What is Salemi known for?

On 14 May 1860, Garibaldi raised the tricolor on the castle and proclaimed Salemi the capital of the new Italy, holding the title for less than two weeks. Built by Roger I in 1077 on Greek-Roman foundations, rebuilt by Frederick II, the round tower still dominates the Belice Valley. The January 1968 earthquake destroyed the medieval Mother Church and parts of the Rabato quarter, marked today by stabilized ruins and memorial squares.

Salemi is a comune in the province of Trapani, Sicily region of Italy, about 102 kilometers from Palermo.

Sicily · Trapani

Salemi

The Belice Valley town where Garibaldi raised the tricolor on 14 May 1860 and proclaimed Salemi the capital of Italy for a day.

102 km / 63 mi

Nearest hub (Palermo)

9,986

Population

Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

Salemi sitsabove the Belice Valley in the Trapani interior, on the ridge of Monte delle Rose between two rivers. The Elymians built the city of Halyciae here, conquered by Rome in 272 BC and granted freedom from taxes for its voluntary submission. Roger I built the castle in 1077 on Greek-Roman foundations, and Frederick II of Swabia rebuilt it in the thirteenth century. On 14 May 1860, two days after landing at Marsala with the Thousand, Giuseppe Garibaldi raised the tricolor on the castle's round tower and proclaimed Salemi the capital of Italy for a single day, while he prepared the march on Calatafimi and Palermo. The Belice earthquake of 1968 destroyed much of the centro storico; the medieval Mother Church beside the castle was demolished and its remains preserved as a memorial. The Jewish quarter of Rabato survives, along with palaces built in the local Campanella stone.

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Gallery

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Known for

Castello Normanno-Svevo
Hilltop castle built by Roger I in 1077 on Greek-Roman foundations, rebuilt by Frederick II, where Garibaldi raised the Italian tricolor on 14 May 1860.
Basilica di San Miceli
Early Christian basilica on the edge of the commune, the oldest surviving religious building in the area with sixth-century mosaic fragments.
Rabato
Former Jewish and Arab quarter of low stone houses and narrow lanes, partly damaged by the 1968 Belice earthquake.
Ruderi della Chiesa Madre
Stabilized ruins of the seventeenth-century Mother Church beside the castle, demolished after the 1968 earthquake and kept as a memorial.
Piazza Alicia
Main piazza of the centro storico in Campanella stone, with a panorama over the Belice Valley and the Egadi islands on a clear day.

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 Salemi. The Belice Valley is green in spring and gold in October, the wind from the Egadi keeps the ridge cooler than the Marsala coast, and the castle terrace offers the clearest panoramas. July and August push past thirty-eight degrees; the Campanella stone of the centro storico holds heat into the evening and the streets empty between two and six. The Festa della Santa Croce on 3 May fills the piazze with bread sculptures, an old Salemi tradition. December through March is quiet and damp, the right time to walk the Rabato and the castle without crowds.