To leave the famed Corleone and take the meandering SS118 north to the tiny hamlet of Ficuzza is to journey through landscape grand and mesmerising which casts a spell.
I travelled the 20 kilometres from Corleone to Ficuzza (Ficuzza is 45 kilometres south of Palermo) on the SS118 this year in the Sicilian spring as part of a road trip through the interior. The work of Persephone, the goddess of vegetation, revered in Sicily since antiquity, filled the landscape.
Fields of sacred poppies, vibrant and red and magenta pink sulla grow near rows of tended vineyards and palm trees.
Majestic rocky outcrops of limestone loom in the near distance and small stone bridges, down side roads, are crossed to reach farm gates.
And the impressive early 19th century royal hunting lodge in Ficuzza, Palazzo Reale, built by the Sicilian Bourbon king Ferdinand IV still stands in the dense forest of Ficuzza and houses a natural museum.
Twenty kilometres of 'quiet travel' and meandering that spring day was a reminder of Sicily’s unearthly powers.
Here are some photos:
Salve,
Suzanne
Edited: It is Persephone not Demeter as written in the original blog post.
