Ciminna is about 40 km from Palermo and can be reached from the indicated crossroads along the SP 121 Palermo-Agrigento. It stands on a small hill, called “S. Anania”, about 530 meters above sea level and has about 3900 inhabitants. A magical town in a suggestive territory, within which the “Riserva Naturale Orientata Serre di Ciminna” falls, a place of fascinating beauty. Ciminna is a concrete example of a rural reality where artistic and naturalistic resources come together to give us a single overall picture of great value. A territory that tells its story in multiple ways, a succession of enchanting atmospheres and landscapes, a town that discovers and enhances spiritual, artistic and historical wealth, addressing both the believer and the secular public. Monuments and works, which live and tell us our story every day, represent something special for our community. The characteristic historical center offers a suggestive itinerary through which narrow streets and closed and tortuous alleys intertwine. It is divided into four neighborhoods, “ Mother Church, S. Giovanni, Raccomandata and S. Sebastiano”, each of which has further zonal subdivisions within it.
The Mother Church neighborhood located in the upper part of Ciminna is the oldest one. In it, 2 castles were built. The first was destroyed and burned in 1326, during the war between King Frederick II of Sicily and King Robert of Naples, the second was built, but then it was no longer inhabited, it collapsed and was never rebuilt. The visible remains of it still remain.
The San Giovanni neighborhood, on the other hand, is located in the lower part of the town. As old as the first, it was inhabited by the rural population and by artisans, who worked wool and tanned leather. One of the 58 Sicilian Jewish Communities also lived there. You can visit the San Giovanni Battista Church and San Giacomo Church (ancient Jewish Synagogue). The two neighborhoods, together with the small district of Santa Lucia, represent the medieval part of Ciminna that goes from the year 1200 to 1400.
The neighborhood of “Purchiarola”, with buildings located in the new part of the town with wide and straight modern streets, a meeting place for young people to walk and go to the bars.
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