Ficuzza

The Carta Family

The Reserve Map

During the hot days of September the Carta family invited us on a hike in the mountains.  The area was Ficuzza.  What a relief of cool air and what a beautiful location.

Ficuzza Palace

Mary

The palace was built for Ferdinand III of Sicily in 1799. It opens to the public for tours but not on Mondays which is when we were there.

The Chapel being prepared for a wedding that day

Colored rice to throw

Beautiful flowers

You can rent out the chapel for weddings and one was to take place that afternoon.

Turtles enjoying their watermelon

The grounds are large and there is a small animal farm there to walk around.

There were a few small ponds scattered along the hillsides

Crabapples

Fresh air

The wild berries were plentiful

So yummy

From the palace we traveled a short distance to the walking path up the hillsides through the nature reserve which was once hunting grounds.  We enjoyed more fresh air, beautiful vistas with lakes and mountains in the distance, wild berries to taste and fill our bellies, and great company.

The cows were wandering loose

So was the horse

These geese let us know they did not like us there

Quite the unusual monument

At the end of our hike we came to another farmstead that is open during the summer.  A few livestock and gardens were still there to see on the outside.

Dad and son

A little breeze was delightful

We were so grateful to the Carta family for sharing their day with us in this beautiful area. 

Water cistern

The town square was ready with an outdoor foozeball table

And there food and time.  We waited in the small village for the bread man who comes daily for some fresh bread while waiting I did a tiny bit of exploring while Craig played a little foozeball.

It was a beautiful day!