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00 Petralia Soprana
Stemma di Petralia Soprana

Sicily · Palermo

Petralia Soprana

The highest village in the Madonie at 1,147 meters, RAI Borgo dei Borghi 2018 winner, sitting above 80 kilometers of salt tunnels.

Best time
Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
By car
1 h 28 min from Palermo
Population
2,968

Known for

  • BORGO DEI BORGHI 2018

    RAI Borgo dei Borghi winner in 2018, the year the salt mine MACSS opened more broadly to visitors.

  • MINIERA DI RAFFO

    Active salt mine below the village, 80 km of tunnels through one of Europe's largest salt deposits, worked since the fourteenth century.

  • TETTO DELLE MADONIE

    Highest commune in the Madonie range at 1,147 meters, surrounded by the Madonie Natural Park and its 30% of Sicilian biodiversity.

When to visit

Best · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

  • J7°
  • F9°
  • M10°
  • A13°
  • M18°
  • J25°
  • J29°
  • A28°
  • S23°
  • O18°
  • N13°
  • D9°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

Daytime averages, 2020–2024. Weather data by Open-Meteo.com.

The festa: festa dei Santi Pietro e Paolo, 29 June

Why come

Petralia Soprana sits at 1,147 meters at the heart of the Madonie Natural Park, the highest commune in the range. The town and its lower twin Petralia Sottana grew from the Roman Petra, then took its current form under the Normans, who fortified the ridge. The Chiesa Madre, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, dates to the fifteenth century and faces Piazza Duomo with a clear view across the Madonie.

Below the village, the Raffo salt mine runs 80 kilometers of tunnels through one of the largest salt deposits in Europe, mined since at least the fourteenth century; the active mine now hosts MACSS, a contemporary art museum carved into the salt, one of a kind worldwide. RAI named Petralia Soprana Borgo dei Borghi in 2018, the year of the salt mine's wider opening to the public. The stone streets, the mountain air at 1,147 meters, and the salt below the floor are the three things the village trades on.

The Sunday letter

Petralia Soprana is on our list. Its letter is still to come.

We are writing about all 1,000 of these towns, one at a time, in a free letter every Sunday: the photo, the food, the festa. That is our mission. Sign up and you will be there when Petralia Soprana comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Petralia Soprana in our articles

How to get there

From Catania (CTA), about 1h 52m by car.

By car from the centre of Palermo 1h 28m.

Coming by train into Palermo Centrale? Petralia Soprana is about 1h 26m away by road.

Every town within reach of Catania airport.

Petralia Soprana, photo 1
Petralia Soprana, photo 2

What to see

  • Chiesa Madre (Santi Pietro e Paolo)

    Fifteenth-century mother church on Piazza Duomo, central monument of the village, with a baroque interior added after the 1693 earthquake.

  • Miniera di Sale di Raffo

    Active salt mine below the village with 80 km of tunnels in one of Europe's largest salt deposits, worked since the fourteenth century.

  • MACSS — Museo Arte Contemporanea Sotto Sale

    Contemporary art museum inside the active Raffo salt mine, sculptures cut directly into rock salt walls, the only museum of its kind worldwide.

  • Belvedere

    Eastern terrace with views across the Madonie ridge to the Nebrodi, Etna visible on clear days; the postcard the Borgo dei Borghi jury photographed.

  • Centro storico medievale

    Stone village laid out along the Norman ridge, narrow lanes paved in local sandstone, baroque palazzi from the seventeenth century along Via Loreto.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Petralia Soprana fits in a slow Italy circuit.

Answer five questions. We will shape a geographically coherent slow trip from the 1,000 Italian towns most travelers skip. Yours to save and share.

Plan your trip

Through the year

What happens here

Feasts and festivals that come back year after year. We give the month rather than the date, because the date moves and the month rarely does. Check with the source before you plan a journey around one.

Living here

  • Population 2,968
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Nearest airport Catania, 1 h 52 min drive
  • Regional capital Palermo, 1 h 28 min drive

Common questions

What is Petralia Soprana known for?
Petralia Soprana is the highest village in the Madonie at 1,147 meters, RAI Borgo dei Borghi 2018 winner, sitting above 80 kilometers of salt tunnels.
Where is Petralia Soprana?
Petralia Soprana is a comune in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, at 1147 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Petralia Soprana?
Catania (CTA), about 1h 52m by car.
How long is the drive from Palermo to Petralia Soprana?
About 1h 28m by car.
When is the best time to visit Petralia Soprana?
Best in Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and November the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Petralia Soprana?
Yes. Sagra del Grano a Pianello - Petralia Soprana and Gust'Art a Borgo Verdi - Petralia Soprana. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Petralia Soprana?
Petralia Sottana, Geraci Siculo and Moena.
How many people live in Petralia Soprana?
2,968 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 1147 m
  • Population: 2,968
  • Surface area: 56.1 km²

These figures were compiled from public directories: ISTAT, OpenStreetMap and Wikidata, and from the official listings of the guides named on this page. Town details change; verify with official sources before you travel.

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