Byzantine village of Calascibetta

The Byzantine village of Calascibetta, testimony dating back to the Byzantine and later Arab era. Composed of various rooms obtained by digging the rock, it is possible to guess Byzantine religious buildings, colombarium and the village, proof of the fact that the place was also inhabited during the Muslim domination.

History of the Byzantine village of Calascibetta

The Byzantine village of Calascibetta dates back to the time of the permanence of the Byzantines in Sicily which lasted from 535 to 827 but which also shows progressive modifications from which different historical periods can be deduced. Even if traces of artifacts of the time are almost completely absent due to the continuous reuse of the site and the paucity of excavation campaigns, it is nevertheless possible to have chronological indications of those who lived in this village thanks to the discovery of ceramic finds and the type of architectural configuration of the site which demonstrate that it was frequented until the Islamic period.

The most remote traces can be dated to the late Copper Age as demonstrated by two cluster graves still exist and which were not originated by taking advantage of the vertical direction of the rock walls but by digging small communicating burial cells.

Other cells of this type have also been found, while others have been modified both by man and by atmospheric agents, even if, it is easy to guess, they date back to the Bronze and Iron Ages. There are also some chamber tombs which testify to the archaic Greek period of the XNUMXth and XNUMXth centuries BC

Architecture present in the Byzantine Village of Calascibetta

Certainly the architecture present in the Byzantine village of Calascibetta also sees the presence of Roman domination, as attested by the arcosolium and columbaria tombs even if, over time, various modifications can be noted. It must be said that these were subsequently used as animal feeders and, in the case of those in columbaria, places to raise pigeons and other birds in the Byzantine era.

What appears evident is that the modifications of the environments obtained by digging the rock were radical especially during the Byzantine period and in the early Middle Ages when the excavations were exploited no longer to house the deceased, but for daily and religious activities such as it can be seen from a millstone obtained inside what was originally a funerary hypogeum.
Environments also used for the production of wine which made use of the local winemaking, through the exploitation of two tanks placed at different levels communicating with each other through a cavity which were intended for the pressing of the grapes and the fermentation of the must. Not infrequently these cavities were obtained from previous burials of the late Romanesque period, obviously readapted as needed.
The regularity of the cuts evident in the rock suggests the use of appropriate machinery for the transformation of raw materials produced by agricultural cultivation and livestock.

Also very interesting is a system of three tunnels used for the collection of water and its channeling which has been recognized as a qanat of Islamic origin which produces irrefutable proof of the settlement of Muslims during their domination.

What you can do around the Byzantine Village of Calascibetta

Visit the village of Calascibetta, joined the list of Most beautiful villages in Italy it is definitely something to do after visiting the Byzantine village of Calascibetta. It will be like taking a step back in time, walking through deserted alleys admiring the traditional medieval architecture that develops between open spaces and paved streets.

Also worth seeing in Calascibetta is the Convent of the Capuchins, where a Jewish community lived in the fourteenth century before the construction at the end of the sixteenth century of this structure hosting the Capuchin friars. Attached stands there Church of San Francesco, that in 1885 the Town Hall reserved the patronage of the Church for itself, ceding its use to the friars. Significant is the convent library which collects volumes and tomes of inestimable value. The library is divided into two sectors: one which includes ancient volumes - about 7.000 dating back to the sixteenth century - and the other where books published after 1927 are collected.

Do not miss the exploration of the Jewish quarter born in the fourteenth century.

How is it possible to get to the Byzantine Village of Calascibetta

By car:, from Messina take the A18 and A19/E932 in the direction of SS 117 bis with exit at Enna and continue on the SS290 up to Calascibetta and from there follow the signs.