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Bagheria. In the 18th and 19th centuries, Bagheria became the summer retreat of the noble class, who built magnificent villas here to escape the scorching heat of Palermo. The agriculturally rich setting, on the southern slopes of Mount Catalfano at the eastern extension of the Gulf of Palermo, was home to citrus plantations and vineyards. The novelist Dacia Maraini, in her memoir, Bagheria, recalled "the atmosphere of a summer garden enriched by lemon groves and olive trees, poised between the hills, cooled by the salt winds."
As family fortunes disappeared and dynasties faded, however, Bagheria fell into a splendid decay. Many of its villas still exist, but ugly modern buildings and factories have encroached upon this once bucolic locale.
In the latter part of the 20th century, Bagheria earned the dubious distinction of being a center of Mafia activities. You can just imagine the international deals plotted behind the decaying walls of Bagheria's heavily guarded villas.
Belice. The Belice is a river, 77 km in length, of western Sicily. From its main source near Piana degli Albanesi it runs south and west for 45.5 km as the Belice Destra (Right Belice) until it is joined on the left by its secondary branch, the 42 km Belice Sinistro (Left Belice), which rises on the slopes of Rocca Busambra. The Belice proper then flows for another 30 km or so before entering the Strait of Sicily to the east of the ancient Greek archaeological site of Selinus.
The middle section of the Bellice valley was hit by a severe earthquake in January 1968 which completely destroyed numerous centres of population, including Gibellina, Montevago and Salaparuta. 370 people died, a thousand were injured and some 70,000 people were made homeless.
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