Cesarò

Cesarò is a high mountain village in Sicily’s Nebrodi Park, in the Messina area, set at 1,201 metres above sea level among oak and beech woods. Quiet, rural and closely tied to the rhythms of the surrounding forests, it has the character of an ancient borgo rather than a resort town, with a strong pastoral identity and a landscape of mountains, rocky heights and wide natural views.

Its name probably comes from the Greek *kerasos*, meaning cherry tree, a detail that hints at the older layers beneath its medieval appearance. The surrounding territory preserves prehistoric traces, while the first inhabited nucleus is linked to Greeks and Byzantines seeking refuge during the Arab period. In Norman times Cesarò emerged as a *casale*, later becoming a feudal centre connected with the Colonna family from around the 1300s.

What makes Cesarò distinctive is this combination of altitude, forested Nebrodi setting and layered memory: a mountain community where medieval, Norman and feudal identities are still bound to a deeply rural Sicilian landscape.