A Walk Through the Sicani Mountains, from Palazzo Adriano to Sant'Angelo Muxaro

The Sicani Mountains occupy the heart of western Sicily, in that inland belt almost nobody crosses: travellers race from Palermo towards Agrigento and the Valley of the Temples, or cut straight for the sea, leaving in between a world of rounded mountains, nature reserves and silent villages. And yet right here, far from everything, hides one of the most authentic corners of the island, where walking means crossing intact rural landscapes and towns that guard ancient stories.

Palazzo Adriano

A good starting point is Palazzo Adriano, a stone village also known for having been one of the sets of Italian cinema, with its great square dominated by two churches facing one another, one of Latin rite and one of Greek-Byzantine rite. Palazzo Adriano is in fact one of Sicily's communities of Arbëreshë origin, founded by Albanian refugees centuries ago, and to this day it preserves traces of that dual soul. From here you enter the heart of the Sicani, towards the Monti di Palazzo Adriano e Valle del Sosio Nature Reserve, a protected area of great geological and naturalistic value, where the rocks hold ancient fossils and where woods, birds of prey and a rich flora survive.

Sant'Angelo Muxaro

Heading inland you cross landscapes of cultivated hills, pastures and rocky outcrops, in the direction of Sant'Angelo Muxaro, at the southern end of the massif. This small village overlooking the Platani valley is famous for its caves and for the tholos tombs carved into the rock, a pre-Hellenic necropolis that testifies to a very ancient settlement, linked by tradition to the myth of King Kokalos. Visiting the caves and walking around the hill of Sant'Angelo Muxaro means touching a prehistoric Sicily often ignored by the major circuits.

The walk between these two poles winds along rural roads, trails and stretches through the reserves, and lends itself to being tackled in stages, spending the night in the villages encountered along the way. It is not an equipped itinerary like the great European trails, so it is best to gather information locally, to rely on local guides or the hiking associations that organise traverses in the Sicani, and to study the routes carefully before setting off.

Getting there

To reach the area a car is almost essential, because public connections in the interior are sparse. You can come either from Palermo or from Agrigento, taking the inland roads that climb towards the villages. Once on site, though, the beauty lies precisely in leaving the car and moving on foot between one town and the next, letting the rhythms of walking set the pace of the day. Those who prefer a fixed base can choose one of the villages and make day trips into the surrounding reserves.

When to go

The best months are spring, April and May, and autumn, October. In spring the Sicani hills cover themselves in blossom and greenery, the air is mild and the trails are at their finest; in October the colours change and the heat eases, making the walks pleasant. Summer here is scorching and ill-suited to long hikes, while precisely in the temperate months the advantage is twofold: the climate is ideal and the land stays deserted, because Sicilian tourism concentrates elsewhere, on the coasts and at the great sites. In the Sicani you can walk for hours meeting more flocks than people.

A practical tip: before setting off stock up on water and provisions in the villages, because along the routes supply points are few and services limited. Wear trekking shoes suited to dirt and stony surfaces, bring updated maps or GPS tracks and, if you can, get in touch with local guides: their knowledge of the trails, the caves and the stories of the land turns a simple walk into a journey into the deep memory of inland Sicily.