Itinerari Territoriali

An itinerary through the religious and pagan ritual celebrations of the territories of the eight project partner municipalities, offering a real journey through the traditions, celebrations and holidays by retracing a calendar of the intangible cultural heritage of the Inner Area: an opportunity to discover ancient cultural practices, religious rituals and popular festivals which, handed down from generation to generation, continue to define the identity of these communities. A dense program of initiatives that are an expression of the local identity which can motivate visits at different times of the year by interweaving the other itineraries and, why not, push you to return, thus experiencing a different journey each time. An authentic experience that invites you to immerse yourself in the rhythms and colors of local life, among uncontaminated landscapes and the warmth of centuries-old traditions.

A vulàta d’à palumma in Mezzojuso
Anniversary: ​​5-6 January
“A vulàta d’à palumma” or “Festival of beaten water” according to the Greek-Byzantine rite. It is one of the most original functions of the Greek – Byzantine rite and takes place twice, on the evening of January 5th in the church and on the morning of January 6th in the square, in front of the main door of the Church of San Nicolò di Mira. During the celebration, a white dove slowly descends through a rope that connects from the top of a balcony to a baptismal font located in front of the church. This liturgical moment recalls the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan and the descent of the Holy Spirit who takes the form of a dove. The ceremony ends with the blessing of the faithful and the distribution of oranges to them.

Epiphany at Palazzo Adriano
Anniversary: ​​January 6th
In the Latin rite the adoration of Jesus by the Magi is remembered. In the Byzantine rite the manifestation of the divinity of Christ is commemorated on the occasion of the baptism in the Jordan River. The ceremony takes place in Piazza Umberto I near the octagonal fountain from 1608; the priest blesses the waters. In them, a dove tied with a red ribbon representing the Holy Spirit descends along a thread from the bell tower of the Byzantine rite church. Blessed oranges are distributed to all those present.

Sant’Antonio Abate at Palazzo Adriano
Anniversary: ​​January 17th
Palazzo Adriano celebrates San’Antonio Abate, protector of animals. The celebrations in honor of the Saint take place in the town square and in the small churchyard of the Maria SS church. Assumption of the Greek-Byzantine rite, the blessing of the livestock takes place.
After the celebration of the Holy Mass in honor of St. Anthony, the simulacrum is brought in front of the secondary entrance of the church, called Porta dello Scirocco. The priest proceeds to bless the animals using a bouquet of flowers which he dips into the blessed water. The blessing of Sant’Antonio Abate descends on horses, donkeys, mules and all domestic animals that the owners accompany to Piazza Umberto I; but also on cars and, in times gone by, on tractors and motor hoes, which replaced animal power in field work. Finally, the faithful who parade in front of the statue of the Saint are blessed.
That of Saint Anthony is a very ancient celebration, and in the Palace, on that day “everyone runs to the square, in front of the temple, to have their animals blessed, and if the herds are far away, they present large quantities of hay for the blessings, which they then send to the market, where the herds reside, and give it to them as food, thus obtaining an indirect blessing”: these are the words written by the scholar Aristide Battaglia more than a hundred years ago.

Field Master of Mezzojuso
Occasion: Carnival
Inserted in the REI – Registers of Intangible Heritage – Book of Celebrations:
«Representation of the rivalry between the Master of Field and the King in the conquest of the Queen’s heart, in Mezzojuso it is the re-enactment of the assault that the Count of Modica made on the Castle to conquer the White Queen of Navarre. The beginning is marked by the arrival of the royal procession which climbs onto a stage that serves as a castle, starting a dancing party. Meanwhile, masks linked to tradition emerge. The dance is interrupted by the arrival of the Master of the Field who is followed by the engineer (who measures the terrain of the battle), by Garibaldi and the Garibaldians, by the brigands, by the magician and by other extras. The hero wears a red wax mask with a hooked nose and a prominent lower lip, a white shirt full of colored ribbons, trousers and a red cape. Having reached the center of the square, the Master of the Field draws up the challenge sign to the King who accepts. Throughout the square there is a hubbub of sounds, shots, noises. After a series of contortions of the various characters and active participation of the people who participate in the generous snack typical of the procession, the Master of the Field attacks the castle but is wounded by the King: left for dead, he is carried away by his men. The first act ends. In the second, the Field Master, recovered from his wounds, returns to the square with his army, thus starting another fight. The interventions of the various characters are identical to those of the first half. At a certain point, signs of nervousness increase on the castle. The Master of the Field and the Garibaldini stealthily climb the usual staircase and, taking advantage of the moment of confusion, surround the Court and chain the King. The Master of the Field, having removed his mask, finally embraces the Queen. A procession is then formed that will parade through the main streets of the town. The Master of the Field offers his arm to the Queen while the King parades in chains.”

