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Visit Cassibile
Cassibile (together with Avola) is now a populous suburb of Syracuse in south-east Sicily.
Usually thought of as a small seaside town and popular resort, Cassibile is best known for its excellent beach at “Fontane Bianche” [White Fountains]. The town also has one of the most important prehistoric settlements in Sicily.
This natural reserve has a number of historical, archaeological and anthropological aspects of exceptional interest. There is a cluster of cave dwellings carved into the rock next to each other, and communicating with each other by a system of tunnels and galleries.To the northeast, there are also numerous ancient necropolis, in which rich grave goods and pottery fragments have been found - thanks to the peculiar decoration of the cultures found in the Aeolian Islands and in eastern Sicily, these are the most original product of the historic site of Cassibile.
Ancient villages and funeral complexes of Cassibile
The Sicules, the first people known to us to settle here, built two rock villages that are still difficult to reach, They take advantage of the abundant presence of water and of an inaccessible environment that is well protected from external enemies. The northern village, called the “Grotta dei Briganti” ["Cave of the robbers”] features hundreds of pal-Christian graves and tombs carved into the walls, arranged side by side. In the southern village there are also interesting remains of houses and numerous caves, sites specially chosen because of the difficulty of access and defensive capability. In the sacred area, there are many holes in the floor where jars were placed containing the bones of the dead.
In the Byzantine period and with the start of the Arab incursions these places were occupied by the local population seeking shelter and protection in the villages against external attacks from the sea.
The many funerary complexes located along the length of the rive were identified in the late 19th and early twentieth century by Paolo Orsi. These graves are almost all of rectangular or elliptical shape , with a short access corridor, and the dead bodies were placed in a fetal position.
Cassibile natural surroundings and wildlife
The territory of "Cava Grande del Cassibile" is also very important from a naturalistic point of view. Along the river grows a thick wood, characterized by the presence of oriental plane trees, oleander, willow, poplar, hornbeam and ash trees. These tall trees are associated with a bushy undergrowth of herbs, such as rue, sage, oregano, mint, rosemary and in the wettest places the ferns - horsetail and maidenhair. Nature lovers can doscover some rare plants such as the cyclamen, asphodel, spurge, dwarf palm, and various families of orchids.
Among the animals, in addition to foxes, there are rabbits, martens, porcupines, dormice and weasels, and finally, in the waters we find crabs, frogs and toads, and some varieties of fish. The fauna of the quarry is also characterized by the presence of the buzzard and raven, while in the lower valley of the river there are the warblers, the "Kingfisher" and woodcocks. Among the reptiles we mention the presence of the snake, viper and the lizard.
Cassibile is also very popular in the catering sector, offering local specialties and traditional produce (almonds, honey, wineries, strawberries, dairy products, oil, pickles, olive oil, fish, and lemons).
See also Cassibile history and etymology.