Naturalistic Itineraries

tourism

Manca Wood and Old Park

From Marineo, you must follow the route leading to Santa Cristina Gela.
Before arriving to the bridge near the straits, you have to take a path on the right, which reaches the E.A.S. houses, in a locality called SERENA. Then you have to follow the River Acqua di Masi for a while.
You will reach Serena Falls, formed during winter and spring by the abundant rains. Going back to the main street, ending no more than one Km forward, you arrive, through a steep slope, to a path between two estates. This path reaches “Parco Vecchio”. On the tableland, Parco Vecchio farm is silhouetted against the sky. It is situated under Manca wood. There, some olive trees, still existing have replaced the ancient wood. Its name derives from a tradition, according to which the Norman King Ruggero created a game reserve in this area and wanted some houses to be built there. After the creation of other parks in Altofonte and Partinico, this wood was called “vecchio” , i.e. “old”, to tell it from the new ones. In XVI century, it was given to Cistercian monks, who eventually lost this estate.
At the end of XV century, maybe because of the Teutonic knights who owned this land and Risalaimi houses too, it was deeply transformed, a little church was built and the main façade of the farm was rebuilt. The little church, which was still working a few decades ago, today lacks its roof and it is in ruins, while the other parts of the building have been deeply restored, damaging the ancient charm of the place. Recently, some frescoes have been found out on the inside walls. They represent Saint Bernard, Saint John the Baptist and Saint Dominic. In 1763, Ferdinand III Bourbon took it as a part of his royal estates. But a few years later, the land was given to the Marquis De Gregorio, who deeply and elegantly transformed it. He wanted some neo-classical frescoes, still visible on the walls, inside and outside of the church.
Today, the farm is composed by several buildings, on the sides of a rectangular court. You enter through an arch of the period of renaissance. Walking forward, towards Santa Cristina Gela, you reach Turdiepi Farm. If you want, you can take a walk towards south, near Manca wood. There, despite the continuous fires, there’s still an interesting woodland area. In the wood, there are some traces of industrial archaeology, such as a coal cellar and a lime kiln.
 

correlative themes:
routes and spare time index
the Mills Path
Acqua del Pioppo farm
Manca Wood and Old Park
Sovarita wood and Scanzano lake
straits gorges
pizzo Parrino





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