Monforte San Giorgio

Gianluca Arizzi - CC3.0

Monforte San Giorgio is a small village perched on the slopes of Monte dei Forti, in the heart of a fertile and luxuriant valley and located a few kilometers from the sea.
The first settlements in the Monforte San Giorgio area date back to the Bronze Age as evidenced by the archaeological finds of Contrada Pistarina. It is believed that the Sicani were the first people to inhabit these lands, followed by the Greeks and Romans. The current inhabited area originated during the resistance organized by the Byzantine monks who fled from the East to escape persecution against their sacred images.
In 1061 a Norman expedition led by Count Ruggero d'Altavilla began the conquest of Sicily and, after taken Messina, the Normans passed through Monforte where they were triumphantly welcomed. The memory of this event lives on in the traditional "Katabba", the oldest historical re-enactment in Sicily.
The historic center of Monforte San Giorgio retains the characteristics of the ancient medieval village: an intersection of alleys and alleys that open onto splendid squares. The ancient history of this place lives on in its architecture, monuments and splendid works of art.