The commune of Sortino, in the province of Siracusa in the Sicily region, has 9.000 inhabitants and is near the communes of Carlentini, Cassaro, Ferla, Melilli, Palazzolo Acreide, Priolo Gargallo and Solarino, all in the province of Siracusa.
On one side the valley of the Anapo and Pantalica, World Heritage and the heart of the Sortino territory, and on the other countryside and woods: a splendid position for the village, the first one you meet as you go from Syracuse towards the mountains. It is a place with a Baroque look, since nothing remains of the medieval village. After the dramatic 1693 earthquake, the village of Sortino was rebuilt atop a hillock. For the new building, as often happened, a regular geometric subdivision was chosen, in this case into four sectors, on the model of the urban division of the historic area in Palermo.
Hidden among the first alleys of the village is the Natività di Maria church, a jewel of baroque architecture. The façade presents a harmonious concaveconvex movement. On the inside, majolica-covered floor tiles from Valenza depict the 'Miraculous Fishing.' The main church, San Giovanni Battista, has a stately façade. It stands in a magnificent square paved with pebbles from the river Anapo, white and black, which form perfect geometries. Also very beautiful are the other churches, among which there is Santa Sofia, dedicated to the patron saint (celebrated every year in September), San Sebastiano, San Francesco and the Capuchin church.
The historic area is rich in eighteenth-century buildings with refined façades, with arches, courtyards and wrought iron balconies. Twinned since 1994 with the German commune of Riedstadt, Sortino, thanks to its Europeanist commitment, was honoured by the Council of Europe with the Flag of Honour 1998.
Sortino is also the place of the Iblei honey sung of by the Latin and Greek poets. To this nice food a festival is dedicated every year in October, in which numerous apiarists from other Mediterranean countries also participate. In order to get to know this tradition better you can visit the Casa dô fascitraru (apiarist's house), while those who appreciate the puppet theatre cannot miss the chance to visit the museum dedicated to this old and typically Sicilian form of theatrical art - also World Heritage.
The commune of Sortino, in the province of Siracusa in the Sicily region, has 9.000 inhabitants and is near the communes of Carlentini, Cassaro, Ferla, Melilli, Palazzolo Acreide, Priolo Gargallo and Solarino, all in the province of Siracusa.
