From the water tower that ended up inside “Baarìa” to the painter of “masciddara”
From the Guttuso Museum to the eccentric Villa Palagonia
Up to trekking experiences and sea baptism
Eleven places and seven experiences for the fifth edition of the festival in Bagheria
Coupons also valid in Termini Imerese, Corleone, Carini and Palermo.

It will climb to the top of the Water Tower of Aspra, and someone will remember it in Giuseppe Tornatore’s “Baarìa”; who also wanted as a background one of the panels of Minico Ducato, the “masciddara” painter protagonist of the workshop-museum. The putìa where the poet Ignazio Buttitta worked as a child returns, and for the first time, the rooms of the Guttuso Museum in Villa Cattolica enter the festival; some of the palaces that were the buen retiro of noble lords open; the eccentric Villa Palagonia with its monsters, last year one of the most visited places of the entire festival. And the out-of-town routes; the trek&snork from mountain to sea, the water baptism in Porticello.
Not to be missed, this fifth edition of the Streets of Treasures: eleven places, seven experiences, to investigate the city through its palaces, which have become museums, university centers, or open to visitors looking for the soul of the ancient masters.
Three weekends for a new festival of “reappropriation of beauty” that this year comes of age: it was 2006, in fact, when the first edition was born in Palermo, but Le Vie dei Tesori has since grown year by year, expanding to the whole of Sicily, reckoning with the pandemic, but never stopping.
It starts on Saturday, September 14 and goes on, Saturday and Sunday, until Sunday 29: A project that comes alive with collective storytelling, the desire of citizens to reconnect with the territory, and the participation of hundreds of young people. The Ways of the Treasures each year generate an economic spin-off in the cities they pass through: as certified by Otie, Tourist Observatory of the economies of the Islands, in the last year (2023) there was an induced income of more than 7 and a half million euros, more than 300 thousand euros in Bagheria, with a public approval rating that exceeded 90%. The festival was confirmed in the biennial calendar of events of great tourist appeal of the Sicilian Region.
A festival that builds networks: in Bagheria, as in the other cities, with Unicredit as the main sponsor and the USR (Regional School Office) collaborating in the training of young people, the festival has been able to create synergies and dialogue with the Region, universities, municipalities, dioceses, institutions, and owners of noble palaces. With the satellite projectTerre dei Tesoriaprianno wineries, vineyards, oil mills, dairies, in collaboration with the Regional Department of Agriculture.

<<Welcoming back the festival Le Vie dei Tesori in our city is a source of great pride and an extraordinary opportunity for Bagheria. This event not only enhances our historical and cultural heritage, but also represents an important boost for the local economic fabric, commercial activities, accommodation facilities and all those realities that are part of our tourist induced>> – says the mayor of Bagheria, Fillippo Maria Tripoli – <<Vie dei Tesori is a project that knows how to network, creating valuable collaborations and relaunching the territory through a sustainable and quality tourism. Bagheria, with its iconic places such as Villa Palagonia, the Guttuso Museum and many other hidden treasures, is ready to show its best and offer visitors unique experiences. We thank all those who, with their commitment, contribute to the realization of this event, consolidating our city as a destination of excellence in the Sicilian cultural scene>>.

<<We have reached the fifth edition of The Ways of the Treasures in Bagheria>> – stresses the councillor for Culture as well as deputy mayor, Daniele Vella – <<Every year a growing circuit, enriched by new cultural places and new experiences.
Also this year we are adding unpublished treasures not yet open to the public. Among the municipal villas we include Villa Aragona Cutò and the possibility of visiting the Guttuso Museum in its entirety. Among the privately owned places for example a beautiful and ancient Water Tower, Ignazio Buttitta’s Putia or the museum workshop “Minico Ducato>>.
We are waiting for you in large numbers.

