Randazzo - Randazzo

Randazzo is a city of Sicily.

To know

This medieval city falls within the territory of three neighboring parks: the Nebrodi Park, the Etna Park and the Alcantara River Park.

Geographical notes

The city of Randazzo is located on the northern side of Etna, lapped from the north by the Alcantara river.

Background

The area saw the passage of Greeks, Romans and Byzantines, the Saracens were expelled under the Norman king Roger I. The city was surrounded by Frederick II by a 3 km long wall, with eight towers and twelve gates. Frederick II escaped from the plague that broke out in Palermo taking refuge in Randazzo in 1210 with his wife deciding to change his seat and move there.

After a short period of Angevin reign and the Sicilian Vespers, the house of Aragon took control of Sicily and King Peter III of Aragon and Peter I of Sicily encamped with the army near Randazzo restoring the city walls. The city flourished under Frederick II of Aragon becoming one of the most important cities in Sicily afterwards Palermo is Messina. The Habsburg Emperor Charles V was the last to visit the Royal Palace as, with the destruction of the city due to an eruption of Etna in 1536 and the plague epidemic of 1575/80, the city began to decline. The consequences of a rebellion against the Bourbon rule in 1637 were difficult for the city to bear, until 1860 when Garibaldi arrived.

In 1943 the city was the scene of violent clashes between the Allies and the Axis powers. In 1981 a lava flow arrived right in front of the first houses in Randazzo and stopped.

How to orient yourself

The main street in the city is 37.87817614.9468631 via Umberto

How to get

By plane

• 37.46666715.0638891 Catania airport (Catania Fontanarossa Airport "Vincenzo Bellini". IATA: CTA), Via Fontanarossa, 20, Fontanarossa, ☎ 39 0957239111. Airport for national and international flights.  

By car

From the south, the city can be reached via the highway Syracuse - Catania exiting at Catania west towards Misterbianco and continuing through the to Paternal where you turn by taking the Western Etnea surrounding theEtna to the west and leads away Bronte up to Randazzo.

From the north from the highway Messina - Catania taking the interchange for Fiumefreddo of Sicily and taken the you pass Linguaglossa to then reach Randazzo.

The journey from the west and north-west is more tortuous but also more pleasant: the continues west through Cesarò is Cerami until Nicosia inennese. The journey to the north coast can be made from Cesarò through the winding road until Sant'Agata di Militello through i Nebrodi Mountains or through the no less winding road for Capo d'Orlando (here there is no direct access to the motorway), from both locations it is then possible to access the Palermo - Messina.

On boat

The nearest port is that of Catania.

On the train

• 37.87510714.9543532 Randazzo station (FCE - Circumetnea Railway), Piazza XI Bersaglieri, 2 (Southeast suburbs). Narrow gauge railway of the Circumetnea, which leads through Bronte - Adrano - Paternal. TO Catania there is a connection with the Trenitalia railway network with the lines Messina - Catania - Syracuse in north-south direction and the Catania line - Motta Sant'Anastasia - Enna - Caltanissetta and the center of the island towards Palermo.

The ordinary gauge line between Randazzo and Taormina it was closed a few years ago.  

By bus

Bus connections are provided by the FCE (Circumetnea Railway).

How to get around

The best way to get around the city is on foot or by private vehicle.

By car

• 37.8780614.9515973 parking area, via Giuseppe Bonaventura (At the gas station). free. 

What see

Churches and religious buildings

• 37.8790114.949011 Minor Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta (Randazzo Cathedral), Piazza della Basilica, 5 (in the north of the city), ☎ 39 095 921003. From the terrace overlooking the church you have a splendid view over the Alcantara valley. The dark lava stone building has bright decorative elements, it was built in 1217/39 in the Norman style, but it underwent numerous changes, only the three apses date back to the first period. Heavy lava stone columns separate the three naves and inside are recently discovered 15th century frescoes and 17th-18th century paintings. The bell tower was built in 1852/63 together with the latest works on the facade.  

