For at least 400 years, the Via dei Frati (the Way of the Friars), a 103-mile trail nestled in Sicily’s Madonie mountains, also known as the Sicilian Alps, has been walked by pilgrims, itinerant priests, and missionaries. At some point in the past 80 years, it fell into disuse, but in 2015 Sicilian psychotherapist Santo Mazzaris led efforts to revive it.
As Mazzaris explains in an interview in TV 2000, many of the friars that used to walk along the Via dei Frati belonged to the “monaci di cerca” -- friars who would travel seasonally to remote agricultural towns during harvest season to work next to farmers and provide spiritual assistance.
At the end of harvest season, these traveling friars would go back to their monasteries walking along this camino.
Mazzaris rediscovered the path after walking the Camino of Santiago and parts of the Via Francigena.
“I enjoyed other caminos around Europe” he explained to TV 2000, “and I started to wonder if there were any paths in my native Sicily.”
Since then, Mazzaris worked with local institutions to clean and map the ancient path that starts in Caltanissetta and ends in Cefalù, home of the eponymous UNESCO World Heritage Site Cathedral. It takes around seven days to walk the entire Way of the Friars, with stops in small rural towns like Resuttano, Castelbuono, and Geraci Siculo.
Journalist Annabel Abbs wrote in The Guardian about her experience hiking the camino with her partner, recounting how during the seven days it took to hike the trail they met no other person, just “golden eagles circling lazily overhead.”
Abbs describes the landscape of this part of Sicily as “biblical,” with grazing goats, gentle valleys, and mystical light.
On top of being an ancient pilgrimage site, the Way of the Friars cuts through the best-preserved ecosystems in Sicily, home to more than 150 unique species of plants found only in this area, as well as monumental oak trees and giant hollies believed to be a thousand years old. The path is also dotted with small centuries-old chapels that were built to serve the rural populations that have since relocated to larger urban settlements.
As the path is mostly at an altitude of 3,300 feet, it can be walked even during the height of summer, but those who prefer milder temperatures may prefer to plan a visit during shoulder seasons like October-November or April-May.
Walking the Way of the Friars during Easter week offers a unique experience, with many towns along the path hosting special celebrations such as a re-enactment of the Resurrection with life-size statues in Caltanissetta.
More more information about the Way of the Friars, visit laviadeifrati.it
