Calatafimi Segesta

The town takes its name from the Arab "Qal’at Fimi" (that is Rock of Eufemio): he was an officer of Byzantium who, according to an old tradition, favoured the conquest of Sicily by the Saracens. Some scholars link the name Calatafimi with Acesta, a little town contemporary of Segesta, or with Castrum Phimes, from the name of a noble landowner of Segesta, named also by Cicero. The present town originated around the “Castle of Phimes”, and its oldest part stands here. Calatafimi, with the Castle of Eufemio and its churches, is characterised also by its lanes and small streets of Arab derivation. At about 10 km from this town there is the archaeological site of Segesta, with the Greek temple and the ancient theatre, where they hold classical performances.

Tourist Information

• Ufficio Turistico

  phone: +39 0924 9505507
  address: piazza Cangemi,1

• Pro Loco

  phone: +39 333 9245687
  address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele,16

• U.R.P.

  phone: +39 0924 9505240
  address: Piazza Francesco Cangemi,1

By plane

Calatafimi is about 60 km away from Aeroporto "Falcone e Borsellino" of Palermo-Punta Raisi and 50 km from Aeroporto "Vincenzo Florio" of Trapani-Birgi (phone: +39 0923 842502).
From Airport Palermo-Punta Raisi, you can get the train from Punta Raisi to Alcamo Diramazione railway station (one every 30 minutes) and take a taxi from there.

By car

• From Palermo — Through the A29 Motorway Palermo-Trapani, at Segesta exit, after passing the archaelogical area, you enter the National Road 113 (S.S.113) towards Trapani. The junction for Calatafimi is at about 3 Km.
• From Trapani — Through the A29 Motorway, towards Palermo, at Segesta exit; otherwise you can go along the National Road 113 and take the junction after those for Vita and Pianto Romano.

By ship

• Linea Tirrenia

  phone: +39 0923 545433

• Linea Grimaldi

  phone: +39 0923 542470

• Linea Ustica Lines

  phone: +39 0923 873813

• Siremar

  phone: +39 0923 24968

• Traghetti delle Isole

  address: via Ammiraglio Staiti, 23

• Ustica Lines

  phone: +39 0923 873813

By rail

• Railway Station of Alcamo DiramazioneIt is on the railway line Palermo-Trapani.

By bus

• AST

  phone: +39 0923 21021
  address: via Virgilio, 20 Trapani

• Autoservizi Lumia

  phone: +39 0922 20414

• Autoservizi Salemi

  phone: +39 0923 981120

• Segesta autolinee

  phone: +39 0923 2006, +39 091 304106
  address: Via Libertà, 171

• Segesta autolinee

  phone: +39 091 300556,+39 091 304106
  address: Via Libertà, 171

• Tarantola bus

  phone: +39 0924 31020
  address: Via Marina Petrolo, 16

Owing to the particular geographical position of Calatafimi, many streets have a steep slope. Moreover, Eufemio Castle and the Church of Santissimo Crocifisso are two perfect points of reference as they are visible from different places. After going uphill for Via Segesta (take the ingresso della cittadina if you are coming from the National Road 113), you get to largo Duca degli Abruzzi which is the right starting point for any exploration. On the left there is Via Alcide de Gasperi (an almost new area), while the main road link is corso Garibaldi, on the right. From via Marconi, an important main road which continues to Corso Vittorio Emanuele, you will arrive at piazza Plebiscito and can start an artistic tour of the town. Here you can admire the Church of Madonna di Giubino, built by Giovan Biagio Amico from Trapani, close to the 16th-century small church of the Benedictine nunnery of Santa Caterina, and, on the other side of the square, the Church of San Michele, with the Civic Library on its right. Further on, along via Marconi, you will meet the Town Hall (Palazzo Comunale), between palazzo Pampalone, where the hero of the Risorgimento (19th-century struggle for Italian unification), Garibaldi rested after the battle of Pianto Romano, and the 16th-century church of San Giuliano. From via Marconi you will arrive at piazza Nocito and, behind it, piazza Nullo. At the end of the slope, there is the mother Church of San Silvestro Papa, and, if you go on climbing, you get to the hill’s peak (338 metres high) where Eufemio Castle rises. Coming down viale Oberdan you will find the medieval quarter of Borgo (the old village), that keeps integral its environmental features inside the small streets and courtyards.