• 37.8787614.94582 Church of San Nicola (Church of San Nicolò di Bari), Via Duca degli Abruzzi. Church of the thirteenth century of which only some parts of the apse date back to the period of construction, was then rebuilt in 1594/1603, after serious damage caused by bombing in 1943, the dome was rebuilt in the 1950s. Inside the church there are two sculptures of San Nicolò and Custody of the Sacrament both by Antonello Gagini, a baptismal font from the 14th century and a triptych with portraits of Madonna, Sant'Agata and Santa Lucia from the school of Antonello di Messina.

In front of the Church of San Nicolò there is the statue of the giant Piracmone or Randazzo Vecchio.  

• 37.8768914.943353 Church of San Martino, S. Martino square, ☎ 39 095 921264. This church has been rebuilt several times, the bell tower dates back to the fourteenth century, the facade had a Renaissance face. After a recent restoration, inside there are columns of dark basalt and numerous treasures such as: the pink marble fountain by Angelo Riccio from 1447, a 15th century polyptych with the Madonna attributed to Antonello da Saliba, a statue of the Madonna della Mercy of the Gagini school and a marble statue of the Madonna delle Grazie by Vincenzo Gagini.  
• 37.87793614.9507164 Church of the Annunziata, Via Umberto, 12. The simple building with a lava stone portal dates back to the 16th century. 
• 37.87665514.9451475 Church of the Collegio S. Basilio (SS. Savior), Piazza Don Guidazio, 2. With the subsequent convent it was used by the Salesian Order, the classicist facade was designed by Giovan Battista Vaccarini and Giuseppe Venanzio Marvuglia; the church is no longer used today. 
• 37.8799914.9521616 Convent of San Giorgio, S. Giorgio square (in the northeast of the city). Former Benedictine monastery, now a ruined building is surrounded by the city walls. 

Palaces

• 37.87769514.943647 Royal Palace (Casa Scala or Palazzo Scala), Via Umberto, 226 (in the San Martino district). Built in the Gothic style under the last Norman kings. In this palace eminent historical personalities stayed there including: Costanza d'Altavilla, Frederick II of Swabia, the whole Aragonese court and in 1535 Charles V of Habsburg passing through Randazzo. After the demolition of the second floor, following modifications, the windows on the first floor were partly converted into modern large windows, and only ancient buildings remain, two columned windows in the south-west corner and the walled window (on Via Lombardo) from which Charles V looked out, which was closed in his honor so that no one could ever use it again. 

• 37.87823514.9487688 Lanza Palace, Via dei Lanza, 22 (a few meters from Palazzo Romeo). 14th century building, currently in a state of neglect. 
• 37.87806414.9489139 Romeo Palace, Via Guglielmo Marconi, 60 (a few meters from Palazzo Lanza). Medieval building 
• 37.87896314.94535710 Clarentano Palace, Via Duca degli Abruzzi, 57. Very well preserved building from 1509. On the main façade on the ground floor there is a portal with a lowered arch and two windows in carved sandstone with a frame with a Latin inscription, and on the first floor there are three mullioned windows with a thin marble column. 
• 37.87760114.94631411 municipal building, Town Hall Square, 1. free. It is a monastery expropriated from the Minorite Franciscans after 1866. There is a well in the courtyard of the former 17th century cloister. 