Bisacquinese Carnival
The Bisacquina Carnival has its roots at least at the end of the seventeenth century, is the oldest in Sicily and is strongly linked to the Contraddanza.

Feast of San Giuseppe di Campofiorito
Anniversary: ​​March 19th
The feast of Saint Joseph is celebrated with the evening procession of the statues of the Saint together with those of Saint Stephen. The procession is accompanied by a band and stops in via A. Gramsci to watch the fireworks show. After the alberata and the band’s tour through the streets of the town, in the afternoon of the same day the Congregation of San Giuseppe organizes traditional games such as the sack race or ri pignateddi. The celebration is preceded by a Novena which includes the performance of the sung Rosary of Saint Joseph at the church of the same name and ends on the eve of the 19th, after vespers, with a torchlight procession and the lighting of a bonfire in Piazza Mario Francese. During the festive period the altars of San Giuseppe are set up, whose pyramidal structures welcome dishes and first fruits prepared with care and devotion and ritually distributed on the solemn day. A community altar is set up in the parish hall of the Church of San Giuseppe. The Artaru of San Giuseppe in the lands of the Prince of Campofiorito is a monumental altar set up in the space of the former Regina Elena washhouse, where the procession heading towards the Church of Santo Stefano stops on 17 March.

Votive bread of San Giuseppe in Chiusa Sclafani
Anniversary: ​​March 19th
Inserted in the REI – Registers of Intangible Heritage – Book of Celebrations:
«The altars are set up in the premises of the former Benedictine monastery Badia a Chiusa Sclafani and in the homes of many families.
One of the most demanding and difficult tasks of preparing the altars consists in making the votive breads, a job carried out almost exclusively by women. The ingredients are: durum wheat flour, salt to taste, water, home yeast, cimino seed and beaten egg yolk. The dough must contain little water and must be hard to facilitate the shaping of the loaves. Characteristic of votive bread is that it is mixed together with sesame; with it, shapes of horses, birds, plates full of fruit, sacred objects, cucciddati are modeled in an artistic way.
It is usual in Chiusa Sclafani to summon the most skilled women to the neighborhood bakeries, who also use the water with which they moisten their fingers and through which they glue the small forms of decoration to the loaves, obtaining as a result real works of art. ‘art. Before being baked, the bread is brushed with egg white and removed from the oven only when it has reached a golden colour. The breads that present artistic difficulties, to prevent them from breaking such as the name of Maria, Varva and vastuni of San Giuseppi, a Sfera etc., are placed and baked inside pans, while all the others directly in the oven.
Bread constitutes the centrality of the celebration: as a vital substance, a symbol of light and earthly life. The next day, the blessed loaves are given as gifts to neighbors, friends and relatives. The most artistic, labored (processed) bread, the “stick” of St. Joseph, the “heart” and “name” of Mary, etc., are given as gifts to the most intimate people. No waste is allowed” (https://reis.cricd.it/reisicilia/details/2/51). Examples of the breads of San Giuseppe which are made in Chiusa Sclafani were exhibited in the ethnographic section curated by Giuseppe Pitrè within the National Exhibition of Palermo in 1891-92. A characteristic of these breads with a compact structure and no alveoli is the use of sesame in the dough which, after fermentation, is shaped into various shapes designed to reproduce fruits, animals and sacred objects and, after cooking, brushed on the surface with the yolk of the egg beaten in hot water.

