The memories of that trip is still alive in my mind, who knows for how long. For the unbearable heat that started at eight o'clock in the morning, it made the road seem much farther and winding that brought to Castel di Lucio. It seemed so close but yet so far.

The road was interrupted right after Mistretta with a road sign from the town of Castel di Lucio, it made us believe that the town was there, almost around the corner. How many corners, but, there were other corners still to discover. My friend and I while we were discovering the different corners in the mean time he was teaching me how to use the camera . Between the opening of a diaphragm and another, right after one curve, leaning on a hill of the Nebrodi, the first houses started to appear of the town: they seemed as if they were uplifted from the rock and from the surrounding valley. At the bottom. the fields of grain their yellow color with the dark soil and with the green of the forest that covered the slopes from the surrounding mountain. Paint strokes from an invisible artist. The hand of that artist would have accompanied us throughout our trip painting with the red color of the geranium the balconies of the alleys that enter soon after in the other streets, with the yellowbrown color from the antique stones the small houses with the portals in stone, a local chiseled art work, with the light blue of the sky the cordiality and the discretion of the Castelluccesi. The color that was desired was dark just like a fresh coca cola. The discovery of Castel di Lucio was just starting. A casket full of riches unsuspected was going to be opened. A skilful treasurer, in loved with those gems but without being too jealous to conceal, he was our guide. His placid story telling without a doubt gave form to the story even to the life of Castel di Lucio. In the story telling our guide talked about stories that lingered from centuries ago and daily life: The mystery. Not medieval ghosts; not antique legends that talked about proud millennial or gold rings under custody in the cave of the forest. But an unknown historical. In the eighteenth century father Salamone complained about documents that were missing, of paper, of written testimonies of the story of Castelluccese.

Castel di Lucio: legend or history? Even the name of the town at times is a mystery. In 1860 he had teached the Castelluccesi not only the passage from one monarchy to the other, but also the transformation of the Castelluccio- the name in those days the town was called-present Castel di Lucio. There's a base to this legend of this transformation: Was it Lucio di Gangi the founder of this town?

A mystery for it's name. A mystery even for the arabics that would have started to precede the Normans on these mountains. Our guide talked about an arabic tower that existed before in the year one thousand, of sarcophagus that came alive in the "grotta del saraceno". Around us there were only houses built on a rock and few sarcophagus, means of testimony, only father Luigi Salvo brings this desposition, in which at the end of the nineteenth century wrote about their findings. A lot of this mystery made me want to walk through the narrow streets that went up to ruins of the normans castle.

The first stop was at the mother church. Father Nino greeted us. I expected to find an older priest, a trembling and busy priest that was confessing old people. Instead I found a fifty year old priest ready to wander through this personal computer and ready to involve us to visit his church. Better to say churches. The actual building, in a matter of fact, it's a group of buildings from the seventeenth-century architectural of three different churches: At the right there's an old mother church dedicated to the birth of the virgin mary and the church of Santa Maria dell'Idria, at the left a church for Saint Luca and Biagio. Today those churches form the two laterale aisle, while the street at one time separated the three buildings and now the central aisle of the mother church. Unbelievable but two archs and a niche are eternal testimony of that history. The whole background altogether are "bodies of buildings added in different ages", underlines don Nino. A bas-relief in marble from 1544 from the school of Gagini, still from the sixteenth century Christ in column, from the eighteenth century a wooden chorus. Different masterpieces of Nicolo' Campo testifies the art work of the local craftsmen cabinetmakers of our time. A little building with carved stone portals, there is an agricultural society that is guested At one time starting probably from XVI century, this also was a church. A private chapel dedicated to San Giuseppe. The contrast of the light from inside and out looking in you can see a painting on a canvas one Sacred Family. It was worn out from the cigarette smoking, seemed as if it was looking at the visitors inviting them to enter. We started to walk towards the castle. While walking we talked about the miracles of San Biagio, the procession is the wonderful water.

Without miracles and without noticing we reached the antique center of the town, so-called "porta della terra", a small square three narrow streets. The castle is near. Behind the last houses, almost hidden that at one time it was suppose to be tower. The ruins reminded the glory of when Balduino the Guiscardo, norman leader, thereafter the count. Ruggero d'Altavilla, obtained the earldom of Geraci inwhich was part of the signoria of Castelluzzo. An unimaginable panorama: Underneath us the town. Tusa's river, leaving to guess a leap of hundreds different meters, looking upon the hill ahead, a little bit further, the sea. That little town, with few inhabitants, and their doubtful history, their rich artistical property almost hidden amazed me again. A modern structure ajoining to the castle recalled my attention: An old locality of the town was fixed to be used for "monte frumentario" today it's remodelized, looks forward to become the theatre Nino Martoglio" the Castel of Lucio. Antique, modern, nature, art, and culture in one glance.

History and legend. Sacre and profane. What's it doing, for example, a church dedicated to the Milanese S. Carlo Borromeo in the heart of the Nebrodi? Another mystery that drags on for centuries. History and legend. Sacre and profane. Art. On top of the hill of Salvatore, a few miles away from the town, Salvatore's Church, always the goal of the pilgrimages of castelluccesi, an astonish look the "Labirinto di Arianna", an art work of the grand museum in the opening of Fiumara d'Arte. My curiosity for that art work, that was put out in the opened field the hill little by little growing bigger while we reach it. Entering in the maze and getting out. The big door at the entrance. A natural door in every entrance of life. Entering in this enormous "seno materno" to come out again...such as coming to life again; giving birth in a new life, being reborn in a new world.

A small town greeted us that hot morning day of June. Leaning against a spur of the Nebrodi, the way we found it we are leaving it. There is less than twenty kilometers that separates us from the beach of the Tyrrhenian, Castel di Tusa. Castel di Lucio disappearing behind the curves, while slowly moving away. The torrent was in front of us, the sea is another story to tell.

Emilio Barbera