Recently voted the most beautiful village in Italy, Montalbano Elicona is a hill town on the north coast dominated by its castle, of which the oldest and the highest part was probably built by the Normans, while the lower part was built by Frederick II of Aragon in 1302 as his summer residence. Southeast of Montalbano, a barren hilltop emerges from the Bosco di Malabotta nature reserve, where the Argimusco, a group of huge monoliths – some of which are over 40m high – can be seen. Often called the “Sicilian Stonehenge”, the stones could be natural formations, but many scholars are of the opinion that they were modelled by hand. In fact several likenesses can be seen, of a Woman at Prayer, an Eagle, a Swan etc. The 360° view from this point is indescribable. To the north Salina, with its twin hills, rises through an azure haze; to the south looms, immense, Mt Etna. The sphinx-like hill of Novara di Sicilia and the Malabotta forest can be seen to the east, while to the west are the first mountains of the Nebrodi chain.
Luxury Sicily Holidays 