The altars of San Giuseppe in Roccamena
Anniversary: ​​March 19th
On March 19th the first of the two important anniversaries dedicated to the Patron Saint Saint Joseph takes place with a memorial mass, parades through the streets of the town by the local musical band and above all with the preparation of the so-called “Altars of Saint Joseph” consisting of lavish banquets originally prepared for the poor, as devotees and faithful, as thanks to the Patron for the grace received. These banquets include the preparation of local dishes and specialties such as pasta with sardines, cannoli, cassateddi, as well as “cucciddati”, a particular variety of bread which is blessed and distributed to the poor. The second festival dedicated to the Patron Saint is described in “Functions of San Giuseppe in Roccamena”.

Holy Week in Campofiorito
Holy Week begins on the Sunday preceding Easter with the blessing of olive branches and palm trees which commemorates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem. On Holy Thursday, mass takes place in Coena Domini and the traditional washing of the feet.

Holy Week in Corleone
Inserted in the REIS – Registers of the Intangible Heritage of Sicily – Book of Celebrations, Festivals and Ritual Practices
The re-enactment, on Palm Sunday, of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem and, in the afternoon, the solemn Via Crucis through the streets of the town inaugurate Holy Week and prepare for the celebration, on Holy Thursday, of the “In Coena Domini” mass.
After the function, the brothers, the parish groups led by the parish priests, all the faithful, begin the traditional visit to the ‘seven sacraments’; that is, they go around the seven churches where the ‘tombs’ were set up: the Mother Church, Santa Rosalia, Sant’Elena, Santa Maria di Gesù, Madonna delle Grazie, San Leoluca, and Santuario dell’Addolorata.
At midnight the brotherhoods arrive at the Sanctuary of Addolorata where the vigil will last all night. The following day, from 7am, every quarter of an hour, the silence is interrupted by the roar caused by the explosion of a firecracker which is fired from the house called Ri Maschi, which is located on a high rock, perpendicular to Calvary: it is the so-called quarter shot.
The sun is already high when the brothers arrive in the churchyard of the Matrix. When they cross the threshold of the side door, everything in the church is ready for the solemn liturgy “In Passione Domini”. At the end of the liturgical celebration, some firecracker shots welcome the body of Christ as it leaves the Church, the sad notes of the musical band accompany the beginning of the touching procession to Mount Calvary. The simulacrum of Christ, placed on a white sheet, is led towards the place of crucifixion by the priests. The procession reaches the top of the hill and the statue of Christ is hung on the scaffold and nailed by three priests. At 4 in the afternoon, a repeated firing of firecrackers (a ‘maschiata’, as the Corleonese call it) reminds us that at that time Christ died.
While on Calvary the devotees’ homage to Christ on the cross continues, in the eighteenth-century Sanctuary dedicated to Maria SS. Sorrowful women and children hand a friar a white handkerchief to wipe the face of the Sorrowful. Afterwards, the simulacrum of the Virgin is prepared for the imminent long nocturnal procession.
Christ, now dead, is taken down from the Cross. The white sheet is carried to the valley this time by the brothers of all the Companies, following the itinerary taken during the day in reverse. From Calvario you stop in the small square on the slopes of the mountain where the two churches of Addolorata and Santo Nicolò overlook. In the latter the deposed Christ is left and the urn, prepared the day before, which contains another statue of the dead Christ to be carried in procession, is taken. Outside, the increasingly numerous faithful await the exit from the church of the simple ‘vara’ with the Dead Christ, adorned with flowers, and the procession passes through all the neighborhoods of Corleone. The procession ends when midnight has already passed. The simulacrum of Christ returns to the Oratorio dei Bianchi. Here the urn of the dead Christ is left, while the procession continues through Piazza Annunziata and Via San Nicolò until reaching the church of Addolorata.
From the little church of Santo Nicolò the Christ who had been on the cross is taken, lying in his sheet, to return home. Here, in the baroque chapel of the old hospital, Christ lying on a catafalque receives kisses on his feet and knees from faithful and confreres.
And since 2010, with the reopening of the Annunziata church, another ancient custom has been reborn. From the church of the confreres of the Name of Jesus, the statue of the Risen Christ comes out to reach the mother church, where he will rise again in glory at midnight on Saturday.
On Easter day, the coronation of the statue of the Virgin and the blessing of the Flowers will seal the joy of the Resurrection and conclude the rites of Holy Week (source: https://settimanasantacorleone.jimdofree.com/).

