Historic centre & palaces of the 24 Barons

Walk inside the history

Nicosia’s historic centre takes two hours on foot along the main axis, half a day if you want detail. It is a stratified urban fabric: the medieval plan of the Byzantine-Norman castle below, 17th-century rebuilds above, 19th-century work around the Cathedral, contemporary insertions in the squares.

You start in Piazza Garibaldi, where the Cathedral of the Barons closes the east front and the town hall the west. You climb towards Piazza Mazzini and then, for those with legs and breath, towards the Castle along the stairways that pass between the Barons’ palaces.

The 24 Barons

The epithet «town of the 24 barons» — tied to the twenty-four baronies of the early modern age — accompanies the great families that shaped Nicosia for centuries. Ventimiglia, De Marchisio, Sabia, La Via are just some of the lines that left marks on the urban fabric: carved façades, family chapels in minor churches, refurbished stables, secret gardens glimpsed through half-closed gates.

The story of the 24 Barons is the narrative thread of the historic centre, of the dedicated hiking trails (Cammino dei 24 Baroni), of the brewery that took the name, and of the cuisine (Tavolo dei Baroni).

The walking route

Recommended on-foot itinerary:

1. Piazza Garibaldi and Cathedral of San Nicolò
2. Church of Carmine (12th-century origins, 18th-century façade)
3. Capuchin friary of San Felice (see dedicated page)
4. Palazzo Ventimiglia (exterior, interior on request)
5. Stairway of the Barons and climb to the Castle
6. Castle belvedere — the widest panorama over Nicosia and the Nebrodi

For a structured visit, the walking tour starts at Piazza Garibaldi and ends at the belvedere, led by a qualified local guide.

When to come

• Morning: best light on palace façades and carved detail.
• Sunset: lively squares, outstanding landscape photography from the belvedere.
• Summer evening: the centre hosts the Notte Bianca dei 24 Baroni (July) and a series of summer feasts with music and food.

In Holy Week the historic centre becomes the stage of the Casazza, the itinerant sacred procession Pitrè called “the most solemn, the most resounding” in the whole island (1881).