Bronte: the pistachio capital

What to see

The historic center of Bronte still maintains the old urban structure almost unchanged. The old neighborhoods, with their characteristic Arab structure, with their courtyards, the underpasses (the most characteristic known as u catoiu) and the narrow streets, on which architectural elements from subsequent eras have been superimposed, narrow around the first buildings of worship: the Church of the SS. Trinità, or Mother Church, the Church of Maria SS. del Soccorso and the Sanctuary of the Annunziata. Of particular charm is the Scialandro, i.e. the beginning of Corso Umberto, the place where in ancient times the gallows was raised, from where you can enjoy a splendid panorama of the Etna volcano.
Bronte offers a artistic-cultural route with a great historical impact: the Abbey of Santa Maria di Maniace, commonly called Ducea Nelson or Castello Nelson, which houses the Church of Santa Maria di Maniace and a museum; the Mother Church, born from the union of two adjacent churches; the Real Collegio Capizzi, historically one of the major centers of culture in Sicily, today custodian of great treasures; the Church of the Sacred Heart, annexed to the Capizzi College; the Sanctuary of Maria SS. Annunziata, one of the oldest religious buildings in the city; the church of Santa Maria della Catena, where the Madonna della Catena or Santa Maria della Neve is venerated, to whom the people of Bronte are very devoted; the Church of San Silvestro, commonly called La Badia, located in the main square of Bronte, one of the most important churches in the country; Church of Maria SS. del Rosario, the second most important church in Bronte; the Church of San Giovanni Evangelista, with its characteristic bell tower made of large squared stone blocks, located within the oldest nucleus of Bronte; the complex consisting of the Church and the Convent of the Capuchin Fathers dating back to the 17th century; The church of San Blandano, or Brandano, located in the historic center of Bronte, in front of the birthplace of the historian Benedetto Radice; the complex formed by the Church and Convent of San Vito which stands on a large panoramic square where the oldest road axis of the town, Via Santi, arrives; the Church of Sant'Antonio, surrounded on three sides by the terrible eruption of 1651-1654; the Church of Maria SS. del Soccorso, of probable medieval origin; the seventeenth-century church of Santa Caterina; the Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, a small rural church that has existed since the 16th century; the Church of San Nicolò, built in the place where a church dedicated to the Saint once stood, covered by the lava of 1651 and then destroyed by the bombings of August 1943; the Church of the Madonna del Riparo, built in place of the ancient church dedicated to the Virgin which was destroyed to make room for a large concrete construction.
Bronte is surrounded by a unique natural landscape, with splendid views of the volcano. Several attractions enrich its territory: the Cartiera della Ricchisgia, of probable Arab origin, located on the banks of the Simeto river; the ancient Casale di Placa Baiana, a Sicilian farmhouse with an adjoining water mill and the small church of San Francesco di Paola; the Fernandez Castle, a seventeenth-century villa presumably built on the remains of an ancient monastery from the 9th - 10th century; the pyramids of Bronte, curious and characteristic constructions of Etna; the funeral cells of Contrada Contura; The Serra del Mergo obelisk, improperly known as Nelson's Obelisk; the Serravalle Bridge and the Lava Ravines; the Norman bridge of Cantera; i castles of Bolo and Torremuzza; Rocca Calanna, of naturalistic and archaeological interest; the Lombardo farm, a building of Arab origin blocked by the Arabs, used by the monks as a paper mill, wool processing and leather tannery.

Ducea Nelson in Bronte

Serravalle Bridge and Forre Laviche

Church of Sacred Heart in Bronte

Sanctuary of Annunziata in Bronte

Catoio in Bronte

Torremuzza and Bolo Castles in Bronte

Rocca Calanna in Bronte

Nelson Museum Bronte

Real Collegio Capizzi in Bronte

Gullotti Sicilian Cart Museum

Exhibition of Artistic Nativity Scenes in Bronte

Church of SS. Trinity in Bronte