Good Friday in Roccamena
On the occasion of Good Friday, the Via Crucis and the rite of the Crucifixion with figures take place in Roccamena.

The Devils’ Ball in Prizzi
Anniversary: ​​Easter Sunday
Inserted in the REI – Registers of Intangible Heritage – Book of Celebrations:
The abballu di li diavuli is a dance ritual performed by figures who impersonate the devils, masked and dressed in red, and Death, with a yellow ocher mask and dress. On Easter Sunday, the characters follow the simulacra of the Madonna and the Risen Christ through the streets of the town with the aim of preventing their meeting. Those who participate in the ritual can be captured by the devils who offer, in exchange for an offering, cannateddi, sweets made of custard with a hard-boiled egg in the centre. The rite ends with the killing of the devils by the angels who escort the simulacra during the procession and with the meeting between the two fercoli who are brought together festively.
«“L’abballu di li diavuli” enlivens Prizzi’s Easter. The three masks of the two devils and death are the property of the church, and the parish priest rents them out, agreeing the amount from year to year. And it’s always a good deal for those who rent them. Death, in fact, and his two cronies no longer limit themselves to launching their attacks on the chosen victims, but also demand the payment of a substantial tax. And they get so busy during the day that they are forced to take turns wearing masks” (Sciascia, Religious celebrations in Sicily).
«Alongside these processions, even today, there is no shortage of events that can be considered authentic relics of the sacred drama. Thus, in Sicily, in Prizzi (Palermo) during Holy Week the so-called abballu di li diavuli (dance of the devils) takes place. We can describe it with Pitrè’s own words: «The very strange figures are young people in black bags with ugly and scary masks. Death with a crossbow in his hand ready to wound is downright horrible. When he targets someone in the crowd, he first throws himself to the ground, then suddenly throws the thunderbolt and runs away. The devils rejoicing with joy throw themselves at their prey and load it on their shoulders, as if to take it to hell. Let’s imagine the hilarity of the spectators, the confusion of the threatened, the madness of the masked people” (Cocchiara).

Fair of the SS. Crucifix in Mezzojuso
Anniversary: ​​Third Sunday of May
The SS fair. Crucifix, commonly known as the “May fair” was a “free fair”. It took place and still takes place on the third Sunday of May, the date set by King Ferdinand II who authorized its celebration with a decree of 23 August 1844. The festival begins on the second Sunday of May with “l’appizzatona ‘ru Paliu”, that is, the display of the Palio, an Albanian flag of red cloth with a black double-headed eagle in the center which is hoisted in the bell tower of the church at midday. On the morning of the feast in the church of SS. Crucifix, a solemn liturgy is celebrated in the Greek – Byzantine rite at the end of which “a cunnutta” takes place, a sort of parade of torches and gifts (ex voto – altar linens and other) belonging to the Confraternity.
The parade concludes with the “net” of the mules, who carry packsacks and saddlebags, decorated with friezes and fine embroidery, filled with wheat. In the evening the procession of the Vara takes place, which is a decorated canopy covered in gold in which there is a silver crucifix with a beech wood core. After the procession, the Vara remains exposed to the cult for the Octave during which, every evening, a preacher gives homilies. The Octave ends the following Sunday with the procession that travels through the secondary streets of the town. The festival ends the following Monday with “‘a closing ‘ra vara”, a religious ceremony attended by numerous faithful.

