Le Vie dei Tesori in Corleone

A widespread festival unveiling the secret side of Sicily

Le Vie dei Tesori is the largest widespread cultural festival in Southern Italy. Originating in Palermo, it has spent years guiding visitors to discover churches, palaces, libraries, convents, and natural sites that remain closed to the public for the rest of the year. The formula is simple and beloved: you purchase a coupon, choose your sites, and enter, accompanied by the stories of young narrators and volunteers who bring the history of each location to life. In Corleone, located in the Province of Palermo and the heart of Sicily, the festival arrived for the first time in 2023, cementing its presence in subsequent editions.

Corleone, the city of a hundred churches

Far from the stereotypes, Corleone presents itself at the festival as a city of art and faith, rich in churches, convents, and treasures of sacred art. Along the alleys of the historic center, fascinating sites await: baroque churches with their 18th-century oratories, monasteries, historic libraries, and collections of religious furnishings and sculptures. Alongside its artistic heritage, Corleone offers a unique dimension to the festival linked to civil memory and the anti-mafia movement, featuring sites dedicated to legality and the documentation of the mafia phenomenon.

Churches, monasteries, and sites of memory

Among the places the festival has opened in Corleone are the Biblioteca Bentivegna, the Chiesa del Carmine with its oratory, the Chiesa di Sant'Agostino, and the Monastero del Santissimo Salvatore. These are joined by sites of civil memory, such as spaces dedicated to documenting the mafia and anti-mafia struggle, and the Laboratorio della Legalità, housed in a property confiscated from organized crime.

Walks, ghost towns, and nature

The festival is not limited to the town center: among the most evocative experiences is the walk to Borgo Schirò, a ghost town that began as a rural village and is now abandoned, serving as a silent symbol of the transformations of the Sicilian countryside. Completing the naturalistic offerings are excursions such as the one to the Cascata delle Due Rocche, as well as food and wine experiences in local dairies, which tell the story of the agricultural and pastoral vocation of this part of inland Sicily.

How it works

Participation is managed through coupons that can be purchased online or at infopoints set up in the city during the festival. Coupons grant access to a variable number of visits, while walks and special experiences have a separate cost. Openings are concentrated on weekends, with narrators guiding the public through the history, art, and traditions of Corleone and its territory.