Sperlinga, and being a Matarazzo

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My memories of Sperlinga are of wildflower meadows, family connections, and a stone castle build into a mountain. 

Sperlinga is the mountain town in the center of the island of Sicily where my father's father, Giuseppe Matarazzo, was from. 

The ride to Sperlinga from Palermo was bucolic, with fields of wildflowers in purple, yellow, and red, flocks of sheep grazing, cows lazing in the shade of trees, and occasional small groves of olive trees.

It's  a town built on a huge rock with a castle on top and with some of the homes actually carved into the rock.

There are about 900 people who probably all know each other so it was obvious that we were visitors, though tourism is increasing with the renovation of the castle. We stayed in a small, rustic house very close to the castle called, "Casa Della Nonna" (Grandmother's House) which was decorated with vintage touches. 

I was told by a cousin who visited Sperlinga in 2018 to go to the restaurant at the base of the castle and say I was a Matarazzo, so that's what we did. We walked in the door and Paul said "Matarazzo."

It turns out that the owner of the coffee shop/bar/eatery, Nino, is a Matarazzo himself! We met his wife and daughter, and the next day we met his father, Salvatore.

We don't know for sure but we are probably related. It will take more genealogical research. They were very warm and kind to us. We were able to communicate with the help of Google Translate Conversation. Nino gave us a book about the Sperlinga castle and the town, written in Italian, so it will be a good way for me to study the language. 😉 We exchanged contact information because...you never know. 

The castle itself was fascinating, built on top of and into the rock.

The site of the castle was a place of worship as far back as the bronze age. The castle itself was built during the Norman era in the 12th century and served as a military fortress and later as a place of worship and feudal lord's home. The chapel was rebuilt in 2000. 

We walked to the top of the castle where the view was spectacular. You can see the video we shot at this link. 

These were stone rooms hewn out of the rock which were used for stables in the late middle ages:
There was one more thing I will remember about Sperlinga -- the hills and the stairs. Because it's built on the side of a mountain, the streets are arranged in switchbacks with steps in between. It was quite a workout!

Comments

Anonymous said…
Very special to document our family’s Sicilian roots. Thank you, Gloria!
May 6, 2025 at 11:43 PM
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