Visit Reitano and Villa Margi | Sea and Fiumara d’Arte

Reitano: Between the Nebrodi Hills and Contemporary Art

Reitano and Villa Margi: from the hill village to the coast, between sea and art

Reitano brings together two different but complementary landscapes. Its historic centre stands in the hills of the western Nebrodi, among quiet streets, churches, fountains and traces of rural civilisation.

Further downhill, the territory reaches the Tyrrhenian Sea at Villa Margi, where the coast meets contemporary art and summer life.

This relationship between village and coast gives Reitano its most distinctive identity: within a few kilometres, visitors move from the peaceful inland landscape to the seafront, and from agricultural traditions to the works of Fiumara d’Arte.

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A village with ancient roots

The origins of Reitano are not documented with complete certainty. The historical tradition reported by the Municipality connects its first settlement with the Arabic term rahal, used to describe a rural village.

Over the centuries, the town developed its identity around agriculture, livestock farming, craftsmanship and community life. The historic centre still preserves old houses, votive shrines, stone doorways, fountains and views reflecting the relationship between the village and the countryside.

Casa Gallo and Palazzo Lipari form part of the town’s civil heritage, while the Torre di Guardia, located below the settlement, recalls the ancient system used to monitor and defend the territory.

Churches and community devotion

The Mother Church, dedicated to the Immaculate Madonna, is Reitano’s principal religious building. Its origins are associated with the medieval period, while the present structure reflects a history developed over many centuries.

The interior has three naves separated by monolithic columns. It preserves an eighteenth-century fresco representing the twelve Apostles, the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, a chapel dedicated to the patron Sant’Erasmo and an eighteenth-century Neapolitan-school statue of the Immaculate Madonna.

The Church of Carmine, one of the oldest in the village, was associated with a Carmelite monastery. Its sixteenth-century carved stone portal and the devotion to the Madonna del Carmelo reveal the close relationship between religious art and popular traditions.

The Church of San Giuseppe, the small Church of the Madonna delle Grazie, the Church of Pietà and the Church of Porto Salvo at Villa Margi complete this heritage.

Fountains, votive shrines and rural memory

Reitano’s historic fountains were not simply decorative. They supplied water and provided drinking places for animals, making them closely connected with agricultural work and everyday life.

The Fontana Serrone and the Fontana di San Sebastiano, now decorated with ceramics, preserve this memory. Together with votive shrines and minor architectural features, they tell the story of the village through simple elements deeply rooted in community history.

Villa Margi, Reitano’s coastal identity

The municipal territory reaches the sea at Villa Margi, an old fishing settlement now particularly lively during the summer.

The seafront, the Church of Porto Salvo and the coastal landscape create a second dimension of the municipality, different from the hill village but closely connected with it.

On the Tuesday following Easter, Villa Margi hosts a religious celebration dedicated to Sant’Erasmo. According to tradition, the patron’s intercession freed the Reitano countryside from an invasion of locusts. The ritual preserves the connection between the community, the land and the sea.

Finestra sul mare

The Villa Margi seafront is home to one of Fiumara d’Arte’s most recognisable works: Monumento per un poeta morto (Monument to a Dead Poet), created by Tano Festa in 1989 and widely known as Finestra sul mare, the Window onto the Sea.

The large structure frames the Tyrrhenian Sea and transforms the horizon into part of the artwork. Tano Festa dedicated it to his brother Francesco, a poet who died prematurely.

Finestra sul mare is more than a sculpture to observe. It is a threshold through which art, light and landscape enter into dialogue, making Villa Margi one of the symbolic places along the entire Fiumara d’Arte route.

The new Atelier sul Mare at Villa Margi

In 2025, Villa Margi became the new home of Atelier sul Mare – Suite d’Autore, continuing the experience originally created by Antonio Presti at Castel di Tusa.

It is not simply an accommodation facility, but a place where hospitality becomes a cultural experience. Its rooms, installations and artworks invite guests to live within art, moving beyond the traditional relationship between museum and visitor.

The relocation of the Atelier strengthens Villa Margi’s role within Fiumara d’Arte and creates a direct connection between hospitality, the coastal landscape, the community and contemporary art.

Cavallo Eretico and the new artworks

In front of the new Atelier stands Cavallo Eretico, an imposing work by Antonello Bonanno Conti, created in reflective stainless steel.

Its surface reflects both the landscape and the observer, turning the artwork into an invitation to question personal certainties. Doubt and the ability to view reality from different perspectives become the meaning of its “heretical” character.

The new art space also includes Ammonite – Gli scudi ribelli, an installation by Pablo Sucato and Giacomo Noya placed at the entrance to the Atelier. These works expand Villa Margi’s contemporary story and connect it with the cultural vision of the Fondazione Antonio Presti.

Villa Margi Street Food: summer on the seafront

Every summer, the seafront hosts Villa Margi Street Food, organised by Pro Loco VillaRei and now one of the area’s most attractive events.

For several days, street food, Sicilian specialities, music, performances and entertainment transform the coastal settlement into a meeting place for residents and visitors.

The event combines food and community life with the coastal landscape and the presence of Fiumara d’Arte, offering a lively opportunity to experience Villa Margi during the summer.

Celebrations and traditions

Community life in Reitano is marked by celebrations dedicated to Sant’Erasmo, the patron saint, and the Madonna del Carmelo.

Processions, religious celebrations and events connected with agricultural culture continue to bring the community together. Traditions involving wheat, bread, rural life and historic crafts recall the role that agriculture and craftsmanship played in the village’s economic and social history.

Why visit Reitano?

To discover a small hill village and its religious heritage.
To explore streets, fountains and votive shrines connected with rural memory.
To visit the Mother Church and the Church of Carmine.
To reach the sea and the Villa Margi seafront.
To encounter Finestra sul mare and the new contemporary artworks.
To experience the cultural hospitality of Atelier sul Mare.
To attend Villa Margi Street Food and other summer events.
To discover both inland Sicily and the Tyrrhenian coast within the same territory.

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