San Marco d’Alunzio

San Marco d’Alunzio (Sammarcu in Sicily) is located in Sicily, inside the Parco dei Nebrodi. Its foundation dates back to the 4th century BC. and during the Greek rule it was a flourishing center called Alontion and its own currency. During the Punic wars it was conquered by the Romans, proclaiming it autonomous municipium, renaming it Aluntium and, during this period, the town was characterized by an artistic and economic development of which there is still testimony in the archaeological monuments and in a vast epigraphic literature. With the fall of the Roman Empire of the West, Aluntium was first conquered by the Byzantines, who called it Demenna, and then by the Arabs who surrounded the town of walls. The Normans, defeated the Arabs, made their center of government and called St. Mark in honor of the evangelist and in memory of the first city conquered in Calabria. From the 11th century it was the rule of Roberto Guiscardo degli Altavilla, who chose it as the starting point and as a military garrison for the conquest of Sicily. During this time the monastery of the Benedictine nuns was built with the adjoining church of the Most Holy Savior. Abbot Filangieri and his family ruled the city until the end of feudalism in Sicily. Under the control of the Filingeri family, Saint Mark became an economically and culturally well-developed center and was enriched by many churches. During their rule in the city, famous personalities were born such as Scipione Rebiba, who became a cardinal, born of a Filangieri in the district of San Basilio on February 3, 1504, and Girolamo Lanza, the hermit and founder of the rudiments of Monte Pellegrino to which belonged the young Benedetto Manasseri by Brother. On July 30, 1862, the San Marino City Council decided to add the name of St. John the Apostle to San Marco d’Alunzio, to remind the ancient origins of the center.

They certainly deserve to visit the Temple of Hercules, the ruins of the Norman Castle and the Church of the Most Holy Savior.