Plain of the Albanians - Piana degli Albanesi

Plain of the Albanians is a city of Sicily.

To know

Geographical notes

Southeast of the city lies the Lake of Piana degli Albanesi.

When to go

Summers are warm and sunny on average, but more windy than in the rest of the island thanks to the mountain breezes. Winters are generally cold but quite variable depending on the year, with rigid snowy periods. Unlike the surrounding areas, the humidity is high and rainfall is more abundant.

How to orient yourself

Neighborhoods

• Kryqa and Palermës
• Rrokat
• Shën Gjoni
• Shën Kolli
• Shën Mitri
• Sheshi
• Shën Gjergji
• Sëndu Viti
• Qaca and vjetër
• Patret
• Shën Mëria and Dhitrjes
• Shën Janji
• Bridges
• Ghamili
• Kanalli i ri
• Sëndu Roku
• Fusha and Pontit
• Mashili
• Rrugaxhi
• Shën Mëria and Ghodencës

How to get

By bus

The company Prestia and Comandè, then passing through the small Italian-Albanian village neighboring Santa Cristina Gela, is the bus that historically connects the city with Palermo.

How to get around

The historic center, albeit steep and with various characteristic climbs and descents, even steep, can be easily visited on foot, so that walking is the best choice to get to know its charm.

By car

Finding parking for your vehicle will not be a problem. There are various parking areas: at the municipal parking in Viale 8 Marzo; under the Tozia te Ghurghu Viaduct Bridge; next to the Carabinieri station te Kryqa and Xhanetvet; near the parish of Sant'Antonio il Grande; at the middle school "Dhimitër Kamarda" and further down the esplanade te katër Finait; etc.

What see

• 37.996213.2853471 Cathedral of Saint Demetrius Megalomartyr of Thessalonica (kryeklisha and Shën Mitrit i Madhi Dëshmor), Corso Giorgio Kastrota, ☎ 39 091 910 1767. The facade of the church is embellished with mosaics, while the interior, with three naves, contains an imposing wooden iconostasis, the largest in Sicily, with icons of the Cretan monk Manusaki, which covers the three apses. On the side walls of the cathedral there are frescoes depicting the life of the Virgin, the main feasts and the fathers of the Orthodox Church, the central one with frescoes depicting Despotic feasts. Between 1641 and 1644, Pietro Novelli from Monreale painted the frescoes in the apses. The oldest and most important artistic work is the icon of the Mother of God with Christ of the Sienese school of 1500. Since 1784 the church has been the seat of the bishop of the Greek-Byzantine rite in Sicily.  
• 37.99778213.2750732 Rural church SS. Madonna Hodegetria (Klisha Shën Mërisë së Dhitrjes te mali), Via Odigitria (at the foot of Monte Pizzuta, not far from the town), ☎ 39 091 857 4144. Built in 1488, the year in which the first Albanian exiles arrived. With a square plan, with an apse facing east and a central altar from the 18th century, it houses an image on canvas of the Madonna Odigitria, a work of 1612 by Pietro Antonio Novelli, father of the most famous Monreale painter. In two different periods of the year, namely in May and August, the arbëreshë go before dawn to participate in the Divine Liturgy and finally sing sacred and popular songs nostalgic for the Motherland. 

• 37.99695613.2832723 Church of San Giorgio Megalomartire (Famullia Shën Gjergji i Madhi Dëshmor), Via Nicola Barbato, 4, ☎ 39 091 857 5367. Built in 1493, it is the oldest in the city. Consisting of a single nave, with a barrel vault, dominates a fresco of San Giorgio in gloria, an eighteenth-century work by Cristodoro. Closed to the west by an apse with a Byzantine fresco of Christ Pantocrator, bearing an Albanian inscription. Very valuable is the sculptural group of San Giorgio, which pierces the dragon by Jeromus Bagnasco. The church is enriched with numerous contemporary Balkan and local icons. 

• 37.99717513.283914 Sanctuary of SS. Madonna Hodegetria (Famullia Shejtërore Shën Mëria and Dhitrjes). This church was rebuilt and enlarged in the 17th century on a design by Pietro Novelli. The interior has a central plan with a large dome. It houses the grandiose artistic statue of the virgin Hodegetria from the end of the seventeenth century. Near the statue is the venerated icon of Odigitria, brought from Albania in the 15th century by the Albanian exiles who founded Piana degli Albanesi. In the side aisles there are two small iconostases and four altars with the coats of arms of the Albanian families Schirò, Matranga and Schiadà. 

• 37.99650413.2817195 Church of San Vito (Famullia Shën Viti or Sëndu Viti), Via Santissima Annunziata, 1, ☎ 39 091 856 1049. Late Baroque church, rich in friezes and polychrome marbles. Originally of the Byzantine rite, it was sold to become a Latin church. It has a large baroque staircase with marble statues of St. Peter and St. Paul. With three naves it preserves important works of art such as the statue of the Immaculate Conception and the statue of S. Vito Martire. 
• 37.99726413.2806356 Church of the Santissima Annunziata (Famullia Shën Mërisë së Lajmëruar). Known as Patret for the adjoining Convent, the interior has an anomalous shape, a central nave and a right aisle. The square Byzantine marble altar supported by four columns is preceded by an iconostasis. Relevant are the works of Novelli, a canvas depicting St. Peter freed and the fresco of the Annunciation of 1646. 