Other

• 37.87887114.9456112 Randazzo Vecchio (Giant Pirachmon), piazza S. Nicolò (In front of the church of S. Nicola). Placed on a rectangular base, the statue represents the Giant Pirachmon. The current statue was rebuilt in 1737 after the one of Norman origin had gone into ruin, and was therefore called "Rannazzu Vecchiu" by the people of Randazzo. The right arm of the statue broke off during the bombings of 1943, and attempts to restore it were unsuccessful. In addition to the giant there are also three animals: the eagle, the snake and the lion. According to many, alchemical meanings are hidden behind the statue. The remains of the first sandstone statue (a lion, an eagle and a Phrygian cap) can be found walled up on the northern wall of the nearby church.  
• 37.87940214.95202313 Aragonese gate (door or mustu), Via Duca degli Abruzzi (East of the historic center). 
• 37.87602214.94313914 Gate of San Martino, Largo Ainzara (In the western part of the historic center, a short distance from the Capuchin church). 
• 37.87635914.94604915 Porta San Giuseppe, Via Cairoli (In the southern part of the historic center). 
• 37.87949414.9476216 Porta Pugliese, Via Santa Margherita and via Roma (Northern gate to the historic center). 

• 

  Aragonese gate

• 

  Gate of San Martino

• 

  Porta Pugliese

• 

  Boundary walls

• 37.87853714.95164517 Section of the walls, Via Bonaventura (In front of the gas station). The city was surrounded by medieval walls that are still visible, as are the four gates mentioned above. In some places the battlements are still present. 
• 37.87942314.94912418 Panoramic point (next to the cathedral of Randazzo). From this point it is possible to see the Alcantara river 
• 37.87817114.94602419 Street of the arches, Street arches. This road that leads to the Church of San Nicolo maintains a great medieval charm due to the presence of a series of 13th century arches, including mullioned windows on the upper order. 
• 37.86990614.95100120 Multipurpose Park Sciarone, Via Filippo Turati (a short distance from the center). The Polyvalent Park Sciarone is the green lung of the city. In the park it is possible to walk along the "nature trail" and observe the various lava flows that have lapped the city, the flora made up of birch, chestnut and downy trees and also the Etnean fauna made up of foxes, porcupines, hedgehogs and wild rabbits that make this very suggestive environment. Inside there is also an equipped area for picnics with 5 cooking points, 16 tables (for a total of 128 seats), drinking water and 4 toilets. 

Museums

• 37.8768114.94303321 ^{[link previously not working]}Paolo Vagliasindi Archaeological Civic Museum (Swabian Castle), Via Castello, 1, ☎ 39 095 921615. The museum is housed in the "ex prison" Castle, a tower inserted in the city walls, which was used as a prison between the seventeenth century and 1973. Previously the site had been that of Palazzo Vagliasindi, damaged by a bombing in the Second World War in 1943. The museum houses the artifacts found in the district of S. Anastasia in Randazzo by the archaeologist Paolo Vagliasindi. The collection includes pieces from the 6th - 3rd century BC. It is divided into 5 rooms: the central Oinochoe room, the Jonica room with finds from the Ionic and Corinthian ages, the Black Pottery room with Attic examples covered with black paint, the Attica room with Attic manufacturing from the 5th century BC and the Hellenistic room.  
• 37.87995714.9530522 ^{[link previously not working]}Puppet Opera Museum, Largo S. Giuliano. The museum, inaugurated in 2015, houses the collection of Sicilian puppets of the Russo family. It is made up of 37 puppets representing the characters of the historical epic of the Chanson de Roland. The collection was created between 1912 and 1915 by the sculptor Emilio Musumeci and used by the Messina puppeteer Ninì Calabrese. The collection, of great value, was used to set up a representation in the presence of King Umberto II. 
• 37.87841114.94719823 ^{[link previously not working]}Civic Museum of Natural Sciences, Via Umberto, 118, ☎ 39 095 921615. The Museum houses the Priolo Ornithological collection consisting of 2250 specimens of Italian and exotic birds including the Griffon of Etna and the Vulture with rings that, now extinct, plowed the skies of Etna until a few decades ago and the Naturalistic collection Flax composed of fossils, minerals, rocks and shells found in Sicily. The Museum is divided into 6 rooms. 

