What is Novara di Sicilia known for?

Hard pecorino cheese of the Peloritani, aged in wheels of 10 to 18 kilograms and produced in Novara since the seventeenth century. Carnival contest where teams roll Maiorchino wheels two kilometers downhill from Via Duomo to Piano Don Michele, recognized by UNESCO. Northern Italian Lombard dialect from the 1061-72 settlement still spoken alongside Sicilian in the village.

Where is Novara di Sicilia?

Novara di Sicilia is a comune in the province of Messina, Sicily region of Italy, about 68 kilometers from Messina.

Sicily · Messina

Novara di Sicilia

A stone village at 650 meters where the Peloritani meet the Nebrodi, with a UNESCO-listed cheese race tumbling down the main street at Carnival.

650m

Elevation

68 km / 42 mi

Nearest hub (Messina)

1,174

Population

Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Novara di Sicilia sits at 650 meters at the point where the Peloritani and Nebrodi ranges meet, with the pointed limestone Rocca Salvatesta rising to 1,340 meters behind it. Lombards from northern Italy settled here between 1061 and 1072 under the Norman conquest, and a Gallo-Italic dialect from that migration is still spoken in the village. Roger of Lauria built a castle here in the thirteenth century. The Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta dates from the sixteenth, a sandstone Renaissance building above the medieval lanes. Every Carnival the village hosts the Lancio del Maiorchino, recognized by UNESCO as intangible heritage: teams roll 10-to-18-kilogram wheels of aged pecorino cheese two kilometers downhill from Via Duomo to Piano Don Michele, a contest that dates from the early 1600s when shepherds tested the maturation of their cheese on these same stones.

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Gallery

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Known for

Duomo di Santa Maria Assunta
Sixteenth-century cathedral in sandstone, the main building of the historic center with a Renaissance façade overlooking the village.
Rocca Salvatesta
Pointed limestone peak of 1,340 meters behind the village, called the Matterhorn of Sicily for its shape and dominating the Peloritani-Nebrodi divide.
Centro storico
Medieval stone village of arched lanes and decorated façades on the slopes of Rocca Salvatesta, listed among the Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Ruderi del Castello
Remains of the thirteenth-century castle built by Roger of Lauria above the village, on the rock that gave Novara its strategic position.

When to visit

Best months · Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

Best
Hot or crowded
Quiet
Mostly closed

April through June and September through November are the months for Novara. The 650-meter altitude keeps temperatures manageable when the coast bakes, and the trail up Rocca Salvatesta is best in dry weather. July and August are warm but the Peloritani forests above town stay cool; the village empties between two and six in the afternoon. Winter brings cold fog from the mountains and short days, though Carnival from mid-January through February is when the Lancio del Maiorchino fills the main street every weekend with cheese wheels and crowds. The Duomo, the castle ruins and the alleys photograph best in the soft autumn light when the Rocca above is dusted with the first snow.