As children, we all tried to give shape to the various elements of nature: clouds, mountains, hills. Well, the same thing is done with a now famous Sicilian village. Ascertained that it is not an optical illusion, what shape do you see?
If in Calabria the town of Santa Maria del Cedro is a popular destination for rabbis from all over the world, even in the heart of Sicily there is a small town with a decidedly unusual shape: We are talking about Centuripe about 60km from Enna. Its name over the centuries has taken on various meanings: initially it could in fact date back to Greek colonization, with the town being called Kentoripa in the 4th century. BC, while later its rocky appearance would explain the Latin name Centum Rupes, which means “hundred cliffs”.
It is a place known for its pottery and apparently essential in Roman times for its strategic role in connecting the sea to the mountain. However, what is talked about today is its unusual and particular shape that makes it unique in the world. In fact, if you take off in the air, Centuripe has an aspect that favors the imagination of the observer: is it a human form or better still a starfish?
Apparently, some books claim that thanks to its location it was defined by Garibaldi”the balcony of Sicily“, and it is precisely from this balcony that various arteries branch off which would form the limbs of this much loved marine animal.
To ensure this strange shape certainly contributes to the high position on which it is located and in particular its branches precisely, which they literally hug neighboring necks. Centuripe is in fact located about 730 meters above sea level, precisely between the cities of Catania and Enna and, as we have already seen, between the sea and the mountains.
It therefore appears evident that after the discovery of a new species of tortoise in Sicily, this region is still full of secrets and curiosities still not particularly known, just waiting to be told.
