The itinerary of wheat: historical roots and biodiversity reserve

The Macaluso Geopark Centre is located in the rural hamlet of Cacchiamo, which still embodies the traditional identity of inland Sicily, close to important geosites including the bioherm of the Cacchiamo corals. The centre, managed by a trust association, offers a learning path featuring multimedia elements and informative panels. The reception room contains information on the entire Rocca di Cerere UNESCO Global Geopark area, while the atrium features an interactive model of the coral area. The classroom houses a scale model of a pagghiaro, a traditional rural dwelling, as well as a description of the Via Annonaria Henna-Halaesa with a section of a stanzìa, an ancient grain silo. An immersive room tells the geological history of the area, from volcanic formations to Messinian evaporite deposits. Another room contains exhibits with large-scale models of the corals that formed the now fossilised reef, which allow tactile interaction.  The village, including the Villa Masseria Bongiorno, has a visitor support and information system.

Since the Neolithic, cereals – particularly durum wheat – have been cultivated in Sicily and methods for preserving foodstuffs have been developed. Over time, increasing production capacity led to the development of underground storage systems such as the stanzìe in the Geopark area: pits shaped like truncated cones, excavated into the rock, partially backfilled and sealed. These chambers created a sterile environment thanks to the carbon dioxide produced by wheat transpiration, ensuring long-term preservation. They became widespread between the First and Second Punic Wars, when inland Sicilian territories paid a tithe – one-tenth of their harvest to Syracuse. Following the Roman conquest, the tithe became common practice, making the transport of grain to Rome essential. Traditional preservation methods remained in use until the early 20th century, when they began to be replaced by modern technologies.

After being quickly absorbed into the Roman sphere of influence, Sicily became the granary of the Roman Republic and in late antiquity again played a central economic role. The Romans promptly intervened in the road network, chiefly consolidating ancient routes, some of which originated in the Greek colonisation period. These routes connected agricultural and mining centres to the ports from which goods were shipped to Rome.

These roads, known as annonariae, were dedicated to transporting grain. In his Verrine Orations, Cicero records that, in the first century BC, wheat from Henna could reach the ports of Halaesa Arconidea (modern-day Tusa), Catania, or Finziade (modern-day Licata) in a single day. Cacchiamo was located at a strategic point along the Via Henna–Halaesa, and it was precisely because of this privileged position that feudal lords built a village around a fortified farmhouse.

San Giorgio is a hamlet within the municipality of Assoro. It is situated in a panoramic position among the southern gorges, overlooking the Murra valleys and mount Zimbalio. The small, compact village developed in a clustered layout, taking advantage of the natural shape of the land. It comprises the villages of Bannò (likely the oldest original nucleus), Di Marco, San Giorgio, Di Pasqua and Screpis. The latter is characterised by an impressive fortified rural residence featuring a crenelated tower and protruding cylindrical loopholes for firing arquebuses. The village’s layout follows ancient footpaths, and the so-called Regia Trazzera Assoro–San Giorgio was converted into a provincial road just thirty years ago. Significant archaeological remains were discovered during road improvement works. Notably, large ceramic containers (jars) and a slab bearing a Latin inscription were found between the Bannò and Di Pasqua districts, providing insight into the probable origins of the settlement.

This calcarenite peak, which rises almost independently from the main body of the mountain, was shaped in classical times to form the upper part of the sacred temenos dedicated to Demeter and Kore. In his speech against the governor Verres, Cicero mentions the presence of statues of Demeter and Triptolemus, the Greek hero associated with the Eleusinian myth, on this very rock. The exact location of the temples remains uncertain, but they likely stood in the area now occupied by Lombardy Castle. The Rocca di Cerere site, known to the people of Enna as the Rocca d’Azeru (from the Maghrebi term azirhou meaning ‘rocky peak’), was inhabited in pre-Hellenic times. However, it was under the Greeks that it became an official place of worship and a destination for pilgrimages and propitiatory rites linked to the cycle of the seasons and the harvest. Similar to those celebrated in Eleusis in Greece, mystery rites linked to sowing, harvesting and the fertility of the land were likely performed here.