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00 Petralia Sottana
Stemma di Petralia Sottana

Sicily · Palermo

Petralia Sottana

A Madonie village at 1,000 meters, the only Bandiera Arancione in Sicily, and the headquarters of the Parco delle Madonie.

Best time
Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar
By car
1 h 44 min from Palermo
By train
Station in the comune
Population
2,475

Known for

  • BANDIERA ARANCIONE

    The only commune in Sicily to hold the Italian Touring Club's Orange Flag for inland tourism quality.

  • PARCO DELLE MADONIE

    Headquarters of the regional natural park inside the comune, covering most of its territory and the Pizzo Carbonara summit.

  • CHIESA MADRE

    Seventeenth-century mother church, the largest place of worship in the Madonie, in the Pusterna district overlooking Piazza Umberto.

When to visit

Best · Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar

  • J8°
  • F10°
  • M10°
  • A14°
  • M19°
  • J26°
  • J29°
  • A28°
  • S24°
  • O19°
  • N14°
  • D10°
  • Best
  • Hot or crowded
  • Quiet
  • Mostly closed

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

Why come

Petralia Sottana sits at 1,000 meters in the heart of the Madonie, the second-highest range in Sicily after Etna. The town is the only commune in Sicily to hold a Bandiera Arancione from the Italian Touring Club, and the headquarters of the Parco delle Madonie are inside its territory. The two Petralie, Sottana and Soprana, share a Roman and Byzantine origin and were rebuilt under the Normans on opposite slopes of the same ridge; Sottana, the lower of the two, became the administrative centre of the surrounding mountain villages.

The Chiesa Madre, also known as the Chiesa Maria Santissima Assunta, is the largest place of worship in the Madonie, seventeenth-century and rebuilt around an earlier core in the Pusterna district. The Chiesa di Santa Maria di Loreto, founded in 1484 and remade in the seventeenth century, has majolica spires that mark the south end of the centro. Piazza del Popolo holds the Neo-Gothic Palazzo Pottino, the marble Quattro Cannoli fountain of Billiemi stone, and the Oratorio delle Anime Purganti.

The Sunday letter

Petralia Sottana 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 Sottana comes up. By Peter & Sophia, from Pietrasanta.

Read on

Petralia Sottana in our articles

How to get there

From Catania (CTA), about 2h 17m by car.

By car from the centre of Palermo 1h 44m.

There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive without a car.

Coming from Palermo?

Petralia Sottana, photo 1
Petralia Sottana, photo 2

What to see

  • Chiesa Madre (Maria Santissima Assunta)

    Seventeenth-century mother church on Piazza Umberto, the largest place of worship in the Madonie, in the ancient Pusterna district.

  • Chiesa di Santa Maria di Loreto

    Church founded in 1484 and rebuilt in the seventeenth century, with majolica spires and a marble altarpiece attributed to Giandomenico Gagini.

  • Piazza del Popolo

    Central square with the Neo-Gothic Palazzo Pottino of the Marquises of Eschifaldo, the Oratorio delle Anime Purganti and the Quattro Cannoli fountain.

  • Parco delle Madonie

    Regional natural park with headquarters in the village, covering most of the municipal territory and rising to Pizzo Carbonara at 1,979 meters.

  • Pizzo Carbonara

    Highest peak in the Madonie at 1,979 meters, second in Sicily only to Etna, with the trailhead reached from the southern flank of the village.

The slow-trip planner

Building a trip? Find where Petralia Sottana 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 2,475
  • Remotei
  • Pharmacy in town
  • High school within a 30-minute drive
  • Train station in the comune
  • Nearest airport Catania, 2 h 17 min drive
  • Regional capital Palermo, 1 h 44 min drive

Common questions

What is Petralia Sottana known for?
Petralia Sottana is a Madonie village at 1,000 meters, the only Bandiera Arancione in Sicily, and the headquarters of the Parco delle Madonie.
Where is Petralia Sottana?
Petralia Sottana is a comune in the province of Palermo, in Sicily, at 1000 meters above sea level.
What is the nearest airport to Petralia Sottana?
Catania (CTA), about 2h 17m by car.
Can you get to Petralia Sottana without a car?
Yes. There is a railway station in the comune, so you can arrive by train.
How long is the drive from Palermo to Petralia Sottana?
About 1h 44m by car.
When is the best time to visit Petralia Sottana?
Best in Jun–Sep, Dec–Mar. July is the warmest month, averaging 29 degrees, and December the wettest, with about 12 rain days.
Is there a sagra or a festival in Petralia Sottana?
Yes. Ballo Pantomima della Cordella a Petralia Sottana. August is when the first of them falls.
Which other towns are like Petralia Sottana?
Geraci Siculo, Petralia Soprana and Limone Piemonte.
How many people live in Petralia Sottana?
2,475 at the 2023 count.
Tags & datadesignations · numbers · sources

The numbers

  • Elevation: 1000 m
  • Population: 2,475
  • Surface area: 178.35 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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