Delia Urban Itinerary

Delia Urban Itinerary

Experience: Churches, History, Villas and Palaces

Route: outdoor, loop

Km: 10

Duration: 2h without stops

Difficulty: challenging

Terrain: asphalt

Route suitable: on foot

Ascent / Elevation gain: 312

Descent / Elevation loss: 312

3 Minutes of reading

Start from the parking area in Piazza Madrice, where the first landmark of the town rises: the Church of Santa Maria Loreto.

Facing it, in the center of the square, stands the obelisk erected for the 400th anniversary of the town’s founding. Turn right onto Via P. Pagliarello to admire the church’s side elevation, then turn right again onto Via Petilia and continue along Via Giuseppe Verdi until you reach the monument in honor of Blessed José Gregorio Hernández, the doctor of the poor. From the little square, continue to the right along Via Cesare Cantù to reach the steps of the Church of the Cross, built not so long ago (it already existed in 1795). Its cross was used for the “Scinnenza,” a Sicilian dialect term meaning “descent,” referring to the representation of the deposition of Jesus from the cross, a central moment of Holy Week.

The itinerary continues by going up Via del Calvario, turning left onto Via Francesco Crispi, and then right onto Via Vincenzo Miceli Sopo until you find Villa Flora with the war memorial on your left. Walk along Corso Umberto I eastwards and go down to the right to find the Five Springs, then head north along Via Vittorio Emanuele II to the Church of Santa Maria dell’Itria in the square of the same name. At this point it’s worth skirting the square to reach Via del Campo, where on the right you can admire some murals, then turn back. From now on the route becomes more continuous; once you turn right onto Via Portella, go down left onto Via Vincenzo Miceli Sopo and take Via Roma to reach the Church of the Carmel and its beautiful park. From Via Milano, take Viale Belvedere to the Church of Monserrat and its panoramic viewpoint, Belvedere la Petra.

Continue along the road, leaving the town and enjoying the magnificent countryside for about 2 km until you reach the junction with the Statale delle Solfare. Continue about a hundred meters south until you meet the SS123 and visit the Castellaccio of Delia. Continue further along the SS123 to the remains of watermills; turn right to admire the gorge of the Salso River and turn back, rejoin the SS190, and immediately on the right you’ll find the former Church of the Madonna delle Grazie and the murals in Contrada Grazia. Continue along Via Armando Diaz to the Pro Loco, then rejoin Corso Umberto I to the Church of Sant’Antonio; turn right into the square and go down Via Papa Giovanni XXIII. At the end of the road, turn left again onto Via Armando Diaz until you find the murals on the right. The final stop takes you to Piazza Castello with its Lucchesi baronial palace and the Archaeological and Rural Civilization Museum. Go up Via Municipio, where the granary of the Prince of Palagonia once stood, and return to the parking area.

The stages of the itinerary

 
Church of Santa Maria di Loreto
Church of Santa Maria di Loreto
The Mother Church is the main place of worship in the town, as well as one of its most important historical and religious symbols.
Obelisk
Obelisk
The obelisk, erected in 1997 in the heart of the town’s main square to celebrate the fourth centenary of the licentia populandi, stands 12 meters high and is the work of the artist Salvatore Montebello.
Via Pasquale Pagliarello
Via Pasquale Pagliarello
Via Pasquale Pagliarello is a small yet significant street in the historic center of Delia.
Municipal Library (former birthplace of Luigi Russo)
Municipal Library (former birthplace of Luigi Russo)
The Municipal Library of Delia, set up in the birthplace of the renowned literary critic Luigi Russo (1882–1964), is a cultural memory site that blends historic architecture with modern technology.
Church of the Cross
Church of the Cross
The first record referring to the name of the site where the Church of the Cross now stands is the existence of the homonymous district, documented in 1651.
Villa Flora (Former Church of Saint Joseph)
Villa Flora (Former Church of Saint Joseph)
Between 1609 and 1612, at the junction of Via Micelisopo and Via San Giuseppe, the Church dedicated to Saint Joseph was built.
Church of Santa Maria dell’Itria
Church of Santa Maria dell’Itria
The church was built in 1602 outside the town center, at the crossroads of two ancient roadways.
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel
The Church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the most decorated church in Delia and the one that preserves the greatest number of works of art inside.
Church of Montserrat
Church of Montserrat
There are records of a district called Monserrato in Delia as early as 1682.
Belvedere La Petra
Belvedere La Petra
The locality of Petra, located at the highest point of Monte Serrato, owes its name to a huge block of limestone rock, which is nothing more than an outcrop of the Miocene cliff that once connected to Monte Comune.
Calaciura Bridge
Calaciura Bridge
The construction of the bridge took place shortly after the Unification of Italy, when from 1861 onwards the State began restoring and reorganizing all the trazzere (ancient rural roads) of Sicily.
Castellaccio of Delia
Castellaccio of Delia
The Castle of Delia, also known as the Medieval Castle of Sabuci and locally called Castidazzu, stands in a commanding position on a limestone ridge in the Valley of Paradise.
Remains of the Water Mills
Remains of the Water Mills
Heading south, not far from the Arab-Norman Castle of Delia, in a green bend of the Paradiso stream valley, survive the remains of three of the five horizontal-wheel water mills documented throughout Delia’s long history.
Gorge of the Salso River (Li Zubbii)
Gorge of the Salso River (Li Zubbii)
A few kilometers from Delia, in the Gebbiarossa-Grastilla district, not far from the entrance to the historic mine, lies a locality called Zubbii.
Former Church of Our Lady of Grace
Former Church of Our Lady of Grace
The first certain record of the church’s existence dates back to 1667, when the bishop visited Delia.
Murals
Murals
Walking through the streets of Delia, one discovers an open-air art gallery that, brushstroke after brushstroke, tells on travertine panels placed on house facades the rural history and contemporary identity of the village.
Castle Square
Castle Square
The oldest square in Delia is Castle Square, the site of the first human settlements dating back to the Roman period.
Baronial Palace of the Lucchesi
Baronial Palace of the Lucchesi
Construction work on the residence of the Baron of Delia, referred to in archival documents as Palazzo Castello, began in 1605.
Archaeological and Rural Civilization Museum
Archaeological and Rural Civilization Museum
The museum houses prehistoric artifacts and environmental reconstructions of 19th-century rural life.
The Prince of Palagonia’s Granary
The Prince of Palagonia’s Granary
Built during the 18th century on the initiative of the Prince of Palagonia, the granary of Delia is an imposing testament to feudal agricultural policies and past storage techniques.
 

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