San Leoluca race in Corleone
Anniversary: ​​Last Sunday of May
Inserted in the REIS – Registers of the Intangible Heritage of Sicily – Book of Celebrations, Festivals and Ritual Practices
The Cursa di Santu Luca, or the race of San Leoluca, is celebrated in Corleone on the last Sunday of May. On this day it is remembered when the city of Corleone was spared from the Bourbon wrath in the revolutionary events of 1860. During the celebrations the San Leoluca race takes place accompanied by Sant’Antonio. The two statues placed side by side are carried to the town gates and then in procession return to the starting point where the two saints greet each other with a bow.

Chiusa Sclafani cherries
Anniversary: ​​Mid-June
Chiusa Sclafani is the town of cherries and the people of Chiusa are called “cirasara” by the inhabitants of the neighboring towns. Among the varieties of cherries grown in Chiusa, the cappuccino, with its large fruits and dark red colour, has obtained PDO recognition.
The cherry festival takes place annually in Chiusa which attracts a large number of visitors and has reached its 55th edition in 2024.

Rumpitina d’i Pignate at Palazzo Adriano
Anniversary: ​​Saint John the Baptist, 24 June
This festival takes place at different times on the 24th of the month: in the morning an important livestock fair takes place, considered such because it is the first of the season. In the afternoon, “A rumputa/rumpitina d’i pignati” is organised, an ancient event in which some young people ride on donkeys ready to break the hanging pots with a stick from which ash, talcum powder, water and rich prizes fall. The festival ends with the procession and fireworks.

Services of San Giuseppe in Roccamena
Anniversary: ​​Second week of August
Inserted in the REI – Registers of Intangible Heritage – Book of Celebrations
In the second week of August the second festival dedicated to the Patron Saint is celebrated which has its most significant moment in the “Functions”, a sacred representation taken from the Apocryphal Gospels, which recalls the return of the Holy Family from Egypt; attacked by brigands “vi latri”, is freed by an angel and subsequently receives hospitality and refreshment from a rich landowner “l’ammitaturi”. The performers, richly dressed and chosen from among the inhabitants, give life to an evocative representation once widespread throughout the Valle del Belice and now performed only in Roccamena, which has been repeated annually since time immemorial. Particularly evocative and widely followed is the “Pigghiata di li Santi”, a festive procession that winds along the streets of the town accompanying the performers of the representation until the end. stage set up in the central square.

San Bartolomeo Fair in Chiusa Sclafani
Anniversary: ​​August 24th
The Fair was traditionally dedicated to the sale of agricultural products, goods and livestock and took place on the occasion of the celebrations in honor of San Bartolomeo. Today the Fair takes place annually in Piazza Castello.
On the occasion of the Fair, during the evening preceding it, Ranza e Sciura, a typical baked product from Chiusa Sclafani, is sold and consumed. The name of this white pizza similar to sfincione derives from the ingredients with which it was originally prepared, the ranza, or bran, and the sciura, or the flower of the flour. The dough is rolled out into three layers and seasoned with marjoram, onions and salted sardines, then sprinkled on the surface with grated cheese and baked.

San Giuseppe in Mezzojuso
Anniversary: ​​Last Sunday of August
The beginning of the festival is signaled the previous week with “l’appizzatina d’ù paliu” that is, with the display of the palio, a white canvas flag with a red cross, in the upper part of the bell tower of the Annunziata church. The palio is displayed at midday while the bells ring in celebration accompanied by the rolling of drums and the firing of firecrackers. Thus begins the novenary in the church, which ends with the solemn procession on the last Sunday of August. Of considerable importance is “a cunnutta” or the conduct of the candles and gifts which takes place after the solemn mass. The Brotherhood holds a considerable number of “torches”, large candles with sacred images imprinted on them, which are carried in procession for devotion or exvoto. There is also the conduct of gifts: silver bells, altar linens, silver and gold exvotos belonging to the Brotherhood. The procession ends with the “mule net” made up of ten mules carrying packsacks and saddlebags decorated with particularly fine embroidery and friezes and numerous rattles. The saddlebags are full of wheat, which was collected by the brothers during the year, especially during the harvest period. On the evening of the last Sunday of August, the procession of San Giuseppe or the simulacrum of the Holy Family takes place.

