Nóstos – Myths and Legends in the Sicani Villages

A festival that brings myth back home

Nóstos – Myths and Legends in the Sicani Villages is an immersive theatre project that animates three small towns in the Sicani Mountains, in the heart of the Agrigento province, every year. The title draws from the Greek word nóstos, meaning "return," and that is exactly what it tells: the return to the origins of Sant'Angelo Muxaro, Joppolo Giancaxio, and Santa Elisabetta, villages suspended between history and legend in the Akragas Valley.

The myth of Daedalus and King Cocalus

Sant'Angelo Muxaro, in particular, is tied to the myth of Daedalus and King Cocalus: according to classical tradition, it was here that the architect, having fled Crete, found refuge, and where King Minos, who had tracked him down, met his end. The famous rock-cut necropolises, now among the most evocative archaeological sites in Sicily, serve as a natural backdrop for a festival that weaves together archaeology, literature, and contemporary theatre.

Performances, storytelling, and workshops

The Nóstos program is structured as an itinerant journey across the three municipalities. Each evening features an open-air performance preceded by community workshops open to both adults and children, where the village residents become protagonists of the narrative. Alongside theatre, there is space for storytelling, live music, and opportunities to meet the artists.

• Immersive theatre in the squares and iconic landmarks of the Sicani villages
• Reinterpretations of great classical tragedies and local myths
• Participatory workshops for the community and schools
• Free admission to all events

A village regeneration project

Nóstos was born from an idea by Laura Anello, journalist and president of the Fondazione Le Vie dei Tesori, and is promoted by the three municipalities as part of the cultural and social regeneration project "Mythology, history and traditions: regeneration of the Akragas Valley villages," funded by the PNRR. The goal is twofold: to restore centrality to small towns often affected by depopulation and to turn mythological and archaeological heritage into a lever for cultural and tourist attraction.

Why it's worth it

Attending Nóstos means experiencing theatre in an intimate and collective dimension, far from the mainstream circuits, where Greek myth engages with the daily life of Sicilian villages. For those visiting Sicily, and particularly the Agrigento hinterland, it is an opportunity to discover an authentic territory, made of necropolises, mountains, and communities that guard millennia-old stories.