Poggioreale, (TP) 17th century in origin, owes its name to the Latin dialect for podus riali, “the king’s residence” and was always a fervidly active agricultural centre from the time of its establishment. The violent 1968 earthquake in Belice destroyed the entire residential centre and caused irreparable damage to the few buildings left standing. The village was abandoned and rebuilt from scratch several kilometres further down the valley, with structures that were modern and avant-garde for the time.
The old city has a checkerboard layout. A main axis, corso Umberto I, leads into the ruined village where the outer walls of buildings still stand, their interiors reduced to heaps of rubble. All the monuments were destroyed: the theatre, town hall, church of St. Anthony and the Mother Church.
Sicilia Film Commission
Via Emanuele Notarbartolo 9 — 90141 Palermo
Phone: +39 091 7078008; +39 091 7078264; +39 091 7078133; +39 091 7078145
Email: filmcommission@regione.sicilia.it
