Trip to Pantalica…Ferragosto 2008!

This summer I spent my Ferragosto at Pantalica in Sicily, near Ferla. Ferragosto is one of the most popular holidays in Italy, celebrated on August 15. The holiday was celebrated during the Roman Empire in honor of the gods of fertility and ripening…now Italians usually spend it at the beach during their summer holidays!

Pantalica is a very large necropolis with over 5,000 tombs dating from the 13th to the 7th centuries BC. The rivers Anapo and Calcinara form a deep valley, where the square tombs carved out of the rock can easily be viewed. My friends and I camped out here overnight along with a bunch of other Italians and celebrated by singing traditional Sicilian folk songs until the early morning. The next day we swam in the lakes formed by the rocky rivers…it is such a beautiful place! I had heard so much about this site, it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site, along with the nearby city of Siracusa.

Enjoy the photos!