• 37.99523513.2861577 Church of San Nicola di Mira (Klisha Shën Kolli). The church has valuable icons of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries of the iconostasis. With a single nave with icons of the Cretan and Sicilian-Albanian school of the eighteenth century. Attached to the church is the Italian-Albanian Seminary and the headquarters of the Eparchy of Piana degli Albanesi. 

• 37.99576713.2846758 Madonna del Rosario Church (Klisha Shën Mëria and Rruzarjit), Via Orti, 1. In 1741 the priest Papàs Antonino Costantino donated the church to the Confraternity of the Rosary. Equipped with an iconostasis, it is embellished with mosaics and neo-Byzantine icons. In the month of October, dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, religious services are held there in Albanian. 
• 37.99448313.2877439 Church of Sant'Antonio il Grande (Famullia Shën Gjoni i Math). Built in 1562 it is the only one that has kept the altar to the east as it is in use in Byzantine architecture. The plant is in the shape of a Greek cross with one arm missing. The side walls are embellished with two mosaics depicting St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Anthony the Great and Byzantine icons with biblical scenes. 

• 37.996913.28291110 Nicola Barbato Civic Museum, Via P.G. Guzzetta, 13, ☎ 39 091 857 5668. Wed-Sun 9: 00-12: 30 and 15: 30-18: 30. Ethno-anthropological museum dedicated to the customs and traditions of Piana degli Albanesi. Several artifacts, clothing and images are exhibited that expose the local culture.  
• 37.976113.255611 Memorial of the Portella della Ginestra Massacre, 3 km from the city. This place is famous because on 1 May 1947 there was a massacre of workers gathered for Labor Day by the bandit Giuliano's band. 14 people died and 27 were injured in a shooting that resulted in the massacre of helpless people.  
• 37.97313.312 Lake of Piana degli Albanesi (Liqeni i Horës së Arbëreshëvet).  

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  Church of Sant'Antonio il Grande

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  Memorial of the Portella della Ginestra Massacre

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  Lake of Piana degli Albanesi

Events and parties

• Epiphany (Ujët and pagëzuam). January 6. 
• Carnival (Kalivari). January February. 
• Bonfire of San Giuseppe (Lluminarji). March 19. 
• Commemoration of the martyrs of Portella della Ginestra. May 1. 
• Foundation of Piana degli Albanesi. August 30th. 
• Albanian Independence Day from the Turkish-Ottomans. November 28. 

What to do

An excursion to the nearby Serre della Pizzuta nature reserve.

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

Average prices

• 37.99614413.2849921 Osteria Le Volte, Corso Giorgio Kastriota, 4. Thu-Mar 12: 30-14: 30 and 19: 30-22: 30. Very clean place, with a pleasant atmosphere and good quality of mainly local food. 

Where stay

Safety

• Emergency medical Service, Contrada Ponte Rosso, Piana degli Albanesi, ☎ 39 091 7036462. 
• 37.99260813.2908911 Carabinieri station, Via Giorgio Kastriota 219, ☎ 39 091 8561018. 
• 37.99304113.289312 Forest Rangers, Via Giorgio Kastriota 215. 

How to keep in touch

Keep informed

• 37.9933613.2888633 Tourist Office Pro Loco Piana degli Albanesi, Corso Giorgio Kastriota, 207, ☎ 39 328 388 2486. 

Around

• Lake of Piana degli Albanesi
• Mountains of Piana degli Albanesi
• Scanzano basin
• Wood of Ficuzza
• Rocca Busambra
• Madonna of Tagliavia

Itineraries

• Santa Rosalia itinerary - Tourist, religious and naturalistic route of over 180 km, between the provinces of Agrigento is Palermo, to be done on foot, by bicycle or on horseback, which winds through 7 former nature reserves now absorbed by the Monti Sicani Park and 15 municipalities (Santo Stefano Quisquina, Castronovo of Sicily, Prizzi, Adriano Palace, Bivona, Burgio, Closed Sclafani, Bisacquino, Contessa Entellina, Flowery field, Lionheart, Plain of the Albanians, Altofonte, Monreale, Palermo), connecting the Hermitage in the territory of Santo Stefano Quisquina to the Sanctuary of Monte Pellegrino through the places linked to the cult of Santa Rosalia.

The path, which is part of the Vie Sacre di Sicilia project, is made up of royal roads, mule tracks, paths and disused railways. Funded by the Regional Department of Agriculture, Rural Development and Mediterranean Fishing, it was officially inaugurated on 4 September 2016.

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Plain of the Albanians
• Commons contains images or other files on Plain of the Albanians

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