Cassaro

Cassaro is a tiny historic hill town in the province of Syracuse, set in the heart of the Anapo Valley in the Hyblaean Mountains. It occupies a rocky spur above the meeting point of the Ferla stream and the Anapo river, a compact settlement defined as much by its valley setting as by its old urban core. As the smallest municipality in the province, it has the scale of a village, with a quiet, concentrated character and a strong sense of local memory.

Its origins are described as very ancient, with sources linking the area to the Siculi before later Arab, Norman, Spanish and Aragonese phases became part of its wider historical identity. The 1693 Val di Noto earthquake was decisive: after the destruction of the older settlement, Cassaro was rebuilt where it stands today, reusing stone from what had been lost. Its grid-plan layout and local Baroque character give this small mountain village a distinctive identity, where reconstruction, landscape and long habitation are closely intertwined.