Taxi service

As the town centre of Calatafimi is quite small and its streets are narrow, there is no bus service, so you can walk, or for long distances, you can use your car or get a taxi.

• Nstonline Transfer & Taxi

  phone: +39 366 8710222
  address: Via Segesta, 34

• Segesta archaeological siteSegesta is the site of an ancient Graeco-Roman city. The site is immediately off the main A29 road, straight after a long tunnel if travelling from Palermo. Onsite there is free parking. Tarantola Bus goes between Palermo and Calatafimi (aka Calatafimi-Segesta) a few times daily, stopping at Segesta en route. You may have a long wait for a return bus. (Perhaps confusingly, Segesta Bus does not go to Segesta.) Coffee and pizza are available at the cafe near the car park.

The Doric temple

address: Archaelogical area of Segesta

Built between 430-420 BCE, 61 m (190 feet) long, 26 m wide, built upon a platform of 4 steps, it has 36 Doric columns supporting the stone roof-frame of the structure (14 columns along the lengths of the building, 6 columns across front and back). They are of a "rough" finish as the temple has never been completed. The temple seems also to have lacked a roof over the cella (main chamber) in antiquity, rather uniquely - scholars are in disagreement as to whether the temple was planned this way, or just never completed.

The Greek AmphitheatreIt is on a hilltop and was built by the Greeks at about 400 BC. It was discovered in the 19th century. They play classical comedies and tragedies in July and August. A bus (€1.50) is available every 30 minutes to the site of the Amphitheatre at the top of the hill. It's a brisk, uphill, 20-minute walk otherwise.

The Greek sanctuary

address: contrada Mango

In the archaeological area of Segesta there are the remains of an ancient sanctuary, dating back perhaps to the 6th century BC and built outside the town centre of Segesta.

Other sites

• Pianto RomanoThe Ossuary of Pianto Romano, built in memory of the soldiers who died in the battle between the Mille and the Bourbon troops, from a design made by E. Basile. It was inaugurated on 15 May 1892. From its top you can admire wonderful landscapes in all directions.

• Castello EufemioIt is on a hill dominating the whole town. It is probably a 12th-century reconstruction of an older castle built for defence. Today there remain only a tower, some warehouses, the cells and the courtyard.

• Chiesa MadreThis church was built in the first half of the 13th century and dedicated to Saint Silvestro the Pope; it was then rebuilt in 1547. It has a nave and two aisles, with Roman arches. There are a lot of stuccoes, paintings, marbles and wooden statues.

• Chiesa del Santissimo CrocifissoThis church was built at about 1750, to G.B. Amico's plan. In the façade there is a portal coming from the former church of Stimmate (Stigmata) in Palermo. Inside you can see frescoes by the painter Gianbecchina, stuccoes and paintings of different periods.

• Chiesa di san Michele

  address: piazza Plebiscito
  Founded by the Congregation of Saint Michael in the 14th century and restored by the Third Franciscan Order, who enlarged the adjoining friary. It has a nave with two aisles and is rich with stuccoes, paintings and wooden statues.

• Chiesa di Maria Santissima del Giubino

  address: Via Mazzini
  This church adjoins the former Benedictine nunnery and is a very beautiful church. It was built on the plan made by Giovanni Biagio Amico and is dedicated to the cult of Madonna di Giubino, patroness of Calatafimi.

• Santuario di Maria Santissima di GiubinoIt is on the northern side of the hill Tre croci. It is a Marian sanctuary linked to the memory of the Blessed Arcangelo Placenza from Calatafimi and to the cult of Maria Santissima di Giubino.

