In 2014, Gangi was named "Borgo dei Borghi" (Village of Villages) — Italy's most beautiful small town. In 2015, it launched one of Italy's first "case a 1 euro" programs — selling abandoned houses in the old town for a symbolic €1 to buyers who would commit to renovating them within 3 years. Both decisions were acts of defiance against depopulation. Gangi (4,000 residents, down from 16,000 in the early 20th century) sits at 1,000 meters in the Madonie mountains of northern Sicily, with a medieval core that cascades down a hillside beneath a Norman castle. The Giudizio Universale (Last Judgment) fresco in the Chiesa Madre is one of the most terrifying paintings in Sicily — a 16th-century vision of hell that makes Bosch look restrained. Sicily →
Plan my Sicily trip →Chiesa Madre (San Nicolò, 14th-18th century): The Last Judgment fresco (attributed to the "Zoppo di Gangi" — the lame man of Gangi — 16th century) covers an entire wall: the damned are dragged to hell by demons with creative anatomical ideas, sinners are punished with specific tortures for specific sins, and the overall atmosphere is magnificent medieval horror. The Norman castle tower (Torre dei Ventimiglia): At the summit — climb for the panorama over the Madonie peaks and the northern Sicilian interior. The old town: Steeply descending lanes of stone houses, baroque churches (San Salvatore, with a wooden crucifix attributed to Frate Umile da Petralia — the most venerated Crucifixion sculptor in Sicily), and the scent of rosemary growing from cracks in walls. Case a €1: The program has attracted international buyers — check the comune.gangi.pa.it website for current availability if you dream of owning a piece of Sicily.
Getting there: car from Palermo (1.5h via A19), Cefalù (1h inland). No useful public transport. Stay: €35-60/night (very limited). Eat: mountain Sicilian cuisine — pasta con sugo di maiale (pork ragù), roasted lamb, wild mushrooms, ricotta. Combine with: Parco delle Madonie (Gangi is inside it — hiking, Piano Battaglia ski area in winter), Cefalù (1h — Norman cathedral and beach), Petralia Soprana and Sottana (two gorgeous Madonie hill towns, 15-20min).