BROLO, MESSINA

Brolo - Citrus groves and vineyards frame the Brolo area, which extends close to the Tyrrhenian coastal strip facing the Eolie islands.

Now mainly given over to farming, it used to be a feudal centre belonging to the Lancia family, attached to the larger barony of Ficarra, as well as being a port of some importance until the end of the 17th century.

It was at the centre of the maritime and commercial traffic that served the Nebrodi hill towns.

The marbles supplied by the Gagini workshop in Palermo, among others, to the churches of Ficarra, Sinagra, Ucria and Tortorici, also passed through it.

The port was, however, filled in following floods in the watercourses that flow beside the town in 1593 and in 1682. Indications of Brolo's former prosperity can still be seen in the old castle, now privately owned, which overlooks the sea from the top of a rocky height in surroundings of great naturalistic beauty.

The fortifications protecting the stronghold were built at the time of Frederick II of Swabia and subsequently entrusted to the Lancia family, which turned the castle into a garrison controlling the port below.

The medieval structure comprises a small ring of walls and a parallelepiped tower.

Approximately 8 km west of Brolo stands Capo d'Orlando, with the ruins of the Castle (14th C.) and the sanctuary of Maria Santissima di Capo d'Orlando (1598).

Near the town is Villa Piccolo di Calanovella, where Tomasi di Lampedusa stayed while writing the The Leopard; it is the home of the "Fondazione Famiglia Piccolo" and a house-museum of the Sicilian poet.