Piana degli Albanesi is a historic town near Palermo, set in a green basin on the eastern slopes of Monte Pizzuta and enclosed by high mountains. Its landscape gives it a distinct inland character, with nature close around the town and a setting that feels separate from the coastal Sicily nearby.
Founded in 1488 by Albanian refugees fleeing the Ottoman advance in the Balkans, it became the most important Arbëreshë colony in Sicily. Formerly known as Piana dei Greci and also associated with the name Hora, the town has preserved a strong Albanian-descended identity through language, customs, traditional dress and the Greek-Byzantine religious rite.
This is not simply a village with traces of the past, but a community where minority culture remains part of everyday identity. Piana degli Albanesi is distinctive for the way its late medieval origins, Arbëreshë memory and mountain setting still define its character today.
Patron Saint:
Saint George (San Giorgio) – 23 April
Nearest Airport:
Palermo (Falcone-Borsellino) – (53 km, 00:56)
Neighboring Cities:
