The excellences of the Sicans
Santo Stefano Quisquina,
Saturday and Sunday
the Cheese Festival
Big party among PDO pecorino,
ricotta curd
typical products and show cooking
Saturday, May 18 and Sunday, May 19, big celebration in Santo Stefano Quisquina, where, after a three-year forced hiatus, the Cheese Festival returns. Now in its 22nd edition, the event is undoubtedly one of the most important dairy events in all of Sicily and is an excellent showcase for rural and relationship tourism in the Sicani. The historic center of the small village in the Palermitan area, will be the heart of this two-day event dedicated to the taste and authenticity of local products. After all, we are in the City of Cheese, a recognition that Santo Stefano Quisquina obtained in 2020, thanks to a project coordinated byOnaf, the National Organization of Cheese Tasters, and theAcademy of Mediterranean Taste.
Among super-award-winning DOP pecorino cheeses, caciottas, caciocavalli, the ancient ritual of curdling ricotta, culinary shows with chefs from the “Luigi Pirandello” hotel school in Bivova, and the many typical Quisquina and local products, it starts on Saturday with the concert of the Calandra and Calandra who will accompany the opening of the stands.
Scheduled events include a revisiting of typical Sicilian dishes by chef Giovanni Montemaggiore, regional president of the Disciples d’Auguste Escoffier, and the “Sinfonica sicana” show cooking by the Gilda Oven. On Sunday afternoon, visitors can participate in taste workshops and guided tastings curated by the Slow Food “Monti Sicani” convivium and the delegation Onaf Sicily.
“In Santo Stefano Quisquina,” says Mayor Francesco Cacciatore, “a village that, among other things, is part of the Gal Sicani and the Sicani Rural Quality District , two companies have obtained for two consecutive years, 2021 and 2022, the Onaf recognition for the best Sicilian Pecorino DOP. Our municipality, moreover, is the lead agency of the nature and religious trail that connects Santo Stefano Quisquina to Monte Pellegrino, a route that allows people to explore and get to know the most genuine soul of our territory. All the more reason not to miss the opportunity to visit us.”
Not only a journey into the most genuine flavors of a bountiful land, then, but also an opportunity to get to know or return to visit the small agro-pastoral village in the heart of the Sicani Mountains, where this year will be held the celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the discovery and discovery of the sacred cave and epigraph of Santa Rosalia alla Quisquina.
The hermitage of Santa Rosalia alla Quisquina is, in fact, an integral part of theItinerarium Rosaliae, a route aimed at discovering the Sicilian hinterland, which runs between the provinces of Palermo and Agrigento. The route connects the Hermitage of Santo Stefano Quisquina with the Sanctuary of Santa Rosalia on Monte Pellegrino, through an itinerary that can be traveled on foot, by bicycle and on horseback, thanks to a network of paths made up of regie trazzere, mule tracks and disused railroads. In all, about 185 kilometers that cross the Sicani Mountains, among the reserves and natural areas of fourteen municipalities.
Text by Editors
