Historical and Archaeological Data for the Ancient Road Network in Western Sicily from the Roman Period to the Norman Age

Abstract

In this paper, the authors examine a district of the north-central Sicily, from the Madonie Mountains to the mountains going SW towards Vicari and Castronovo, where targeted archaeological surveys have been carried out during the last forty years. The aim is to understand the development of the road network system from the Roman Period to the Norman Age and, through this, to understand the population dynamics of these internal areas of Sicily. The focus are a sector of the Palermo-Termini-Taormina route (known as the via Messina per le montagne), between Polizzi Generosa, Petralia and Gangi, and a district connecting this route with the area of Vicari and Castronovo. Common to the two districts is the presence of properties, attested by sources, belonging to the Teutonic Knights of the Magione (Palermo); in the both districts, also, the road network could be connected to the vie Francigene system.