Events and parties

• Feast of St. Joseph. March 19. Co-patron of the city. Since 1982 a torchlight procession has been held in memory of an alleged miracle of St. Joseph, who in March 1981 saved Randazzo from the threat of lava. 
• feast of Maria SS. Assunta. August 15. Patronal feast. In the early afternoon, along Via Umberto, "'a Vara" (from the Latin vara, easel, forked stick from which to hang the nets), a richly decorated pole shaped fercolo, about 18 meters high and dating back to the 16th century, is paraded. . On the Vara there are about thirty children who depict the mysteries of the death, assumption and coronation of the Virgin Mary. 

What to do

Shopping

How to have fun

Where to eat

Moderate prices

• 37.87885614.9488961 Santo Musumeci pastry shop, Piazza Santa Maria, 5, ☎ 39 095921196. 
• 37.87914314.9496972 Caffè del Corso, Via Umberto, 74, ☎ 39 3383407623. 

Where stay

Safety

How to keep in touch

Around

• 37.80611114.9833334 Frost cave (Northwestern side in the Randazzo area), ☎ 39 095 234310. The Grotta del Gelo is a cave characterized by having perennial ice inside, for this reason it is considered to be the southernmost glacier in Europe. It is located at an altitude of 2,030 meters above sea level. The cave is 125 m long with a vertical drop of 30 m. Due to its peculiar characteristics it is monitored by speleologists in collaboration with the Etna Park.  
• 37.85877814.81855 Nelson Castle (Abbey of Santa Maria di Maniace), Corso Giorgio Maniace, 1, Maniace (From Bronte (about 13 km) take the SP 17III which then becomes the and then turning right on , then turn left following the signs), ☎ 39 095 690018. Closed for restoration work. A monastic complex with a dam was built on the ruins of old buildings on the south bank of the Torrente Saraceno in 1163 under Queen Margherita. The monastery and the Watchtower were badly damaged by the earthquake of 1693. As thanks for the support provided by the admiral Horatio Nelson against the rebels of Naples in 1796, the estate was assigned to him by the Bourbon king Ferdinand III and the dignity of the duke granted. The building complex remained the property of the family until 1981 and was then sold to the municipality of Bronte. The English Cemetery with the graves of the English Dukes of Bronte remained the property of the family.  

• 37.85522814.8352926 Megalithic spiral, Contrada Balze Soprane, Bronte (near the Waterfall of the Balze Sottane). Megalithic structure consisting of ten rough-hewn lava stone slabs arranged in a spiral. Around the structure whose internal diameter ranges from 2.60 to 3 m, there is a sort of corridor 1.10 m wide delimited by low blocks leaning to the west on a small hill overlooking the building. Next to it there are also other slabs, about ten, of which only two in the original position, which could be part of a second structure. There is no clue as to the dating, it is believed to belong to the prehistoric age, both for the construction technique and for the architectural typology. 
• Bronte - City famous for pistachio but also a reference for visiting nearby places.
• Etna Park - One of the most active volcanoes in Europe, a great place to hike to the top, admire the frequent eruptions and ski in winter.
• Nebrodi Park - The largest park in Sicily.
• Alcantara River Park - It is a park that follows the course of the Alcantara river to its mouth in the Ionian Sea along the north side of Etna.
• 37.89391715.0204727 Cuba Imbischi. Presumably built between the 5th and 8th centuries AD, it is a rectangular building with a single nave culminating with a semicircular apse and a hemispherical basin. 

Itineraries

• Piano delle Ginestre itinerary - A hiking itinerary on the west side ofEtna.

Useful information

• 37.87992914.952898 Randazzo Proloco, Via Giuseppe Bonaventura, ☎ 39 328 452 6965. 

Other projects

• Wikipedia contains an entry concerning Randazzo
• Commons contains images or other files on Randazzo
• Wikiquote contains quotes from or about Randazzo

Draft : the article respects the standard template contains useful information for a tourist and gives brief information on the tourist destination. Header and footer are correctly filled out.