by Rino Porrovecchio from Palermo, Italy, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons