Castello Grifeo Partanna

CASTLE Grifeo PARTANNA Regional Museum of Prehistory of Belice Interpretation center and territorial enhancement

Grifeo castle, building the first of which presumably dates back to the fourteenth century, although its existence is documented in 1453, is presented with the solemn look of ancient crenellated fortress. Today Grifeo Castle, is home to the Regional Museum of Prehistory of the Belice. The exposed archaeological finds, are coming in large part from the area of ​​Contrada Strait following the excavations, conducted by Sebastiano Tusa since the 80s, and some necropolis of belicino territory, with burial caves and chamber, dated middle and late Bronze age. Particularly interesting to see the various types of prehistoric pottery, vases of Naro-Partanna style and Glass Campaniforme, the big vase found in Capo d'Acqua, flints, decorated pottery, cups, attingiti and remains of fauna from the Upper Pleistocene, such as elephants, hippos and deer. Special attention deserves the "drilled Skull", dating from the early Bronze Age, rivenuto in the funerary deposit of a small cave to the district Strait, and when a temporary loan from the Salinas Regional Archaeological Museum of Palermo. It is a skull with a large occipital hole made while the subject was alive. The subject survived this "operation" very frequent part of the civilization of Glass Campaniforme. A primordial magic-surgical practice probably practiced to treat mental illness. . In the course of visit, even the "Hall of Arms" or "Throne Room" with a rectangular plan with real-time and a fresco of the eighteenth century. which depicts King Ruggero II defeating near Mazara Arabic Mokarta during the liberation of Sicily by the Arabs by the Normans. Inside it is set up a small but valuable art gallery consists of works from some churches destroyed after the 1968 earthquake that struck the entire Belice valley. Among the works stands out for its beauty, the altarpiece of the Rosary Madonna of Dominican saints, dated 1585, signed by the Flemish painter Simon de Wobreck.