THE BAGHERIA PROGRAM.
The festival-constructed in close collaboration with the Municipality and curated on the territory by Agostino D’Amato-last year almost doubled its numbers, dragged by Villa Palagonia that allowed it to touch 7161 presences with a relapse in terms of tourist spending of almost 300 thousand euros; this edition is very articulated and encloses eleven places that deeply tell the city, in its ancient history as in the recent one. Starting precisely with the Guttuso Museum in Villa Cattolica, protagonist of a mighty rearrangement that opened, next to the rooms that tell the story of Renato Guttuso, the second floor dedicated to names such as Schifano, Cagli, Tomaselli, photographers such as Scianna and a very young Tornatore. And he was also an artist Minico Ducato, the brilliant “masciddara” painter, loved by the British, but also by Levi, Guttuso and Zavattini: his workshop-museum is an experience. One looks back to the past by climbing the Aspra Water Tower, built in the mid-19th century and 30 meters high, it still houses a hydraulic steam engine; and it will seem to go back to the postwar period, entering the putìa where Ignazio Buttitta worked when he was 10 years old and where he composed his first works.

They are now “classics” of the festival, the Blue Arch, the place of lovers par excellence that is also an anti-Mafia garrison; Castello San Marco, eccentric and hybrid summer residence of the princes of Mirto and deicons of San Marcoche wanted the architect to mix military elements-bastions, loopholes, a drawbridge-with others typical of country residences: Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa lived there during the war, to whom also belonged Villa Aragona Cutò, the home of the “red prince” the socialist Alessandro Tasca: frescoed by Borremans, it has a beautiful terrace from which the noble lords followed the fires of the Festino. A group exhibition by the Visione arte group of Bagherese artists will be on view.

The debut of Villa Palagonia last year alone had earned 2494 admissions, the most visited place of the festival outside Palermo: now people will be able to pass through the gates again, discovering Prince Gravina’s famous “monsters.” Then Villa Butera, run by the municipality, a mad dream (a faux medieval-inspired tuff castle) of a distraught and disappointed nobleman; the historic 18th-century Cirrincione-Mineo mansion where three rooms – the ballroom, dining room and master bedroom – seem to have come out of The Leopard, still with their original furnishings. The group show “The Artists of June 25” is set up. Also returning are “friends” of the Festival as from the Blue Oasis, the surprising wunderkammer among votive chapels, altars to illustrious travelers, memorabilia collected by a former railroader lent to art.

Among the seven experiences is a visit to the historic wine cellars overlooking the sea of Duca di Salaparuta, in Casteldaccia, with the cooperage, tasting room and wine shop. Two experiences that sell out immediately: sailing excursions in the gulf of santa Flavia, skirting the waterfront and arriving at the castle of Solanto; and sea baptism with an expert diver in Porticello (which is in the news these days for the Bayesian events). With Giulia Cancilla the Trek&Snork returns i.e. we will walk among citrus and olive trees and then reach the point of the dive …; and we will reach the Blue Arch, the zubbie and sea caves.

Linked to the Sicilian tradition is Pina Castronovo, a craft artist who is pursuing work on wood inspired by the suits of playing cards. In Aspra, the intuition of a group of women has become an en plein air museum to tell the story of the township. Finally, a walk that leads to the discovery of the Bagarìa that no longer exists in an unprecedented immersive multimedia tour.

Trivia, photos, fact sheets to delve deeper into each place or experience, and coupons to buy: all at www.leviedeitesori.com
HOW TO PARTICIPATE
To participate in Le Vie dei Tesori, simply acquire a coupon for admission with a guided tour at www.leviedeitesori.it or at the infopoints set up during the Festival in each city. An 18-euro coupon is valid for 10 visits, a 10-euro coupon is valid for 4 visits, and a 3-euro coupon is valid for a single entry. For walks, there is a 6 euro coupon. For experiences, coupons vary in value. Recommended online reservation at www.leviedeitesori.com. Those who book will be emailed a page with a QR code with day/time of booking to show at the entrance of the sites on their smartphone or printed out. Alternatively, one can present oneself directly at the entrance of the venues by showing the page with the QR code received by email at the time of purchase, but one will enter only if there are seats available. Coupons are not personal and can be used by multiple visitors, even simultaneously and in different places, until their value is exhausted. For those without the “multiple” coupon, only €3 tickets will be available at the venues. Schools or groups can write to prenotazioni@leviedeitesori.it.