Historical notes
The etymology of the name could derive from the Cratos Mount, or from the Crati stream that crosses the inhabited center.
The first settlements in the village date back to the age of bronze and iron, as evidenced by some artifacts found on site, including weapons and axes forged in metal of excellent workmanship.
After the I century A.D. and the Muslim invasion, in the territory have been recovered some testimonies of Roman and Norman installations, without forgetting the Arabic presence that has forged language, uses, customs and traditions.
What to see and what to visit to Gratteri
The gem among the mountains of Sicily is one of the most mysterious and suggestive suburbs of all our Boot, in which still today numerous myths and legends are handed down.
Starting from the stone head of the shepherd Dafni, until the prophecies and the oracles of the Old Woman of the Cave, the fabulous stories are countless and increase even more the charm of this place. It is narrated that in these territories it existed a passage for the inferi, the so-called "Mouth of the Hell" described by Dante in the Divine Comedy, defended by the monster Macigna.
Gratteri is therefore a suburb that will like a lot to the estimators of history and mythology: among the more evocative treasures to visit it is owed to cite the Arabic Norman run and the Abbey of Saint George, the Church of Saint Maria of the Jesus of the XII century, the Cave Grattara, the Church Mother and the Old Matrix with its precious and innumerable treasures of remarkable historical-artistic interest.
The suburb of Gratteri is a place in which numerous cultures between west and east meet themselves, a melting pot in which to lose oneself and to find oneself again, as they testify finds and rests of different epochs.
But the village, nestled in the Sicilian mountains, the Madonie, is not only a sort of open-air archaeological site, but also an opportunity to do sports and spend pleasant time outdoors, surrounded by nature.
Here you can go trekking and admire the enchanting spectacle touched by the hand of God, and participate in interesting excursions organized by the Sicilian municipality.
It is also a rare opportunity to live in contact with one of the most uncontaminated landscapes of our Boot, in the suburb of 900 inhabitants that has preserved such and as it was in origin.
Gratteri is a pearl, a precious gem to protect and to preserve, through a sustainable tourism and a vacation to the insignia of the respect toward the nature and its places of charm.
Kitchen and handicraft
During a stay to Gratteri you can live the experience of a tasting of local dairy products, as cheeses realized from the fresh milk of the animals raised in natural way and to contact with the nature, to the pasture: they are still fed in rudimentary way and with fresh grass wet from the rain.
Moreover, for some years now there is the festival of the so-called purpietta c'addauru, the meatball of minced meat gratinated with laurel. It is a true mountain specialty of the place, cooked on the grill and served to the tourist on two laurel leaves which preserve the scent and the aroma.
Another typically Sicilian wealth that is possible to admire during a vacation to Gratteri is the local and typical handicraft of the suburbs, among which the workmanship of the ceramics and the lace.
Among the popular traditions of Gratteri, besides, we remember some festivals and parties of Latin origin as "u Jiuovi di' mastri" and the "Luminarie del 18 marzo".
Other things to make in summer in the Park of the Madonie
In Caltavuturo, a site of Arab origin, it is possible to visit churches and archaeological remains of admirable interest, such as the Rocca di Sciara on which you can reach the top thanks to the mountain guide.
The village of Castelbuono, after being hit by the plague in the 1500s, became the residence of artists from all over the world.
Cefalù, Pollina and Scillato are other picturesque and evocative villages to visit absolutely during a vacation in Gratteri and in the mountains of the Madonie.
Sclafani Bagni, finally, is renowned for an important thermal establishment where you can relax and regenerate.
