What is San Marco d'Alunzio known for?

Pink local marble quarried for centuries and used in the Aracoeli church, the central fountain and the interior of the Messina town hall. Robert Guiscard built his first Sicilian castle here in 1061 and used the town as the base for the eleventh-century Norman conquest of the island. Greek temple foundations from the fourth century BC supporting the Chiesa di San Marco, the layered Greek-Norman-Christian spine of the borgo.

Where is San Marco d'Alunzio?

San Marco d'Alunzio is a comune in the province of Messina, Sicily region of Italy, about 105 kilometers from Messina.

Sicily · Messina

San Marco d'Alunzio

A hilltop borgo at 540 meters built in pink Aluntina marble, Robert Guiscard's first Sicilian base for the eleventh-century Norman conquest.

540m

Elevation

105 km / 65 mi

Nearest hub (Messina)

1,778

Population

Apr–Jun, Sep–Nov

Best time to visit

Recognised as

Borghi più belli d'Italia

Why come

San Marco d'Alunzio sits on Mt. Castro at 540 meters above the Tyrrhenian coast, five kilometers from the sea. The Greeks founded it in the fourth century BC as Alontion, prosperous enough to mint its own currency. The Normans took it in the eleventh century: Robert Guiscard built the first Norman castle in Sicily here in 1061 and used the town as his base for the conquest of the rest of the island. The local stone is a pink marble called Aluntina, quarried on the surrounding hills and used in the Chiesa di San Marco built into the foundations of a fourth-century BC Greek temple to Hercules. The same rose-colored stone appears in the Aracoeli church, in the central fountain of Piazza Aluntina, and in the interior of the Messina town hall. The borgo is listed among the Borghi più belli d'Italia and twenty-two churches stand inside the historic walls.

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Gallery

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Known for

Tempio di Ercole
Fourth-century BC Greek temple to Hercules whose foundations support the Chiesa di San Marco, the oldest visible building in the borgo.
Ruderi del Castello Normanno
Ruins on Monte Rotondo above the village, built by Robert Guiscard from 1061 as his first Sicilian base and the lookout over the Tyrrhenian coast.
Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie (Aracoeli)
Renaissance church built entirely in local rose-colored Aluntina marble, with elaborate marble carvings inside the chapel.
Piazza Aluntina
Central piazza with a monumental fountain in pink Aluntina marble, the social heart of the rebuilt town.
Museo della Cultura e delle Arti Figurative Bizantine
Byzantine art museum housed in the former monastery of the Benedettine, with frescoes and icons from the Greek-Sicilian tradition.

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 best months. The 540-meter ridge stays cooler than the Tyrrhenian below, the pink Aluntina stone catches the afternoon light, and the climb up to the Norman castle ruins is easy in dry weather. July and August are hot but the centro storico shaded streets give shelter. December through March is quiet and damp, with cold wind off the Nebrodi behind town; many trattorias close. Holy Week processions and the August feast of San Basilio fill the piazze with marble dust kicked up by the bands. The view from the castle ruins toward the Aeolian islands is clearest in late September.