SALUTI DA SAN FRATELLO - LA PORTA DEI NEBRODI -

SAN FRATELLO (Prov. Messina)
Panorama       Panoramic picture

San Fratello, 5000 abitanti circa, altitudine 675 s.l.m., comune del Parco dei Nebrodi, è il luogo dove sono nato.

San Fratello, about 5,000 inhabitants, 675 metres above  sea level,  municipal town of the Nebrodi Park, is the place where I was born.

San Fratello fu fondata nel XII secolo dai lombardi venuti in Sicilia al seguito di Adelasia di Monferrato ed ancora oggi i suoi abitanti parlano una lingua gallo-italica che non ha nulla in comune con il dialetto siciliano.

San Fratello was founded in the twelfth century by a people who come from Lombardy coming to  Sicily together with Adelasia Monferrato and still today its inhabitants still speak a Gallic-Italic language, that so different from Sicilian dialect. 

Boschi dei Nebrodi
I numerosi centri, come San Fratello, che circondano l'area dei Nebrodi sono autentiche "porte d'ingresso" a zone di grande valore naturalistico.
The Nebrodi Mountains
The Nebrodi Mountains to the north directly face the Tyrrhenian Sea, while their southern side is marked by the Etna, and in particular by rivers Alcantara and Simeto. The main elements that characterize most the Nebrodi natural landscape are the asymmetry of each side, the different modeling of the mountain chains, the very rich vegetation and the humid environments.

The essential peculiarity of the orographic structure is the rounding of the peaks, which is due to the presence of wide banks of clayey arenaceous rocks: the peaks, which with the Monte Soro reach the maximum height of 1,847 meters above sea-level, have rounded flanks and form wide valleys crossed by many rivers that flow into the Tyrrhenian Sea. Where the limestone prevail, the landscape presents dolomitic aspects, with irregular profiles and sharp, fissured forms. This is the case of "Monte San Fratello" and most of all of the "Rocche del Crasto" (1,315 metres above sea level).

Pagliaio di pastori dei Monti Nebrodi
La pastorizia, insieme all'agricoltura, allo sfruttamento del legname e talvolta all'artigianato, è ancora oggi la voce principale del reddito locale, ma sono molte le risorse che andrebbero valorizzate.

A Nebrodi Mountains shepherds' hayrick
Sheep farming, agriculture, exploitation of  timber and sometimes handicraft are still the main resources of the local income, but many others should be exploited.

Cavalli Sanfratellani
Un esempio di bene sottoutilizzato è il cavallo Sanfratellano. Viene allevato allo stato brado. Taglia media, piede sicuro, addestrabilità, resistenza alla fatica ed alle intemperie, lo rendono estremamente adatto al turismo equestre.
Sempre allo stato brado vengono allevati in gran numero pecore, capre, suini e bovini. Ne deriva una produzione di salumi, carni, ricotte, formaggi, caci e provole di indiscussa bontà e genuinità.

"San Fratellano horses" In addition, inside the park there are many examples of "sanfratellano" horse; native to these mountains, they form a precious race because of their typical features and their limited number.
It is the "Nebrodi" horse, the object of important scientific studies in the last decades and more  relevant among the horse races.

The numerous handicrafts reflect the millenary civilization of the farmers and Nebrodi shepherds. Table clothes and sheets handmade embroidery, rush or reed baskets, wood or "ferla" objects for agricultural use, stone and hammered iron manufacture, the production of colored mats and carpets ("pizzare") by ancient looms and the production of valuable pieces of pottery, prove the efficiency and fantasy of the Nebrodi people.

 Among the food processing, the cheese products are the most important: the sweet or spicy "canestrato", the tasty "pecorino", the perfumed "provola" and the delicate "ricotta" are still  nowadays made by the shepherds expert hands. The charcuterie made from the meat of the Nebrodi black swine is very well-known; the productions of olive oil, honey, hazelnuts, pistachio nuts and bush fruits are very valuable; the tomatoes, mushrooms and egg plants preserves are very tasty; the sweets are very appreciated ("pastareale", "chiacchiere", "ramette", "crispelle", "latte fritto", "giammelle", "pasta di mandorle"). The cooking is simple and essential and you can experience ancient tastes (handmade "maccheroni", "castrato alla brace", "capretto al forno") in the typical restaurants ("barracche"). 

I Giudei