Montelepre

Montelepre is a village in the Palermo hinterland, situated on the first slopes of the hills that overlook the Gulf of Castellammare. Its historic center retains a compact structure of medieval origin, typical of many Sicilian villages.
It does not have monumental wonders, but is quite close to several major sites in the region, including the coast of the Gulf of Castellammare, Palermo and Monreale.
The village nonetheless has several notable stories, being on the one hand the birthplace of Salvatore Giuliano, a famous and controversial figure of 20th-century Sicily; on the other hand, a prince of Orléans developed an innovative wine-growing estate there in the 19th century.

What to see in Montelepre

Ventimiglia Tower

The most representative heritage element is the Torre Ventimiglia, a 15th-century tower that dominates the town, with a beautiful panorama. It now houses the civic ethnographic and archaeological museum, where objects related to the rural history of the area are kept, as well as remains from the surroundings.

Nearby is the mother church of Maria Santissima del Rosario, a building from the late 17th century, notably preserving the icon of the Most Holy Crucifix, and 19th-century stuccoes by Antonio Caponetti. Very close by, the church of San Giuseppe o Anime Sante dates from 1717, enlarged in the 18th century, with frescoes inside by Giuseppe Carta on the life of Saint Joseph, a stucco and wood group of the Holy Family by Antonio Genovese, etc.

The house linked to Salvatore Giuliano (see below) is presented as a house-museum exhibiting objects, photographs and documents retracing the life and activities of this historical figure of 20th-century Sicilian banditry.

Church of San Giuseppe o Anime Sante

The immediate surroundings of Montelepre are characterized by a landscape of hills, woods and agricultural areas. The slopes of Monte d’Oro and the bosco di Santa Venera, a lovely wood with accessible hiking trails.

Salvatore Giulinao

Montelepre is the birthplace of Salvatore Giuliano (1922-1950), who became, in the context of the immediate post-war period, one of the most famous bandits in Sicily. His path, mixing brigandage, social demands, Sicilian separatism and ambiguous relations with various powers, helped forge a popular image often likened to that of a Sicilian “Robin Hood”, although this representation remains historically complex and controversial.
In the village, his birthplace has been preserved and transformed into a museum, known as the Casa Museo Salvatore Giuliano. This small museum, which has remained close to its original state, displays personal objects, documents, photographs and testimonies relating to his life. It today constitutes a central place of memory for understanding both Giuliano’s trajectory, the social and political context of Sicily in the 1940s, and the construction of his legend in local collective memory.

The wine of the prince of Orléans

Montelepre experienced a curious page in the agricultural and wine-growing history of the area in the 19th century. In the Zucco area, located between Montelepre and Terrasini, stretched a vast estate known as the Tenuta di Zucco. This property initially belonged to don Vincenzo Grifeo, duke of Floridia and prince of Partanna, before being acquired and transformed by the duc d’Aumale Henri d’Orléans, son of the King of France Louis-Philippe and of Marie Amélie de Bourbon-Deux-Siciles.
The Duke of Aumale had a structured agricultural complex built and modernized on this estate, with its rural palace, known as the Palazzo d’Aumale. This enabled an organized wine production geared toward export. The wine produced on the estate, often referred to as vin de Zucco, was shipped directly from the small natural port of Praiola on the coast, bound for France and other countries.
This agricultural and residential complex is today evoked and documented in the Museo del Palazzo d’Aumale in Terrasini, which notably retraces the presence and activities of the Orléans family in western Sicily.
The former Tenuta di Zocco is, however, nowadays in a state of abandonment.