The latest challenge launched by the Gal.
“SicaniAppedi,” how to discover places and especially who lives there
Explains Pierfilippo Spoto: 450 kilometers all to go every which way, 29 municipalities involved
Four hundred and fifty kilometers of routes, to discover on foot, step by step, the heart of the Sicani. An ideal itinerary that touches all twenty-nine villages of the territory, from the sea to the mountains, for a journey to discover an amazing nature and a hospitality made of unique encounters and flavors.
“Sicani Appedi” is the name of the project funded by Gal Sicani and which includes, among other things, the creation of stone or wooden signage, along the entire route; and the creation of a special website and app.
“The recipient of our project,” says Pierfilippo Spoto, Gal Sicani territorial animator and promoter of experiential tourism for more than 20 years, “is not a pilgrim, but a curious wayfarer who loves to linger, to get to know not only the most beautiful places of the territory he visits, but also the people who live there, the most important moments of the community. That is why we are developing routes of about fifteen kilometers, even from one village to another. The initiative, of course, throughout the year will take into account the various traditional festivals, festivals of typical products, and experiences related to seasonality, such as the olive harvest and the grape harvest.”
A journey within a journey in the perspective of that experiential tourism, attentive to the excellence of the territory and its truest soul: “Because eating hot bread with new oil is certainly a beautiful experience, but our focus,” says Spoto, “is not the cunzato bread, but who conzait. Human capital, real wealth in these parts, where a generation of young agricultural entrepreneurs is building a new future. Many have returned on purpose from abroad, taking over family farms, modernizing them and focusing everything on quality; and, now, going across the border are their products.
“The walks that will take place in the Sicani hinterland,” says Spoto, “aim to enhance these new realities. Our curious wayfarer will meet the farmer, the shepherd, the sculptor … in a path made of experiences and relationships.”
Along the coast, from Eraclea Minoa to Porto Empedocle, passing by the celebrated Scala dei Turchi, the absolute protagonist of the walks will be, instead, the dazzling whiteness of the Sicilian marl; and the incredible contrast with the blue of the crystal clear sea.
“Sicani Appedi,” therefore, but also on horseback or by bike. “And those who will not want to or will not be able to give up the car,” says Spoto, “will always have the possibility to reach the various stages of the route on four wheels.
The project will kick off within the next year, in the meantime to study the Gal Sicani model, come from Poland. “We discovered,” says Spoto, “that Europe fosters communication between Gal, the Local Action Groups, and we took advantage of that. To visit the Sicani came a representative delegation from two Polish Gal, one promoted by an association of rural women. Our guests really liked the involvement of human capital, of people … our way of making the community a fundamental resource and, before that, a fundamental actor.”
Between March and April, the flight to Warsaw to reciprocate the visit and “export” the Sicani method.
Text by Editors
