Mazzarino, its roots and its future: a conversation with Filippo Bonifacio
Il Roots tourism in Mazzarino It starts from a bond that distance, in many cases, has made even stronger: that between the town and the many people from Mazzarino who live elsewhere, together with their children and grandchildren who grew up far from Sicily.
The Municipality's support for the project is also based on this connection. Municipalities around the world from the Italiani.it Foundation, created to connect Italian regions with their communities abroad. A project that speaks of Italianness, belonging, and the valorization of local communities, and which, precisely for this reason, has led us to engage with those who live in those regions and strive to promote them every day.
We talked about it with Filippo Bonifacio, president of the Pro Loco of Mazzarino, starting from a very simple question: which Mazarin would you first show to someone who has never been here? The answer immediately takes us up.
I would undoubtedly choose the imposing view from our Castle, "U Cannuni," overlooking the entire valley and the Baroque historic center. On one side, the majesty of the medieval fortress, on the other, the elegance of our churches and noble palaces linked to the great history of the Branciforte and Carafa families.
For Bonifacio, it's the calling card of "a hidden gem of inland Sicily that deserves to be discovered and experienced by as many travelers as possible." And it's precisely from inland Sicily that our discussion begins.
A tourism that seeks the identity of places
In recent years, we've repeatedly discussed a style of travel that's refocusing attention on small towns, local experiences, local products, and the search for one's roots. Mazzarino has many of the characteristics this traveler seeks: a historic center marked by the Baroque era, the Castle, religious and folk traditions, agricultural and food products, and an archaeological heritage found in the area. Sofiana One of its most important places. Bonifacio sums up the work of the Pro Loco in three words: «energy, experience and identity».
"We want those who come to Mazzarino to go beyond a cursory visit, but to fully immerse themselves in our reality: to feel the authentic soul of the community through its popular rituals and traditions, to taste local food products, and to experience the spaces of our history transformed into places of gathering and entertainment."
It is a vision that takes heritage beyond the purely monumental dimension. Castle Light Experience, organized in the Castle's amphitheater, was a recent example: using a historic site as a contemporary space for meeting and participation.
"Cultural and monumental assets acquire their true value when the community inhabits them with enthusiasm, care, and a sense of belonging."
Inland Sicily and the value of experience
When we shift the conversation to the area's tourism prospects, Bonifacio identifies an opportunity in Mazzarino's location.
"Inland Sicily is now the new frontier for those seeking authentic, experiential, and tailor-made tourism."
For this possibility to become a reality, according to the president of the Pro Loco, however, it is necessary to work on its accessibility. Among the priorities, he lists the reopening of the Cultural Center's Museum to the public. Carlo Maria Carafa, a greater valorization of the archaeological area of Sofiana and the development of services for visitors: tourist signage, QR codes, guided tours, and itineraries connecting the historic center, archaeology, and local businesses. Sofiana, in the municipality of Mazzarino, is part of the Morgantina Archaeological Park and the Villa Romana del Casale. Research has revealed a much more nuanced picture than the initial interpretations of the site: the most recent studies identify it as an urban center that developed starting in the Augustan era, with a long-standing continuity of population. It is one of those places that clearly demonstrate how much heritage still exists in inland Sicily and how much work remains to make it fully accessible and known.
Roots Tourism in Mazzarino: Those Who Leave and Those Who Return
When we talk about roots, the conversation inevitably changes tone. Mazzarino is a land of departures. The bond with those who have left, however, continues to emerge, especially in the community's most identifying moments. Bonifacio cites the Feast of Our Lady of Mazzaro, the rites of the Holy Week and the feast of the Most Holy Crucifix of the Elm: events where even many Mazzarino residents who live far away find a direct connection with the town.
"The people of Mazzarino, scattered throughout Italy and the world, maintain a visceral connection to their homeland. Roots tourism is an extraordinary resource for us: it means welcoming those who return with affection and offering the children and grandchildren of emigrants the opportunity to rediscover their roots."
It's a type of tourism in which the journey often begins long before departure. From a surname, from grandparents' stories, from a family photograph, from the name of a street or a celebration you've always heard about. And it's on this relationship that the journey begins. Municipalities Project of the Italiani.it Foundation. The membership of Mazzarino The project had been announced in recent months on the pages of Italiani.it, with the aim of creating a stable connection between the municipality and its community outside Italy. For Bonifacio, that connection could become very concrete.
"We would like a welcome center and a place to research our roots, a dedicated support system for those returning to Mazzarino to consult the historical archives and rediscover the places their ancestors once lived."
Added to this is the ability to communicate holiday and event calendars well in advance, allowing those living abroad to plan their return, and to create new channels through which to promote local products. "These people are our first and most passionate ambassadors around the world," he says. And this is probably the point where the work of Pro Loco and Italiani.it most clearly converge: the territory also continues through the people who carry it with them.
Networking to tell the story of Mazzarino
For Bonifacio, promotion also depends on the ability to work together. The Pro Loco's experience at the Infiorata in Noto, where Mazzarino also exhibited some of its own products, is cited as an example of collaboration between associations, institutions, and producers.
When the Pro Loco acts as director and works closely with the city's institutions and key players, Mazzarino presents itself to the outside world as a strong, united, and competitive "territorial system."
Behind this work lies a very practical need. The Pro Loco welcomes visitors throughout the year, hosts young people from the Universal Civil Service, and carries out various activities in the area. Bonifacio therefore emphasizes the need for a suitable, centralized headquarters capable of truly functioning as a reception and coordination point. This request brings tourism promotion back to everyday life: informing, orienting, welcoming, and connecting visitors with what the area has to offer.
From Baroque to Sofiana
Before saying goodbye, I ask Bonifacio to look further ahead: Which Mazarin would you like to tell about in five or ten years? He already has a project in mind.
He calls him “Mazarin: From the Baroque to Sofiana”: an integrated urban and archaeological circuit capable of uniting the Castle, the Baroque churches, the noble palaces, and the archaeological area, accompanied by a welcome center, a museum, multilingual digital tools, and a coordinated calendar of events. It's an ambitious vision, but above all, it builds on what Mazzarino already has. And perhaps this is what I take away from my chat with Filippo Bonifacio. At a time when some travelers are returning to seek time, authenticity, relationships and rootsSmall Italian regions have a significant opportunity ahead of them. Seizing it certainly requires promotion, but even before that, they need to understand what they are, nurture it, and learn to communicate it.
Mazzarino chose to start here. From its history, from the people who continue to live it, and from those who, even on the other side of the world, they still call it home.
