Description of the attraction
Forza d'Agro is a small mountain village located 420 meters above sea level near Taormina and Letohanni. Once in this village, you can easily plunge into the everyday life of Sicily, as it was a couple of hundred years ago. The car will have to be left at the entrance to the village, as the streets here are very, very narrow. It seems as if the houses standing close to each other are woven into the mountain, on top of which an old fortress rises - somewhat dilapidated, but still making an indelible impression. A steep staircase leads to it, slightly destroyed and overgrown with grass. The castle's iron gates are not open every day - you should inquire about opening hours in advance. There is a wonderful view from the site of the castle - in good weather you can even see the outlines of Calabria. Until the middle of the 20th century, the territory of the fortress was used as a cemetery, and today there are ancient and partially destroyed stone graves, over which silence reigns. The only sound you can hear is the buzzing of bees, and the black and white images on the gravestones seem to nod cheerfully. It is said that here even notorious skeptics begin to believe in ghosts.
The small squares of Forza d'Agro are full of old people who enjoy conversations over a glass of wine - the whole town belongs to the elderly, as young people go to other places in search of work. Despite the fact that the village has a very modest size, it has as many as three churches (all Catholic), and the main street is called Via Roma. On December 26 and January 6, in Forza d'Agro, as in all Italian cities, a theatrical performance of the birth of Christ is performed, in which the entire population of the village participates. After Vespers, everyone gathers in front of the church doors, waiting for Joseph leading the donkey with his pregnant wife Mary. Only candles and torches illuminate their path. The crowd then follows them into the barn, and the whole story suddenly becomes very realistic. Forza d'Agro is a place where the distant past meets the present.
