Pollina is a hill village in the Madonie area of the Province of Palermo, set about 730 metres above the Tyrrhenian Sea. Its old houses cling to the rock above a landscape of woods, Mediterranean scrub and coastal views, while its territory also reaches down to the sea through the hamlet of Finale di Pollina. Small in scale and strongly tied to its surroundings, it belongs to the Madonie Park and carries the character of both mountain and coast.
The origins of the present settlement are generally placed between the end of Roman rule and the beginning of Muslim rule, while some historians cautiously connect it with ancient Apollonia. In medieval records it appears as the casale di Polla in 1082, and later became linked to the Ventimiglia family, who controlled the surrounding territory for centuries. Pollina’s identity today is shaped by this layered hilltop history and by the rural tradition of extracting manna from ash trees, a distinctive practice that gives the village a cultural memory closely bound to its Madonie landscape.
Patron Saint:
Saint Julian (San Giuliano) – 2nd Sunday in July
Nearest Airport:
Palermo (Falcone-Borsellino) – (120 km, 01:51)
Neighboring Cities:
