Franciscan History Museum in Francavilla di Sicilia

The Museum in Francavilla di Sicilia, in the Metropolitan City of Messina, is a suggestive place, where the memory of the life of the Franciscan friars and the rural traditions of the island are kept with great care, at the Convent of the Capuchins.

The Museum was founded by Father Concetto Lo Giudice of Linguaglossa. The Sicilian priest who died in 2004 chose the rooms of the Convent, which has very ancient origins dating back to 1570, to show his fellow citizens and visitors what life was like for the Franciscan friars and farmers on the island: simple but perfectly furnished rooms with all the work tools, cells dedicated to prayer and spiritual recollection, common spaces, such as the kitchen and canteen, tell visitors about the daily life of the friars.
Francavilla di Sicilia is a town with medieval origins and the Capuchin Convent which houses the Museum is one of the main attractions of the place.

The architecture of the Franciscan and peasant history museum of Francavilla di Sicilia and the works on display

Located in the Alcantara Valley, the Museum of Franciscan and Peasant History of Villafranca di Sicilia is housed in the Capuchin Convent.
The religious building dates back to the XNUMXth century and is a large stone structure with a courtyard. The exterior is simple but imposing, a place of meditation that immediately inspires devotion and concentration, but also harmony with nature, given its position and the presence of a courtyard.

The museum is located on the ground floor: the rooms of the museum are now located in the rooms that were once inhabited by the Franciscan religious community. The cells, narrow and long, equipped with small windows that allow the rooms to be illuminated, open onto the corridor and represent places of prayer. In the old Canova is instead guarded a Papier-mâché crib from the XNUMXth century.

The cells are small spaces furnished with simplicity: bed, desk and a few other comforts for the material life of the friars, while paintings with religious themes hang on the walls and work tools and prayer books are found everywhere, testifying to the observation of the friars for the Rule.
In some of the cells that can be visited, sacred representations are set up with cloaked statues, such as that of San Francesco preaching to the birds: modern reconstructions which, however, make use of traditional clothes and ancient costumes.

In the kitchen you can admire the tannura, a typical XNUMXth century Sicilian furnace, the cistern and the pantry.
The route winds its way through two other fundamental points of the Museum, touching the Common Room and the Sala del Forno. In these places, everyday life was shared, people worked and bread was baked.

The material that predominates in the rooms of the Convent-Museum is wood, followed by iron and wicker. Ancient instruments, now almost forgotten and therefore all to be rediscovered.
The convent also houses the friars' herbarium.

What to do at the Franciscan and peasant history museum in Francavilla di Sicilia and in the surrounding area

The Museum in Francavilla di Sicilia is the right place for all history and art enthusiasts. Here, in the rooms of the Convent, one follows the path which, winding along the cells on the ground floor, allows one to get to know a piece of the history of the island, linked to the religious and peasant community of the area: one can admire objects of daily use up close, now disappeared from our lives and discover even more about the Franciscan Rule, the reserved lifestyle of the friars. In the Herbarium plants typical of the area are kept, as well as a large book that hands down healing mixtures and recipes from the Convent.

The museum complex is joined by the Church with sacristies and chapel, which can also be visited: with a single nave with a barrel roof, the Church of the Convent also houses works of art, especially in wood, of inestimable value, statues, paintings. The original sacred furnishings are also a marvel not to be missed.
The XNUMXth-century sacristy is entirely made of wood, while the stone floor is visible in the XNUMXth-century one. The Ruffo Chapel, the work of the local artist Mariano Tatì, stands on the remains of a previous Byzantine church.

Francavilla di Sicilia also reserves for its visitors other surprises of considerable artistic and naturalistic interest: among the sacred buildings, we remember the Church of the Annunziata, while among the civil buildings there are the ruins of the Norman Castle.

Il Alcantara River Park it is rich in oak woods and you can find poppies, dog roses and orchids, as well as being the perfect place for birdwatchers. In the valley, you can also visit the Gurne dell'Alcantara, small lakes with a maximum diameter of 30 meters which can be found along the hiking trail.

How to get to the Franciscan and peasant history museum of Francavilla di Sicilia

Francavilla di Sicilia is part of the Metropolitan City of Messina. To reach the country, one can travel in the car along the A18 Messina-Catania, exiting at Giardini Naxos and then continuing on the SS 185 up to Francavilla. By train, get off at the Taormina-Giardini Naxos stop and continue the journey by bus to your destination.