Ghost town of Gioiosa Guardia
Davide Mauro - CC4.0
The city of Gioiosa Guardia was abandoned in 1813 following the umpteenth earthquake that occurred in 1783 because it was considered an unsafe place. Today, only the ruins of a ghost town are present.
The building of Gioiosa Guardia dates back to 1060, when Count Ruggero d'Altavilla, after having expelled the Arabs from Sicily, established the Monastery of Patti which was entrusted to Abbot Ambrogio, obtaining dominion over the whole district. In 1357 Federico III Vinciguerra of Aragon was appointed Captain of Patti and had the tower called Oppidum Guardiae Joiusae built on Mount Meliuso around which the peasants built the village.
From the site where it once stood the ancient city of Gioiosa Guardia, as well as breathing in the charm of history, it is also possible to enjoy an extraordinary panorama: from Etna to the Aeolian Islands, from the Gulf of Milazzo to Cefalù and, on the coldest clear, reaches as far as Palermo and Calabria.
