Today we have decided to go to see Cascate catafurco (a very nice waterfall in the mountains) on our way to Taormina. It didn’t really go according to the plan. Especially with our little Panda car!
Cascate catafurco is a set of waterfalls located in the province of Enna in Sicily, Italy. The waterfall is created by the River Fiume Salso, as it cascades down the hills of the Nebrodi Mountains. It is most famous for its natural beauty and for its connection to the legend of the shepherd, Nicholas of Catafurco. According to the legend, Nicholas used to take his flock of sheep to the nearby mountain stream and would often stop to admire the falls. One day, he heard a voice coming from the rock face, telling him to make offerings of coins in the water. He followed the instructions and was rewarded with a vision of a beautiful woman who told him he could have anything he wished for. Nicholas chose to have the waterfalls named after him, and ever since the falls have been known as Cascate catafurco.
Stunning views on our way. Also a lot of trash on the sides of the road, but I will cover those in a separate post Bitter & Dark Side of Italy.
We passed a really beautiful town on our way – Galati Mamertino, where we stopped for some pictures.
Galati Mamertino is a small town located in the Messina province of Sicily, Italy. It was founded in the 16th century by the Mamertines, a group of refugees from the ancient city of Mamertino. The town was named after the refugees who had fled there.
In the 18th century, the town was destroyed by an earthquake and rebuilt in the 19th century. It is now a small agricultural town, with a population of about 1000 people. The town is known for its production of olive oil, as well as its local wines.
The town also has a long history of religious activity. Its church, Santa Maria delle Grazie, is over 700 years old, and is believed to have been built in the 12th century. It is home to some of the oldest frescoes in Sicily, and the town hosts annual religious festivals in honor of the Virgin Mary and Saint Nicholas.
Galati Mamertino has become a popular destination for tourists due to its rural charm, peaceful atmosphere, and excellent local wines and cuisine.
We almost turned the narrow way down, but as they say don’t give up on a road for a path!
We intentionally parked a car further from trees, so that goats don’t jump on it and scratch it… But as you will see later on we didn’t need goats to accomplish that!
The road were getting worse and worse. We almost went into this hole as the sign was literally laying on the road and not very visible!
The views on the other hand were really stunning. Maybe Windows desktop was photographed here? 😀
The road was getting narrower… more and more patches on the road were apearing.
At some point it turned to gravel road… but we kept going!
But even the gravel road was getting narrower…
The road turned into complete gravel and no houses around.
We could hear scratching noise from the plants as we moved down the road… I was glad we had a full car insurance including scratches!
At some point the road became so steep that it was not manageable for Panda. Also, further down the wheel marks were so deep that only very high car like a proper jeep could pass… We had to turn back. My amazing brother managed to turned back the car in a very limited space (after me insisting to turn back and thank God we did!). However, the car didn’t move back up the hill! The wheels just were making dust clouds and not moving forward. I was joking maybe I should come out and push the car. After few attempts I actually got out and did push the car and the car moved out of this pit. Me on the other had was all covered in dust from under the wheels. Also, more scratching of the car from the plants…
Our car was covered in dust and scratches from the sharp plants. We turned back and headed back until we found a better way and stopped at a camp site, where we managed to buy a cold beer! They offered to take us to the Waterfall with a jeep for € 25… each! We decided to try ourselves.
We passed Villaggio Molisa, which looked very old!
The Ruins of Villaggio Molisa, located near the town of Motta Vigana in Sicily, is an archaeological site that dates back to the Iron Age. The site consists of several circular dwellings and large stone walls, which are believed to have been built in the 7th or 8th century BC. It is thought that the inhabitants of the site were farmers and shepherds who used the site for a variety of activities.
In the late 19th century, the site was discovered by Italian archeologist Giuseppe Pitrè, who was the first to describe the ruins. He believed them to be the remains of an ancient Iron Age village. Since then, the site has been excavated and studied by the University of Palermo.
The ruins of Villaggio Molisa are now protected as a National Monument of Italy. They provide important insights into the Iron Age culture of Sicily and the wider Mediterranean region.
So we reached a point of gravel road, where our Panda was not powerful enough to climb any further…
So we had to abort our mission to see the waterfall. We headed down the other route with stunning views on our way.
Finally, we decided that we need a swim in the sea. I think we passed through one of those signs that says the traffic is forbidden… in our defence the sign was so faded away, that it was white, so it was hard to tell what it really was before. We stopped near Capo d’Orlando. There was plenty of parking and very nice views.
Capo d’Orlando is a town in the province of Messina in Sicily, Italy, located on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It has a population of about 13,000 people.
The town was founded in the 9th century by the Arabs, who named it Kef el Aman, meaning “promontory of safety”. It later became a Norman stronghold, and eventually passed to the House of Chiaramonte in the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the town was a stronghold of the Spanish, and later became part of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. In the 19th century, the town was annexed to the Kingdom of Italy.