Feast of Mary SS. of the Rosary of Campofiorito
Anniversary: ​​10-11 October
The feast of Maria SS. del Rosario is linked to the traditional livestock fair established in 1844 and called A Fera Nostra. In 1866, the fair which took place on the first Sunday of August and the following Monday was moved to 10 and 11 October, coinciding with the celebrations for the Madonna Del Rosario. On Good Friday the figurative celebration of the Passion takes place with the ascent to Calvary and following the Way of the Cross with the dead Christ. On Easter Sunday the traditional meeting of the Risen Christ with the Madonna takes place.

Pitta at Palazzo Adriano
Anniversary: ​​San Martino, 11 November
A use of extraordinary interest is that practiced at Palazzo Adriano (Pa) on 11 November and which consists in sending, on the occasion of the well-attended feast of San Martino, abundant gifts to the newlyweds who got married during the past year. Parents, friends and relatives entrust children with the task of getting the gifts to their destination, mainly household objects and food supplies placed inside the cannistra, large baskets decorated with flowers, colored ribbons and embroidered tablecloths, in which there are fresh and dried fruit, sweets, pasta, San Martino biscuits and above all pita: an unleavened and slightly leavened bread with a round and flat shape on whose surface the symbols of Albanian identity, love and marital faith are imprinted , of peace, life and fertility (see AA.VV., 2001; Buttitta, A., Cusumano, A., 1991; Pitrè, G., 1881; Uccello, A., 1976).

The “Panuzzi” of San Nicola di Bari in Chiusa Sclafani
Anniversary: ​​December 6th
Saint Nicholas of Bari is the patron saint of Chiusa Sclafani and is celebrated on 6 December. After the Eucharistic celebration, blessed breads are distributed to the faithful. The so-called panuzzi are eaten and preserved out of devotion to the Saint of goldsmiths and silversmiths. As Pitrè writes, these votive breads “are believed to be very wonderful in putting out a fire, in saving people from serious imminent danger, in restoring recovery to the sick in serious dangers of lightning” (Giuseppe Pitrè, Spettacoli e festa populari siciliane, p. 417) .

The “pidduzzi” of Bisacquino
Anniversary: ​​Feast of the Immaculate Conception – 8 December
The pidduzzi are puppets made of straw, paper and lock that represent the devil. Early in the morning the boys leave the house carrying these pidduzzi on their shoulders, lying on wooden boards, and, amid various shouts and shouts, they bring out the people to whom they sing a nursery rhyme: “U Pidduzzu muriu e facemu festa, u Pidduzzu muriu” . In the evening these puppets are burned, wanting to symbolize the victory of the Madonna over the devil who is destroyed, firecrackers are set off and the same nursery rhyme that has echoed through the streets of the town throughout the day is sung: “U Pidduzzu muriu, u Piduzzu muriu and let’s celebrate.”