• Itinerario dei vicoli

  address: below via Oberdan
  It is like a voyage inside people's history: on the walls of these lanes you can see Garibaldi's deeds again, the farmers' proverbs, the ceramics coloured butterflies and the holy water stoups.

• Museo Etnoantropologico Comunale

  phone: +39 0924 951151, +39 0924-952696
  address: Corso Vittorio Emanuele 78
  It represents the historical memory and Calatafimi people's vocation which is merely agricultural; you can see implements, tools and objects almost forgotten now, which were used in the fields, by artisans or in the houses.

• Casa-Museo di Garibaldi

  address: Via Guglielmo Marconi, 25
  The building dates back to 1700 and reminds the Garibaldian epic deeds: there are two marble memorial tablets on façade and inside it, dated 16th May 1860 and July 1862. Both of them are testimony of the presence of garibaldi at calatfimi and at the Pampalones' house.

• Ex Convento di San FrancescoThe former church, dedicated to saint James the apostle, may have dated back to the 13th century. Today, on the eastern side, there are a window (which is walled up) surmounting a door, with small columns and an archivolt of the 16th century. It was enlarged in 1544 and the interior has been restored at about 1750. It hosts some paintings an wooden statues.

• Biblioteca Comunale

  phone: +39 0924 951071
  address: Piazza Plebiscito

• Bosco di Angimbè

  address: National Road 113, S.S.113
  The evergreen forests represent an environment full of fashion, not only for the species of their trees, like the cork oak and the holm oak but also for the richness of shrubs and herbaceous plants which develop in the underwood.

• Cavalieri Del Castello Eufemio A.S.D.

  address: Contrada Barbaro S.P. 68
  Its main activity is the formation of new horse-riding champions who take part in a lot of competitions.

• Scuderia Vivona

  phone: +39 339 2878407
  address: Contrada Pantano
  It organizes trips and excursions on horses.

• Terme segestane

  address: near the Castellammare del Golfo junction of the National road (S.S.) 113
  The establishment has three thermal bathing pools and three sulphuric water springs (two inside and one outside it) that naturally pour out at the temperature of 44° and 46° C. You can carry out an efficient and valuable therapy in these natural warm-damp and sudorific rooms.

Events

• Procession of the Most Holy Crucifix

  address: Church of the Most Holy Crucifix
• Garibaldians' Day: on 15th May

• Procession of Corpus Domini

  address: Piazza Plebiscito
• Procession of Our Lady of the Assumption: on 15th August.
• Procession of Madonna del Giubino: on the fourth Sunday of September.
• Procession of the Immaculate Conception: on December 8th (evening and night).
• Estate Calatafimese (Calatafimi's Summer): from the end of July to the first days of September).

• Calatafimi Segesta Dionisiache

  address: Segesta
  A series of classical theatrical performances held in summer.

• Feast of the Most Holy Crucifix

  address: Church of the Most Holy Crucifix

• Banca Don Rizzo Credito Cooperativo

  address: Via Segesta, 66

• Credito Siciliano

  address: Largo Duca degli Abruzzi 4

• Unicredit

  address: Via Mazzini 23

• Ceramiche Maior

  phone: +39 333 2187158
  address: via Roma, 24

• Planet Gems

  phone: +39 0924 952944
  address: via Comm. Sebastiano Simone, 36
  Mediterranean coral pictures and embellished porcelain.

