Terrazzo Belvedere
LIM
On the site of the Castle of emir Al-Zabut, the splendid
According to some, the young emir was called "Al-Chabut," meaning "the splendid," due to his vigor in battle, a title that was passed on to the lands he conquered, including Sambuca di Sicilia: Zabut to the Arabs. For some, the name of the village—a true fortified city during the Saracen era—derives from "Chabuta," meaning splendid. Others believe it comes from the elderberry plants widespread in the valley of Lake Arancio, while others still think it originates from the sambuca, a Greek musical instrument resembling a small harp, which is reflected in the urban layout and the city's coat of arms. The fortress of Zabut was built by the Arabs on a sandstone ridge overlooking the southern tip of the Sicani Mountains. It stood tall with its rocky spur and the steeple of the nearby Chiesa Madre, which was once a watchtower. The exedra, screened by nineteenth-century columns, preserves remnants of the tower's walls, visible from the valley to the northeast. It is said that subterranean pathways radiate from here, reaching strategic points in the territory for use in case of escape.
The Terrazzo Belvedere
We are in the highest area of the city, at the site of the fortified acropolis of the ancient castle of Emir Al-Zabut, a young and valiant Arab warrior who, in 830 AD (a few years after the Arabs landed in Sicily in 827), founded the town, imprinting his spirit on these places forever.
From Arab manor to Calvary for the Good Friday Crucifixion
Having lost its defensive function, the castle gave way to the Mother Church, which was repeatedly expanded, incorporating one of the towers that became its bell tower. In the mid-17th century, the structure fell into ruin, becoming a prison in the 19th century and, from 1837, a lazaretto during the cholera epidemic. A thousand years after its foundation, around 1840, the already abandoned castle had its remaining structures demolished, and the resulting material was used for civil construction. The property was sold and divided. In the late 19th century, after demolishing the remaining structures, a large terrace was created to celebrate the Crucifixion on Good Friday, in accordance with the customs of the time, and it was thus called Calvario. However, the "Calvario" was used for this purpose only for a short time. Shortly after World War I, the celebration of the Dead Christ was moved to the interior of the Mother Church.
A window onto the Sicani, among the most fascinating places in Sambuca
Today, this place is also known as Terrazzo Belvedere, one of the most fascinating spots in the town, perched on a cliff. From here, you can enjoy an enchanting view of the entire valley surrounding Sambuca di Sicilia. The stunning panorama stretches towards Adragna, extending beyond to the Swabian lands of Giuliana, Caltabellotta, and Chiusa Sclafani. In the background, you can see the Rose Mountains and the inner chain of the Sicani Mountains. The view reaches as far as the Cretto di Alberto Burri, the largest land art piece in Italy, located in Gibellina. All around, there are hills, slopes, orchards, vast wooded areas, and the green Sicilian countryside. In the summer, the Terrazzo Belvedere hosts cultural and recreational activities in Sambuca.
The Belvedere terrace among the Places of Identity and Memory (LIM)
The Belvedere Terrace has been included by the Sicilian Region among the LIM (Places of Identity and Memory) in the section of Literary, Television, and Cinematic Locations: physical spaces described in literary works or that, having been the settings for film or television shoots by renowned authors, have contributed to reaffirming and promoting the cultural identity of Sicilian landscapes. This is a heritage of immense importance subject to a valorization project, providing an opportunity to define the development strategies of the community that hosts them.
Scimeca and his film: “Briganti di Zabut”
In 1997, Scimeca, considered "the realist among Sicilian directors," began filming "Briganti di Zabut," a dramatic film set in the late 1930s. The film was shot in Sicily's Belìce Valley, among the ruins and countryside of Santa Margherita di Belice, Termini Imerese, and Sambuca di Sicilia. The film received recognition from the Department of Entertainment of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers as a film "of National Cultural Interest."
Zabut, place of stories of brigandage and peasant struggles
The film, set in Fascist-era Sicily, tells the story of Peppe Manzella, a poor farm laborer who lives with his wife in the town of Zabut. One winter evening in 1937, he writes a letter on behalf of a beggar, but the podestà intercepts it and exiles him to the island of Favignana. After the war, in the summer of 1943, Peppe returns home to find Zabut in the grip of a peasant revolt: the peasants are claiming ownership of the uncultivated lands, clashing with the feudal lords and the Mafia. In a shootout between a group of young men and the carabinieri, he kills the former podestà who had sent him into exile and goes into hiding. With Manuele, Triolo, mastro Pidduzzo, and other comrades, he forms a band with the aim of robbing the rich and fighting the Mafia, which persecutes the poor peasants. By the end of the summer, things take a turn for the worse: the Mafia and the carabinieri launch a relentless manhunt against the band. First, Manuele is killed, then Triolo. All the others are wounded and captured in a gunfight at the outskirts of the town.
"The story of 'Briganti di Zabut' entered my life during a period of crisis," says Scimeca, "when I was preparing my thesis on the reconstruction of the labor movement in Sicily. While browsing through the newspapers of the time, I wasn't interested in the strictly historical data, but rather those related to crime news. The last thing I read before abandoning my research was an article about a band of brigands from Sambuca and their trial. This episode became a part of me, and after many years, I felt the need to revisit those places and events." Alongside the lead actors, Franco Scaldati and Antonio Albanese, many citizens of Sambuca participated. The film also benefited from the consultancy of Giuseppe Alfano, a member of the band who was sentenced to twenty years in prison, and who closes the film with a touching testimony. The film was screened before the Sambuca community on August 25, 1997, in Piazza Vittoria, evoking great emotion among the citizens, who were spectators of the cinematic portrayal of a piece of their history.
The birth of the film in the director's words and the involvement of the community
On October 11, 1997, Roberto Nepoti wrote in the newspaper 'La Repubblica': "Scimeca continues his cycle of the defeated ('Il giorno di San Sebastiano'), combining political awareness with the timelessness of myth: to put it with a witticism, it's a bit between Rosi's 'Salvatore Giuliano' and Cimino's 'Il Siciliano'. He uses beautiful wide shots, extends the frames, is didactic, but he also knows how to tell us a touching secondary love story between a little soldier and a small prostitute. At the beginning, quoting Pasolini, the screenwriter-director asks himself: 'But why make a work when it's so beautiful just to dream it?'. No, Scimeca: you did well to actually make 'I briganti di Zabut'."
The cycle of the Defeated by Scimeca and the opinions of the critique
