Borghi dei Tesori Fest

A widespread festival bringing Sicilian villages to life

Borghi dei Tesori Fest is an event promoted by the Le Vie dei Tesori Foundation in partnership with the Borghi dei Tesori association. Over three weekends in May, it transforms 25 small Sicilian towns into a vast open-air museum. Churches, castles, noble palaces, archaeological sites, and natural wonders are opened to the public, brought to life by young local guides who act as contemporary storytellers of their land. Alongside guided tours, the festival offers narrative walks, gastronomic experiences, craft workshops, and theatrical routes, providing a slow and immersive journey into the island's hinterland.

Sant'Angelo Muxaro, the village of the Kokalos myth

Among the featured towns is Sant'Angelo Muxaro, perched on a hill in the Platani River valley, in the hinterland of the Agrigento province. The village is one of the most evocative sites of prehistoric Sicily: according to scholars and archaeologists, this was the location of Kamikos, the fortified capital of the Sicani, identified as the legendary city of King Kokalos, said to have been built by Daedalus while fleeing Crete. The town preserves an archaeological heritage of unique value, which is opened and explained to the public during the festival.

The Grotticelle and the Prince's Tomb

The hillside is honeycombed with hundreds of rock-cut tombs, the oldest dating back to the 9th century BC: a true hive carved into the rock that testifies to a wealthy and populous settlement. The most spectacular monument is the Prince's Tomb, also known as the Cave of Sant'Angelo, the largest protohistoric burial site in Sicily: approximately nine meters in diameter and three and a half meters high, featuring a double chamber covered by a Mycenaean-style false dome (tholos). Excavations conducted by Paolo Orsi between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and later in 1931 by Umberto Zanotti Bianco, unearthed high-value grave goods, including ceramics, rings, and four famous gold patere, now housed in museums in Agrigento, Syracuse, and the British Museum.

Natural cavities and archaeological museum

During the Borghi dei Tesori Fest in Sant'Angelo Muxaro, visitors move between the fascinating natural cavities of the hill and the village's archaeological museum, which displays artifacts and replicas of the gold that made the site famous. The walk guides visitors through the necropolis, the historic center, and the landscape of the Sicani Mountains, recounting the village's long history—from the Sicani to the Middle Ages—and the deep bond between Sant'Angelo Muxaro and the myth of Daedalus.

A slow experience in the Sicilian hinterland

Participating in the festival means discovering a side of Sicily far from the most famous tourist destinations: an hinterland defined by small villages, archaeology, nature, and traditions. In Sant'Angelo Muxaro, as in the other 24 towns in the circuit, access to sites is managed through Le Vie dei Tesori coupons, while walks and experiences are booked separately. It is a concrete way to breathe new life into the small towns of inland Sicily and share their hidden heritage with visitors.