Santa Lucia in Corleone
Anniversary: ​​December 13th
On December 13th the Feast of Saint Lucia is celebrated in Corleone. The celebrations are organized by the parish and the brotherhood of Santa Lucia and begin a few days before, with the triduum of preparation and the religious functions which take place at the church Santa Maria di Gesù, which is located in Piazza Santa Maria, and inside which the simulacrum of Saint Lucia is kept. The statue was created in 1567 by the sculptor and painter Antonino Ferraro da Giuliana in carved, gilded and painted wood, and represents the saint crowned and in regal clothes; with his right hand he holds the plate containing his eyes, on the left the palm of martyrdom and the book of the Holy Scriptures. – The confraternity of Santa Lucia in Corleone was founded in 1640 to solemnize the holiday; in fact, each brother had the obligation to be present at the party and to take part in the procession with the traditional dress. The foundation of a chapel dedicated to Saint Lucia dates back to the same year, inside the convent of the Friars Minor, adjacent to the church of Santa Maria and inside which there is a valuable cloister. On the evening of Christmas Eve, after the Solemn Vespers of Saint Lucia, a plate of chickpeas is usually offered in the parish hall to all the faithful present. The following morning lauds are recited and Holy Mass is celebrated for the brothers and sisters. Immediately afterwards in the parish cloister the tasting of cuccìa begins, a typical dish of the feast of Saint Lucia, based on cooked wheat which recalls the miracle of the martyr. In 1646, after a long famine that had starved the population, the saint had a ship loaded with wheat reach Sicily. I| the simulacrum of Saint Lucia is then carried on the shoulders through the streets of the historic center, accompanied by a crowd of faithful and the musical band. At the end of the evening the processional procession accompanies the statue of the Saint back to her church and the final blessing is given.

The “Carcavecchia” in Corleone
Anniversary: ​​30-31 December
The last festival to close the year is that of Carcavecchia. The old lady bringing gifts traditionally passes through the homes of the Corleonesi on the night between 30th and 31st December to leave a memory for the children. It represents the year that is about to end and which leaves the little ones happy only if they have maintained good behavior, have been polite and respectful, avoiding tantrums. Once upon a time, through gifts connected to the rural and agricultural world (nuts, dried fruit, oranges), he wished for abundance and prosperity.
The end-of-year event has always been characterized by a fair, known as the Carcavecchia Fair.

The Bisacquinese knife
Timeless heritage included in the REIS – Registers of the Intangible Heritage of Sicily – Book of Crafts, Knowledge and Techniques
The Bisacquinese Sicilian Knife is a typical artisan knife from Bisacquino. Its main feature is the handle made from goat and ram horns. This Sicilian Knife is a product of fine and refined manufacturing where the steel of the blade and the horn of the handle synergistically meet. Among the other cutting products of Bisacquinese craftsmanship, such as scythes, sickles, and billhooks, this knife is the most noble and artistic, but more than for the blade, it stands out for its handle made with goat and ram horns. The tool has always been used for working, for cutting bread or cheese, for eliminating weeds in the fields and also in the past to defend oneself or offend. The words Bisaqua or Busak, from which the name of the village derives, would mean “abundant water” due to the presence of numerous springs or “father of the knife” in reference to the ancient local production of knives made with the use of goats’ horns. «The history of knife making in Bisacquino has ancient roots. The presence of “cutiddari” (knife makers) workshops characterized the town’s economy. Until the 1960s it is said that there were more than 50 blacksmith workshops, which slowly disappeared over time. Compared to the rest of Sicilian production, the making of knives in Bisacquino took place according to a characteristic technique.
The handles of the knives were made using sheep and cattle horns of all colors and sizes, according to a particular manufacturing technique. The raw material was supplied by butchers, the main recipients of the production. The manufacturing process, called abbruscari in local jargon, involved non-excessive overheating of the material to facilitate modeling and at the same time avoid the risk of breakage in the subsequent phases. The horn was cut using a saw and subjected to heat, it was shaped by the skilled hands of local artisans. Small, firm blows determined the shape and with the help of the vice the work was completed. With a hand drill, made from a wooden bow, a string, a spool of ancient thread and an awl, the drilling was done to block the blade. The process took approximately 3 hours.
The Bisacquino blacksmiths specialized in this and became skilled workers, so much so that Bisacquino has represented one of the most prestigious production centers in Sicily.
Today in the Civic Museum the memory of the ancient technique and artefacts is preserved, the memory of an activity that characterized the economy of the town in the past”.