• Divino Rosso

  phone: +39 340 9434189, +39 339 1556252, +39 339 4622125
  address: Via A. de Gasperi
  Restaurant and pub at fixed menu

• Fridor

  phone: +39 0924 950111
  address: Via Aldo Moro, 43
  Fry shop and self-service

• La Maison Ristorante

  phone: +39 0924 950006
  address: Via Segesta, 15

• Margana s.a.s.

  phone: +39 338 3293872, +39 334 9116919, +39 338 7208920
  address: Contrada Margana

• Pizza in piazza

  phone: +39 0924 952093
  address: Piazza Pietro Nocito, 12

• Pizza Planet

  phone: +39 389 4233331
  address: Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi

• Pizzeria Ristorante dell' Orso

  address: via Gorizia, 2

• Ristorante Bar

  phone: +39 0924 951131
  address: Archaeological area of Segesta

• Ristorante Mediterraneo Segesta

  phone: +39 0924 951355, +39 330 832537
  address: Turistic Railway Station Segesta
  restaurant-pizzeria

• Ristorante Mille Pini

  phone: +39 0924 951260
  address: Belvedere F. Vivona, 4

• Ristorante Pizzeria Egesta

  phone: +39 0924 950367
  address: via F. Lentini, 65

• Ristorante Pizzeria Le Gole

  phone: +39 329 1072610
  address: via F.Lentini,9
  A large choice in the menu: very good appetizers, first courses and meat second courses.

• Trattoria Paninoteca

  phone: +39 0924 950095
  address: via Segesta, 55

• La pagoda

  phone: +39 333 590 1023
  address: Piazza Nicolò Mazara

• Agorà di Segesta

  phone: +39 0924 954483, +39 340 7806505, +39 339 8374699
  address: Contrada Monte Barbaro

• Agriturismo Antichi Granai

  phone: +39 339 7918110
  address: contrada Barchetta

• Angimbè Relais Hotel

  phone: +39 0924 530 120
  address: on the National Road (S.S.) 113 km 338.4 (between Alcamo and Calatafimi-Segesta
  This is a recently restored baglio. The rooms have air conditioning, Wifi, TV and a private bath. Breakfast is rich and you can taste local dishes at its restaurant in the evening. Free parking and an open air swimming pool in the summer are at your disposal.

• Baglio Pocoroba

  phone: +39 338 1139150, +39 368 7209735
  address: contrada Pocoroba

• Casa Vacanza Marzuco

  phone: +39 339 7142544
  address: Contrada Marzuco
  Rents flats overlooking a garden and a large terrace facing the temple of Segesta.

• Hotel MillePini

  phone: +39 0924 951260
  address: Belvedere Francesco Vivona,4

• La Suite di Segesta

  phone: +39 333 3126455, +39 333 7643969
  address: monte Barbaro, Segesta
  The B&B La Suite of Segesta is a new group of houses recently built as of 2016. Each guest has a fridge, TV, free wi-fi, air conditioning, and free parking. It is very near to the Temple.

• Tenute Margana

  phone: +39 0924 954483, +39 338 3293872, +39 3387208920
  address: Contrada Margana
  Restaurant, pizzeria, lodgings.

• Terme Gorga Hotel

  phone: +39 0924 23842
  address: Contrada Gorga

• Villa del Bosco

  phone: +39 339 1856092, +39 330 849216
  address: contrada Marzuko

• Vigili Urbani

  phone: +39 0924 9505280
  address: Via Mazzini, 46

• Carabinieri's post

  phone: +39 0924 951110
  address: Contrada San Vito,45

• Guardia Medica

  phone: +39 950370
  address: Via Alcide De Gasperi, 101

• dottor Minore Leonardo

  phone: +39 333 8077716
  ambulatory veterinarian

• Farmacia Autuori

  phone: +39 0924 951184
  address: Via A. De Gasperi, 48

• Farmacia D' Angelo Francesca

  phone: +39 0924 951092
  address: Corso V. Emanuele, 51

• Farmacia Gallo Antonino

  phone: +39 0924 951178
  address: Via Avv. G. Gallo, 1

• Poste Italiane

  phone: +39 0924 954811
  address: Via Segesta, 2

• L'angolo dello Sport

  phone: +39 0924 954367
  address: Corso Garibaldi, 23

• Internet Point

  phone: +39 0924 954319
  address: Piazza Nocito, 12

• Segesta
• Nature reserve Bosco di Alcamo
• Alcamo
• Castellammare del Golfo
• Salemi
• Erice