When I left Trattoria da Salvatore -hidden in the medieval streets of  the Madonie’s highest village, the noble Petralia Soprana, thirty minutes from Polizzi Generosa- after a late lunch in June, I turned right and walked slowly up Via Loreto toward a majolica tiled spire reaching into the Madonita sky.

The tiled spire, sits atop one of the twin bell towers of the graceful 18^th century church of Santa Maria di Loreto.  (The other bell tower has lost its wonderful majolica face and is clad in wood).

Glazed majolica tiled spires, made in majolica wedges, are a feature of many of the churches of the glorious Madonie region. Where, as C Bellanca states, ‘the settlements of the Madonita area, in keeping with mountainous terrain, are animated by spires and steeples often decorated with majolica tiles’.

Conical and striking they are vibrantly coloured: celeste blues, rich earthen browns, golden yellows the colour of grain and viridian greens. The colours capture the seasonal hues of both the Sicilian landscape of the interior and its vibrant skies.

I glimpsed the captivating spire of Santa Maria di Loreto, geometric in pattern, against that day's overcast sky as I passed a single level old patrician palazzo adorned with numerous white iron balconies.

And, just after the last street on the right, Via Saraceni (named after the Saracen/Muslim interlude in Sicily) I entered the piazza in front of The Church of Santa Maria di Loreto and looked up.

The spire still gleamed and was animated that overcast day in a Sicilian village which is, in Francesco Alaimo's words, ‘perched on the slopes of a bold mountain’.

Salve,

Suzanne

Edited 9/8/2015  This correction includes Francesco Alaimo's name which did not appear in the original blog post. The quote is from his book 'The Madonie Park'. Suzanne