Sambuca di Sicilia

A modest barbershop on Sambuca’s main street, Barberia Maggio is best known as a filming location in Briganti di Zabut, a 1997 film by director Pasquale Scimeca. The film, inspired by real stories of peasant rebellion and banditry in post-war Sambuca (formerly called Zabut), was shot in the Belìce Valley and starred both professional actors and local residents. Today, the site is a quiet but symbolic link to the town’s recent cinematic and social history.

Located at the highest point of the town on the former acropolis of Emir Al-Zabut’s fortress, the Terrazzo Belvedere offers sweeping views over the Belìce Valley and the Sican Mountains. Once the site of a medieval castle and later a calvary terrace used for religious rites, it was eventually transformed into a panoramic terrace. Today it’s one of Sambuca’s most atmospheric locations and a frequent venue for summer cultural events. The terrace is also a designated LIM (Luogo dell’Identità e della Memoria) due to its ties to Sicilian literary and cinematic storytelling, including its appearance in Pasquale Scimeca’s 1997 film Briganti di Zabut.

Hilltop ruins of a fortified Elymian-Greek city dating back to the 6th century BC. The site includes remnants of ancient walls, residential areas, necropolis, and defensive structures, along with sweeping views of the Belìce Valley. Excavated since the 1960s, it offers a lesser-known but rewarding archaeological experience just outside town.

Beneath the Saracen Quarter of Sambuca lies a network of medieval tuff quarries called purrere, once used to extract stone for local buildings. Rediscovered in 2015, these underground chambers — located 12 m below street level — were later repurposed as cellars, waste pits, and more recently, as the Enoteca dei Rossi: a wine archive established in 2016 by the Strade del Vino delle Terre Sicane. With natural humidity and year-round temperatures of 11–12 °C, the caves offer a unique setting for wine preservation, storytelling, and occasional tastings.