Another recognition for Geraci Siculo. The Madonie village, in the Palermo province, already among the Most Beautiful Villages of Italy, has entered the National Association of Virtuous Municipalities, the network that brings together administrations committed to sustainability and quality of life.
It is not only a matter of beauty. The recognition shifts the gaze to what the town chooses to do with its future, and to how it intends to keep land and environment together. A small center, certainly, but one that continues to carve out a role among Sicilian realities that invest in their territory without forgetting the environment.
Geraci Siculo, the virtuous village of the Madonies
Forests, landscapes left as they were, traditions that time has not eroded. In Geraci Siculo safeguarding is not a postcard slogan. It hinges on protecting wooded areas and cork oak groves, on organic production, on the care of green spaces. And on protecting the ecosystem of the Madonie Park, which the town pursues together with its local identity. Behind it there’s a simple idea: defend a heritage that daily impacts the well-being of those who live in the village. The viewpoints come later. They are choices that are hardly noticeable in a photo and, in everyday life, count for a great deal.
There’s also a separate chapter: the village in the province of Palermo has become the focus of longevity studies and of the so‑called blue zones of Sicily. People are trying to understand whether there is a thread linking nutrition, nature, daily habits and social relations. Because people live long, in short, and where.
The opportunities of the Network of Virtuous Municipalities
The association was founded in 2005 and for over twenty years has brought together local authorities attentive to the environment and to sustainable development. It works on several fronts: land management, reducing the environmental impact of public administrations, waste, sustainable mobility, and citizen awareness. For Geraci Siculo, joining means dialogue, exchange of experiences with other Italian realities, projects to be built together, and benefits for the territory. And progress moves in two directions: what the town has developed in recent years extends beyond local borders, while ideas and good practices from other administrations reach up here.
In Sicily, moreover, it is not only that. Among the municipalities already in the network is Collesano, another Madonie town. Mayor Luigi Iuppa welcomed the affiliation with satisfaction. He regards it as an important milestone, but also as an encouragement to continue along the path taken. For the mayor, it is a sign that the administration’s commitment to environmental protection, to local traditions and to the community’s quality of life has not gone unnoticed.
According to Iuppa, small towns can play leading roles in sustainable development policies. The challenge is to open up new opportunities without losing the link to their history and to the identity of the territory. A new phase is now opening, there is no doubt about it. The details, however, remain to be written. How much it will count will be shown by the upcoming projects, those that will give substance to the path just begun and that will have to demonstrate what changes, concretely, for those who live there.
In the meantime, one thing remains: even small towns can look forward, provided they start from their roots. Geraci Siculo, for now, is doing just that.
